Deepening Your Understanding of Broader Impacts
The National Science Foundation employs two criteria in the merit review of proposals: the Intellectual Merit and the Broader Impacts of the proposed activity. While most researchers know what is meant by Intellectual Merit, experience shows that many are less clear about the meaning of Broader Impacts. [NSF Dear Colleague Letter]
This workshop will go beyond the fundamentals of NSF’s Broader Impacts (BI) criterion, to explore why BI matters and how BI fits into your proposal. This session will benefit PIs who are starting to develop their NSF Broader Impacts plans or who are exploring research impact in their careers.
Developing Your Research Impact Identity
Whether consciously or not, every researcher is continuously defining and refining their research impact identity. A research impact identity is the unique footprint or legacy generated by a researcher's cumulative work, across academic and public arenas.
In this session, we will explore how to think critically about your research identity and the broader impacts you seek to make in society, not only for your next project but throughout your career.
This session will benefit new or seasoned PIs who want to articulate their research impact identities for the NSF Broader Impacts criterion, or for other funders with similar requirements.
Broadening Participation for Research Impact
What does Broadening Participation mean? Integrating research, teaching, and outreach to engage a broad range of communities in academic work is essential to expanding one’s research impact. It’s also a fundamental piece of research proposal development. For example, as part of its Broader Impacts criterion, the National Science Foundation is committed to expanding STEM learning opportunities to diverse groups, institutions, and geographic regions. Learn what it means to broaden participation, why it matters, and how to get started. This session will benefit PIs who are starting to develop their NSF Broader Impacts plans or who are exploring research impact in their careers.
Research Impact Partnerships and Resource Fair
If you are working on a research impact plan, such as NSF broader impacts, and are seeking new resources and partners, join us for a panel discussion and tabling fair. We will begin with a panel of UT staff experts who will share their tips for collaborating effectively with external partners. We will then hold a tabling fair featuring the on-campus units who can support plan development, or who can connect you to undergraduate students, K-12 systems, local communities, and industry partners to maximize your research impact.
Evaluating Research Impact Activity
You’ve now addressed your project’s Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts criteria. How will you prove to the funding agency that your plan will work? That your research will, indeed, meet Broader Impacts objectives? This session will guide you through some techniques to develop an effective project evaluation plan with a step-by-step approach (logic model) that helps you meet your proposal’s project evaluation requirements.
This session will benefit PIs who are developing their NSF Broader Impacts plans or who want to develop best practices on assessing impact in their research for their own benefit or to satisfy the societal impact requirements of their funders.