Broader Impacts: Towards a Strategic Approach for Oregon State University

The OSU Center for Research for Lifelong STEM Learning with support from the OSU Research Office and in collaboration with OSU Outreach and Engagement, convened a “Broader Impacts Invitational Workshop” on December 7, 2012. The workshop solicited opinions and perspectives from 65 participating faculty who were broadly representative of OSU’s diverse disciplines and units. The goals of the workshop were: 1) to move OSU towards a more strategic and intellectually rigorous approach to broader impacts; one that will measurably improve the competitiveness of OSU initiated proposals; and 2) identify the specific tools and supports investigators and units need to effectively design, implement and evaluate quality broader impacts efforts. This report describes the challenges and opportunities associated with these goals. It also recommends a path forward for consideration by OSU’s leadership.