NSF INCLUDES Planning Grant: Idaho STEM Ecosystem

Idaho, State Of, Boise ID

Investigators

Abstract

Idaho citizens are entering STEM pathways at a rate lower than current and projected STEM workforce needs in this country. Opportunity gaps, especially among some demographics, significantly limit participation in STEM pathways and careers. A cross-sector effort is needed to address these challenges and improve STEM outcomes for historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged groups. The Idaho STEM Ecosystem was recently established to serve this need. It endeavors to broaden participation in STEM by facilitating access to, and success in, STEM educational programs to prepare a more robust and diverse STEM workforce. With over a dozen partnering organizations throughout the state, the Idaho STEM Ecosystem brings together a large contingency of stakeholders poised to advance systemic change in STEM education practices and workforce development and training. The goal of this planning grant is to support the Idaho STEM Ecosystem in developing a statewide strategic plan for STEM education in Idaho focused on broadening participation in STEM. It will build on its established shared vision and partnerships to further develop its collaborative infrastructure to support a scaled network through regional hubs. It will also draw upon resources and expertise gleaned through existing connections with EPSCoR jurisdictions and the NSF INCLUDES Intermountain STEM Design and Development Launch Pilot. If successful, this planning grant will lay the foundation for a large-scale network with broader impacts that extend beyond the state of Idaho. Over the yearlong project duration, the catalytic activities will focus on two of the five NSF INCLUDES design elements of collaborative infrastructure: Goals & Metrics and Leadership & Communication. These activities will primarily be to conduct regional STEM education needs assessments and convene two working retreats in areas of need with partners from the education, business, government, and nonprofit sectors. The targeted underrepresented and economically disadvantaged communities in Idaho will play a salient role in this work, as their participation and input are critical to understanding and addressing the broadening participation challenges. Systemic change will be central to all activities and products including: (1) STEM education needs assessments for the three main regions of the state, (2) a state STEM education strategic plan with goals, objectives, outcomes and metrics, (3) a communication plan for the Idaho STEM Ecosystem, and (4) a leadership plan for the Idaho STEM Ecosystem. This work will be guided by a backbone organization, the Idaho STEM Action Center. The Idaho STEM Ecosystem will leverage the experiences and gained knowledge on developing state STEM education plans, state STEM networks, measuring broadening participation in STEM, and state level data collection plans and will partner with organizations in the NSF INCLUDES National Network to accomplish mutual goals in broadening participation. As a result of this planning grant, the Idaho STEM Ecosystem anticipates having a clear path forward to reach its vision of an equitable, STEM-literate citizenry that supports a strong workforce and economy, by closing demographic gaps and increasing the STEM and economic opportunities. This planning grant is funded by NSF Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES), a comprehensive national initiative to enhance U.S. leadership in discoveries and innovations by focusing on diversity, inclusion and broadening participation in STEM at scale. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.