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How can we develop a more expansive, yet critical, view of what we mean by “broadening participation in STEM”? How can our programs be designed or re-designed to more fully integrate evidence on broadening participation? What resources do organizations and individuals need to better document and assess how programs advance broadening participation? These are some ... Read more

A suite of professional learning tools to support your work

This project engages pre-college Latinx, Black, and Indigenous learners, educators, and collaborating undergraduates in an international, project-based learning and media-making community in areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The project addresses key challenges including broadening participation in informal STEM learning, developing capacity for leading informal STEM programs, and building stronger connections between STEM learning and personal and social...

This report summarizes the ideas and conversations of the CAISE Broadening Participation Task Force, which was led by the authors, along with James Bell, Principal Investigator and project director of CAISE (see informalscience.org/bp-task-force). The task force was instrumental in identifying key ideas and challenges to the field, providing edits and input into the report, developing and drafting the associated practice...

To help informal STEM education (ISE) and science communication groups reflect on and strengthen their efforts to broaden participation in STEM, CAISE’s Broadening Participation in STEM Task Force developed a suite of professional development tools. If you are a staff leader or trainer working on broadening participation, these resources can help support your work. You can use them to plan and lead reflective...

This commentary forms the conclusion of a special Virtual Issue of Science Education focusing on the intersection of informal STEM education and the learning sciences....

Funding proposals to the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) undergo a peer review process that requires panels to consider the intellectual merit and broader impacts of the proposed research. Informal STEM education (ISE) offers opportunities for scientists and directors of outreach, education, engagement and communication to plan, propose, develop and collaborate on innovative broader impacts ... Read more

In October 2012, the National Science Foundation (NSF) released a new version of the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) that included significant changes to the review elements and considerations underlying the Merit Review Criteria. This was the first major revision of the Criteria in 15 years. Of particular note were significant changes to the criteria used by panelists, reviewers, and program...

In October 2012, the National Science Foundation (NSF) updated their Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) for the first time in 15 years. Part of this major revision was updated language to reflect significant changes in how NSF panelists, reviewers, and program officers will evaluate STEM research proposals’ broader impacts plan. To help proposers understand these revisions, ... Read more

This article offers viewpoints on Broader Impacts 2.0. The authors point out that the National Science Board (NSB) has presented us with merit review criteria that challenge us to undertake research that marries scientific merit and broader impacts in a way that benefits the research community, our funding sources, and our society....

Broader Impacts and ISE (2013) Participant List In November 2013 CAISE facilitated a convening on Broader Impacts and Informal Science Education for practitioners and researchers who have been working at the nexus of scientific research and ISE. The group included ISE professionals, research scientists who currently lead education and public outreach efforts through science societies ... Read more

Broader Impacts and ISE (2015) Agenda Broader Impacts and ISE (2015) Participant List Broader Impacts and ISE (2015) Key Areas Need Action Items In April 2015, CAISE convened representatives from NSF-funded centers and large facilities with ISE professionals, evaluators and social science researchers for two days of exploration of the needs, opportunities and challenges of ... Read more

This project supports the Broader Impacts and Outreach Network for Institutional Collaboration (BIONIC), a national Research Coordination Network of Broader Impacts to support professionals who assist researchers to design, implement, and evaluate the Broader Impacts activities for NSF proposals and awards. All NSF proposals are evaluated not only on the Intellectual Merit of the proposed research, but also on the...

From April 16-18, 2014, the University of Missouri will host a Broader Impacts Infrastructure Summit in Arlington, VA. This Summit builds off of last year’s Broader Impacts Infrastructure Summit, and invites all institutional Broader Impacts support professionals to participate in a dialogue about the future of broader impacts (BI) support. The goals of the Summit ... Read more

The MU Broader Impacts Network is charged with assisting researchers in the design, implementation, and evaluation of their public engagement and outreach plans. We accomplish this primarily through one-on-one mentoring and by fostering collaboration between researchers and broader impacts programs. ...

This NSF Special Report highlights broader impacts. Scientific progress comes in all shapes and sizes. Researchers peer at the microscopic gears of genomes, scan the heavens for clues of our origins. They unearth wind-weathered fossils, labor over complex circuitry, guide students through the maze of learning. Disparate fields, researchers and methods united by one thing: potential. Every NSF grant has...

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:...

This brochure provides overview of work accomplished during the one-year planning grant period, and includes a proposed research agenda related to whole body interaction. The Move2Learn planning effort was a collaboration between museum practitioners and researchers in the United States and the United Kingdom, who represented the spectrum of science education, embodied learning, interactive exhibit designers and technology specialists. The...

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia’s Broken Bodies, Suffering Spirits: Injury, Death, and Healing in Civil War Philadelphia will transcend the basic facts of war, offering visitors an intimate view of the experiences of real people augmented by anatomical specimens, instruments, manuscripts, images, and printed texts. The exhibit and web-based educational materials will explore two major themes: how the war...

Brokering Youth Pathways was created to share tools and techniques around the youth development practice of “brokering” or connecting youth to future learning opportunities and resources. This toolkit shares ways in which various out-of-school educators and professionals have approached the challenge of brokering. It provides a framework, practice briefs and reports that focus on a particular issue or challenge and provide...

The Bronx Museum of the Arts will hire an evaluator to asses and facilitate the growth of its three signature programs–Bronx Stories, Back in the Bronx and Bronx Lab–to ensure that they continue to celebrate, affirm, and advance the vibrancy of the borough and its multigenerational voices. The museum will assess training, seek community input, and apply new knowledge gained...

The Bronx Youth Urban Forestry Empowerment Program offered an opportunity for a two month, in-depth and field based urban forestry work experience for low income and largely minority teenagers in the Bronx. The goal of this evaluation is to understand participant outcomes as a result of taking part in this program. Evaluation consisted of: supervisor and NRS research technician’s participant...

Today's Brooklyn Navy Yard is a rarity: a 19th-century citadel of the Industrial Revolution reincarnated as a model of clean industrial re-use in the 21st century. A historic national icon, the Yard has long been a mystery to its neighbors. Now, for the first time since 1801, BNYDC is inviting the public in and offering a unique and remarkable venue...

The Science Cartoon (Sci-Toons) initiative, an informal education program, was developed to engage STEM and non-STEM students and faculty in the creation of science animation. Housed within Brown University’s Science Center, Sci-Toons projects incorporate several students and faculty each semester from both STEM and non-STEM majors. Team members are provided with technical training in animation, storytelling, and scientific concepts. The...

This Communicating Research to Public Audiences (CRPA) project is for promoting public understanding of and engagement with STEM by developing and implementing technology and formats for interactive exhibitions at the interface of underwater robotics and marine science. This program envisions the use of BRUCE (Bioinspired Robotic Underwater Carangiform Exhibit) featuring a shoal of ROSAs (Remotely Operated Swimming Avatars) at the...