Belonging happens every day, in every corner of UConn.
This toolkit gathers the language, practices, and resources that make belonging work visible, and puts them in your hands.
Get the Full Belonging Toolkit
Please email us at
wellbeingcollective@uconn.edu
to receive a copy of the Belonging Toolkit
Our Soil
The 4 Pillars of the ROS
The Relational Operating System shifts the university from “fixing problems” to building relationships that transform systems.
Lived Experience
Every story is valid evidence. We center emotional reality as a key metric for systems change.
Relational Infrastructure
Relationships are not ‘extra.’ They are the foundation of navigation, safety, and trust at UConn.
Identity Awareness
Belonging differs by race, gender, and context. We attend to power dynamics and historical roots.
Collaborative Design
No one owns belonging. We co-design prototypes with the communities most affected by barriers.
What the Belonging Toolkit Is
A relational ecosystem for systems-change, built on identity-centered research, community wisdom, and the belief that belonging is a shared responsibility.
Why belonging matters
This is the impact, evidence, and the honest acknowledgment that belonging work often goes unrecognized at the systems level, and why that needs to change.
The Tools
We’ve broken down the master toolkit into bite-size tools. Scroll through the categories to find the specific tool you need and contact us to recieve a copy.
Facilitation & Circles
Connection Call Templates
Identity-Centered Forum Guide
Circle Practice Guide Logs
Storywork as Evidence
Storywork as Evidence Framework
Gathering Stories
Reflection Logs
Design & Prototyping
Belonging Design Jumpstarts
The Transformative Research Toolkit
Relational Quality Survey Module
Interested in Belonging Toolkit Information?
Connection is a collaborative effort. Let us know which tool you need, and / or if you are interested in furthering the development of Belonging Toolkit.
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Your voice is what’s missing.
The toolkit is a collective creation. Your wisdom is part of its evolution.

Email us at wellbeingcollective@uconn.edu to add a resource, share a tool, or submit your belonging work for recognition.
Campus Prototypes
Small tests of change happening right now across UConn.
Connection
Pick Up The Thead
Pick Up the Thread is a campus prototype led with the UConn Humanities Institute and partners, testing how shared creative experiences can spark connection and belonging. Through simple, participatory gatherings, it explores how small moments of collaboration can strengthen community and expand well-being at UConn.
Mentorship
CHEMentor
CHEMentors pairs chemistry graduate students with undergraduates for holistic mentorship that supports academic, personal, and career growth. Through structured guidance, goal-setting, and community connection, the program helps students build confidence, access opportunities, and strengthen belonging in Chemistry.
Shared Language
To build a relational culture, we develop an identity around shared words and practices.
Network Weaving
Strengthening relational connections across units, identities, and campuses.
Mutual Aid
Building systems of shared care, solidarity, and community support.
Liberatory & Human-Centered Design
Designing solutions with communities, not for them.
Transformative & Participatory Research
Recognizing lived experience as knowledge and centering community voices in every stage.
Open Full Language Guide (coming soon)
Your voice is what’s missing.
The toolkit is a collective creation. By sharing your experience, you help us map the unseen labor that holds UConn together.
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With Gratitude
This work has been informed by relational, liberatory, and human-centered frameworks, as well as campus-wide data, insights, and practices.