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.
Monday, October 7, 2024
3-4:30 p.m.
Flawn Academic Center (FAC) 334A
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Broadening Participation
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.
Monday, December 9, 2024
10-11 a.m.
Flawn Academic Center (FAC) 334A
Broader Impacts Partnerships
Learn how to identify and define a healthy and productive Broader Impacts partnership with techniques for developing mutually beneficial collaborations. Objectives of this session include:
- Define the characteristics of a healthy and productive partnership.
- Explore techniques for identifying and developing partnerships.
- Learn how to develop mutually beneficial partnerships.
This session will benefit PIs who are interested in developing a roadmap for generating successful and impactful research partnerships in the context of incorporating Broader Impacts objectives into their research plans.
Evaluating Broader Impacts 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.