Mission

One Pencil is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Salt Lake City, Utah. We are a collaboration of scientists, philanthropists and educators from some of the world's leading academic institutions, trying to understand fundamental questions about the way children learn while simultaneously providing critical support to the communities they study. One Pencil supports indigenous populations experiencing increased engagement with market economies and global institutions in Bolivia and southern Africa, and we are committed to helping students within these communities by providing essential resources to facilitate the growth and success of these historically marginalized groups.

WE FOCUS ON RESEARCH THAT COMBINES SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY & ENGAGED SCHOLARSHIP: One Pencil focuses on scientific research that promotes authentic and long-term commitments to partnership sustainability, responsiveness to causes of inequality, and shared benefits with participant communities.

WE PROMOTE MODELS THAT LINK ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Models of engaged scholarship acknowledge that academic research institutions represent important sites of power and influence (both positive or negative) on the communities they engage with, the communities they utilize for scientific enquiry, and even the communities in which they are physically embedded. The recent inclusion of Community Engagement within the Carnegie classification system for universities demonstrates that models of community engaged scholarship are becoming increasingly accepted and expected across academic disciplines and institutions. From the beginning, engaged scholarship has been One Pencil’s core tenet. We draw on the principles outlined by Norris-Tirrell and colleagues (2010), including (1) a long-term commitment to community-engaged research and authentic partnering, (2) civic engagement, (3) and working toward participant community goals, including economic, social, and cultural well-being.

WE STRIVE TO HAVE LONGTERM LOCAL PARTNERS & MAINTAIN COMMUITY ENGAGEMENT IN OUR RESEARCH AND SUPPORT EFFORTS: Community and local engagement is essential to One Pencil's success, and we maintains partnerships with local leaders, NGOs, and policy makers to support educational programs, community development projects, and provide public health emergency & disaster relief. Current partners include the HIZETJITWA Indigenous Peoples Organisation (HIPO) & Ondao Mobile Schools in Namibia, as well as Prosocial World, the Tsimane Gran Consejo, the Universidad Autónoma del Beni: UAB, and the Tsimane Health and Life History Project in Bolivia.