UC Davis Feminist Research Institute

What UC Davis Feminist Research Institute does

The UC Davis Feminist Research Institute (FRI) is an academic research institute within the University of California, Davis, operating under The Regents of the University of California. Headquartered on the UC Davis campus in Davis, California, FRI employs a small interdisciplinary team of approximately 7 faculty directors, postdoctoral fellows, graduate researchers, and undergraduate interns. Its mission is to transform research culture by integrating feminist theory, science and technology studies, and justice-oriented methodologies into scientific and scholarly practice.

FRI's core offerings are programs rather than commercial products: the Asking Different Questions (ADQ) research training program, which teaches researchers to reckon with field histories and counter harmful biases; the Environmental Justice Leaders Program (EJLP), a fellowship that pairs community-based environmental justice practitioners with UC Davis researchers; the Feminist AI Research Group, a working group examining bias, environmental impact, and societal implications of AI; the Feminist Health Justice Collective Database, an online resource for generating reading lists and syllabi on health justice; and Mobility Justice research addressing transportation equity. These programs are delivered through seminars, workshops, reading groups, an annual Transformative Research Symposium, podcasts, video libraries, and online content.

FRI is funded through UC Davis institutional support, foundation grants (Heising Simons Foundation, BMW Foundation), federal and state transportation funding (NCST, California SB1), and intern sponsorship (CITRIS Banatao Institute). The institute does not sell commercial products or services; donations are accepted for program support. Its primary beneficiaries are graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and community-based organizations working in environmental justice, mobility justice, and research justice.

Name

UC Davis Feminist Research Institute

Legal name

The Regents of the University of California, Davis campus

Website

https://fri.ucdavis.edu

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The UC Davis Feminist Research Institute is a public university research institute that transforms research culture by integrating feminist theory and justice-oriented methodologies into scientific practice, serving graduate students, faculty, and community-based environmental justice organizations through training programs, fellowships, and collaborative research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research Institute

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Research Universities with Comprehensive Graduate & Professional Schools (EDAHAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Research Universities with Multi-Campus Systems (EDAHAAAI)

Keywords

• Feminist research
• Environmental justice research
• Research training programs
• Community-engaged research
• Academic research institute

Headquarters

HQ city

Davis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. University Funding: Core funding from UC Davis as an officially recognized research institute within the university system.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The UC Davis Feminist Research Institute is an academic research unit that advances feminist interdisciplinary scholarship through research groups, training programs, fellowships, seminars, and community-engaged partnerships. It provides funding, mentorship, and convening infrastructure for students, faculty, and community partners engaged in feminist research, particularly at the intersection of gender, environment, and social justice.

Product overview

The UC Davis Feminist Research Institute operates as an academic research institute rather than a commercial product company. Its offerings consist of research programs, training initiatives, and collaborative working groups focused on feminist approaches to research justice. Core programs include the Asking Different Questions (ADQ) research training program that integrates feminist and critical race perspectives into scientific research; the Environmental Justice Leaders Program (EJLP), a fellowship connecting environmental justice practitioners with UC Davis researchers; the Feminist AI Research Group examining AI's societal impacts; and the Feminist Health Justice Collective Database providing curated resources on health justice topics. The institute also conducts mobility justice research and offers undergraduate seminars and graduate courses. These programs collectively aim to transform research culture toward justice and liberation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Asking Different Questions: Research training program that teaches researchers how to reckon with histories of their field to create research that counters harmful biases
• Environmental Justice Leaders Program
• Feminist AI Research Group
• Mobility Justice
• Feminist Health Justice Collective
• Undergraduate Research Board
• Future Faces of Research
• FRI Transformative Research Symposium

Products and services

• Asking Different Questions (ADQ) Training A training program offered by the institute to teach participants how to engage with and apply feminist research methods and questions in their work.
• Environmental Justice Leaders Program (EJLP) A fellowship program supporting community leaders in environmental justice work, providing training, co-learning opportunities, and partnership with UC Davis researchers.
• Feminist AI Research Group A research group convened by the institute to investigate feminist approaches to artificial intelligence and related technological systems.
• Feminist Health Justice Collective Database A research database and collection supporting feminist health justice scholarship and inquiry.
• Activating Feminism Speaker Series A speaker series hosted by the institute featuring scholars and practitioners whose work addresses feminist research and practice.
• Community Remix Salon A community-oriented salon event series facilitating dialogue, co-learning, and exchange between academic researchers and community members.
• Mentorship Program A mentorship program pairing students and early-career researchers with experienced faculty members to support feminist scholarship development.
• Feminist Research Institute Research Group (FRIRG) The institute's flagship research group convening scholars for ongoing feminist research collaboration and discussion.
• Funding for Conferences A funding program providing grants to support UC Davis students and researchers attending and presenting at academic conferences.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20+ community partnerships established through EJ Leaders Program over three years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFRI partners with UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, the world's leading institution for sustainable transportation, to co-host the Environmental Justice Leaders Program. This alliance pairs a liberatory, care-centered approach with technical and policy expertise in transportation research.
• Energy Efficiency InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with the Energy Efficiency Institute as part of the Environmental Justice Leaders Program partnership to bring together energy research expertise with community-based environmental justice work.
• Institute of the Environment (UC Davis)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-supports Environmental Justice Scholars who are graduate students in the Environmental Policy & Management program, working on environmental justice research projects.
• Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public LifesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational consortium based at UC Davis that brings together scholars, artists, designers, humanists, and organizers. FRI collaborates through the Collaboratory and joint seminars.
• Californians for Pesticide ReformsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerA nonprofit organization where former FRI staff member Dr. Mayra Sanchez now works as Associate Director. FRI maintains collaborative relationship for environmental justice research.
• America WalkssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational nonprofit dedicated to creating walkable and equitable communities. FRI Environmental Justice Scholars complete practicum projects with this organization on mobility justice issues.
• UC Davis Computer Science StudentssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFRI collaborates with UC Davis computer science students to develop an AI-based tool for environmental justice advocates to analyze technical documents.
• Untokening CollectivesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey thought leaders and practitioners of mobility justice who authored the Principles of Mobility Justice. FRI conducts mobility justice research in coordination with this network.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• UC Berkeley Center for Race and Gender: UC Berkeley's interdisciplinary research center examining race, gender, and social justice through faculty research, graduate student support, and public programming. Closely comparable in mission, structure, and UC system context.
• UCLA Center for the Study of Women: UC system sibling institute conducting interdisciplinary feminist and gender research, hosting visiting scholars, and supporting graduate training. Directly comparable as a sister UC-system feminist research center.
• CUNY Center for the Study of Gender and Human Sexuality: University-based research center supporting interdisciplinary feminist, queer, and sexuality scholarship through fellowships and research initiatives. Comparable in function and mission to FRI.
• Northwestern Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality: University-based interdisciplinary center supporting research on gender, sexuality, and feminism through fellowships, events, and curriculum. Directly comparable as an academic gender research center.
• AI Now Institute: University-affiliated research institute producing interdisciplinary research on the social implications of AI, including bias, labor, and environmental costs. Closely aligned with FRI's Feminist AI Research Group focus.
• Stanford Clayman Institute for Gender Research: University-based gender research institute with a similar mission of transforming research culture through feminist scholarship, faculty fellowships, and graduate training. Direct comparable as a university-embedded gender research center.

Emerging players

• Data & Society Research Institute: Independent research institute studying the social and cultural impacts of data-centric technologies. Comparable as a research organization tackling justice, bias, and societal implications of technology, though broader in scope than FRI.

Broad incumbents

• Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society: Harvard-based research center studying the relationship between technology and society, including AI governance and equity. Comparable as a university-embedded institute examining justice-oriented technology research, though at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FRIUCDavis
• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLfMpwXa2AU79q4-fzEd5c47a_6IbImQa0
• Facebookfacebook.com/ucdfri
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fri-davis

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UC Davis Feminist Research Institute