Advocate Grant Program Evaluation

The Society for Science and the Public’s Advocate Grant Program provides selected Advocates with funding, resources, and information. Advocates include classroom teachers, school and district administrators, university professors, and informal science educators in community-based programs. The role of the Advocate is to support three or more underserved middle or high school students in the process of advancing from conducting a scientific research or engineering design project to entering a scientific competition. Advocates receive a stipend of $3,000; opportunities to meet and interact with their cohort both in-person and throughout the program duration, and ongoing training and support from the Society.

This summative evaluation focuses on the 2016-2017 cohort with 31 Advocates from across the United States and the 517 students supported through the program. Data for this report include 31 Advocate surveys, 29 Advocate interviews, responses from an online survey of 244 Advocates’ students, and responses from a comparison group of 275 students who had completed research projects and completed a similar survey. The technical report (included here) provides information on methodology and additional data details. Surveys are included in appendixes.