About Us

The UC AAPI Policy Multicampus Research Program (UC AAPI MRP) was originally founded in 2005, with the goal of supporting applied policy research and collaboration to improve the lives of Asian American, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) in California. The UC AAPI MRP leveraged the power of the entire University of California system to promote these goals, starting with Professor Paul Ong at UCLA who was the MRP’s original director, followed by Professor Lois Takahashi at UCLA, and Professor Karthick Ramakrishnan at UC Riverside. Unfortunately, there was very little recent activity at the MRP due to lack of ongoing funding available to the program.

Fortunately, in 2021, the API Equity Budget passed passed, providing funding to expand research capacity in California to study AANHPI populations to produce data to inform policy impacting AANHPI lives.

In 2023, thanks to the API Equity Budget, AAPI Data is reinvigorating the UC Asian American Pacific Islander Multi-Campus Research Program (AAPI MRP). Newly renamed the “UC Consortium on AAPI Policy & Community Priorities”, this consortium promotes and coordinates applied and policy research on topics relevant to California’s growing Asian American and Pacific Islander population. The UC Consortium serves as a bridge linking UC researchers to community organizations, the media, and elected officials and their staff. These activities help the University of California to integrate research, teaching, and community outreach in ways that inform and enlighten public discourse on important public policy issues.

By initiating the UC Consortium, we hope to showcase our shared resources, collaborate in future initiatives, and build relationships within the UC community. The consortium is co-led by Karthick Ramakrishnan (UC Riverside) a group of campus leads from across the UC system. It is supported by staff from AAPI Data.

This Consortium aims to: 

• Organize UC researchers investigating issues affecting AA & NH/PI communities
• Build interest for next round of RFPs from the AAPI Data project 
• Build campus interest in attending at a UC-wide strategy session on building stronger research infrastructure (virtual)
• Collaborate with other UC leaders for on-campus meetings with relevant administrative leaders and allies including in various schools, research centers, and offices of research