Each year the Office of the President-Risk Services provides funding to pilot initiatives that prevent losses and reduce risk to general safety, campus property and vehicles, as well as employment practices liability. The program is called Be Smart About Safety, or BSAS. If you are aware of a serious general, property, or automobile risk that a relatively small appropriation can fix you should consider applying for these funds. At Berkeley, Risk Services evaluates applications from both a risk and cost perspective, then upon approval, administers the funds. In some cases, we may only be able to fund part of a loss prevention project. There is a separate BSAS grant that addresses initiatives to reduce injuries on the job which are administered by the Office of Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S). See below for more information.
All applications are subject to approval from the Chancellor’s Office and the Office of the President-Risk Services. Below is the application, in Word and PDF formats.
- *NEW* Request amount is capped at $50,000
- Applications and supporting materials must be submitted electronically, as attachments, and emailed to bsas@berkeley.edu with the title of your project as the subject line.
- Proposals must explicitly demonstrate loss reducing strategies with SMART goals
- Incomplete proposals will not be reviewed
- All materials must be received no later than 5pm on Friday October 24th, 2025
| Project Eligible for Funding | Projects NOT Eligible for Funding |
| Security signs and mirrors | Salary or FTE positions |
| Lighting and handrails | Supplementing departmental budget |
| Seismic bracing |
Proposals that do not show direct reduction of loss or risk |
| Emergency evacuation wheelchairs |
Proposals for security cameras in buildings will not be funded this year |
| Catalytic converter covers |
BSAS-Workers Compensation
- EH&S is the UC Berkeley administrator for BSAS-Workers Compensation program.
- BSAS-Workers Compensation provides funding for loss prevention and mitigation projects and programs, with the goal of reducing the frequency and severity of injuries and illnesses, ultimately impacting workers' compensation costs.
- Examples:
- Providing safety training for employees in specific high-risk departments.
- Purchasing and installing safety equipment to mitigate hazards in shops, laboratories, or other work environments.
- Application is different, but deadline is same as Risk proposals.
- Contact Marisa Mariscal (mariscal@berkeley.edu) for information, questions, and how to apply.