CURA frequently partners with government entities on research and other one-time projects. Here are programs where that partnership is sustained and focused.

Hennepin-University Partnership

The Hennepin-University Partnership (HUP) is a strategic alignment between Minnesota’s largest primary research university and its largest county, with the goal of promoting more effective and efficient local government.

CURA supports applied research projects by faculty that actively involve community partners in the research process. The following CURA programs provide grants, technical assistance, or other support for applied faculty research projects. 

Community Action Research Grant 

Supports interactive public policy research between University of Minnesota faculty and community organizations or government agencies in Minnesota. Formerly known at the Faculty Interactive Research Program (FIRP). 

CURA is pleased to announce the recipients of this year′s Faculty Interactive Research Program grants: 

In the coming decades, Minnesota is poised to lose nearly 10,000 units of rental housing in the United States Department of Agriculture's Section 515 Program. This housing currently exists in nearly every county in Greater Minnesota, and comprises a substantial proportion of rental housing for very low-income households.

This project aims to better serve students in Minneapolis Public Schools who speak a minority language, which is currently 32% of district students. As is true of monolingual English-speaking students, a subset of these bilingual students experience significant language impairment. This negatively impacts their social and academic success.

Researcher: Lindsey Weiler (Family Social Science, College of Education and Human Development)

1. Changes in Grant period

University of Minnesota faculty are critical resources in exploring issues and concerns important to Minnesota, such as the criminal justice system, demography, state or local economic development, education, employment, energy, the enviro