The Broader Impacts Network: A national infrastructure model

2010年美国竞争再授权法案（ACRA）要求NSF在其提案审查中包括更广泛的影响标准。 此外，ACRA建议NSF鼓励“机构......作为独立机构或合作机构，开发和提供适当的培训和计划，以协助基金会资助的主要研究人员.实现更广泛影响审查标准的目标。ACRA还要求申请NSF资助的调查人员必须为其更广泛的影响计划提供机构支持，立法包括提供更广泛的影响支持，以起源于家庭机构或“具有相关专业知识的另一个机构或组织”。“为了开始在全国范围内满足这些需要，这个更广泛影响网络项目将把各机构聚集在一个全国性的保护伞下，分享信息、工具和资源，避免工作重复。该项目有两个目标：建立和培育国家更广泛影响网络基础设施，并在地方机构一级加强和发展更广泛影响基础设施。BIN项目的广泛影响支持项目的目标，并与项目的范围直接相关。 BIN项目将通过一个活跃的邮件列表服务器、一份每月通讯和一个更广泛的影响网站，向全国社区成员传播关于最佳做法和有效工具的信息，以扩大影响。 还将为个别调查员编写一份通讯，以及更广泛的影响网站的一个部分。 网站这一部分和通讯的信息将根据调查人员的需要量身定制，如培训信息、供资截止日期以及成功开展更广泛影响活动的实例。 该项目还将支持年度更广泛影响基础设施峰会。 首脑会议有三个目标：将更广泛的影响基础设施专业人员聚集在一起，分享最佳实践，想法和挑战;为更广泛的影响基础设施支持的未来设定路线;并向NSF提供有关在机构和主要研究者层面支持更广泛影响的现实的反馈。 国家科学委员会认识到，最好在机构一级而不是在单个项目一级对更广泛的影响活动进行有意义的评估。 为此，密苏里州大学将试行一个机构工具，用于汇总更广泛的影响评价，该工具有可能在全国实施。 该项目的具体交付成果是一个生物信息网络网站、每月通讯、更广泛的影响社区名录服务器，以及一个试点评价工具，用于汇总可在国家一级实施的机构一级更广泛的影响活动。 更广泛的影响网络，利用现有的资源，避免重复劳动，将帮助研究人员与解决更广泛的影响标准在独特的和创造性的方式。这个奖项是由遗传机制和分子生物物理集群在分子和细胞生物科学司共同资助。

The America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2010 (ACRA) requires NSF to include the broader impacts criterion in its proposal review. Furthermore, ACRA suggested that NSF encourage "institutions...to develop and provide, either as individual institutions or in partnerships thereof, appropriate training and programs to assist Foundation-funded principal investigators...in achieving the goals of the Broader Impacts Review Criterion." ACRA also requires that investigators applying for NSF funding must show institutional support for their broader impacts plan, and the legislation included provision for broader impacts support to originate at the home institution or "another institution or organization with relevant expertise." To begin to meet these needs on a nation-wide scale, this Broader Impacts Network (BIN) Project will bring institutions together under a national umbrella to share information, tools and resources and to avoid duplication of effort. The project has two goals: to create and cultivate a national Broader Impacts Network infrastructure and to strengthen and grow the broader impacts infrastructure at the local institution level. The broader impact of the BIN Project support the aims of the project and are directly related to the scope of the project. The BIN Project will disseminate information on best practices and effective tools for broader impacts to members of the national community through an active listserv, a monthly newsletter, and a broader impacts website. A newsletter, as well as a section of the broader impacts website, will also be created for individual investigators. Information on this section of the website and the newsletter will be tailored to the needs of individual investigators, such as training information, funding deadlines, and examples of successful broader impacts activities. The project will also support the annual Broader Impacts Infrastructure Summit. The Summit has three goals: bring broader impacts infrastructure professionals together to share best practices, ideas, and challenges; set the course for the future of broader impacts infrastructure support; and provide the NSF with feedback regarding the realities of supporting broader impacts at the institutional and principal investigator levels. The National Science Board has recognized that meaningful assessment of broader impacts activities may best be achieved at the institutional level instead of at the individual project level. To that end, the University of Missouri will pilot an institutional tool for aggregating broader impacts evaluation that has potential for national implementation. The specific deliverables of this project are a BIN website, monthly newsletter, broader impacts community listserv, and a pilot evaluation tool for aggregating broader impacts activities at the institution level that can be implemented nationally. Broader Impacts Networks that leverage existing resources and avoid duplication of effort will help researchers with addressing the broader impacts criterion in unique and creative ways.This award is co-funded by the Genetic Mechanisms and Molecular Biophysics Clusters in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences.