Advance & I-Corps Joint Program

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This project will promote the progress of science by realizing the untapped innovation potential of female faculty, postdoctoral and other researchers. It will leverage the combination of the already well developed individual resources of the NSF I-Corps program (including the National Innovation Network), and ADVANCE Centers by building mutual understanding of the respective programs, and identifying and initiating synergistic pilot programs to encourage and enable female researchers to realize the translational potential of their research outcomes for positive and societal and economic benefit. By involving more women in I-Corps through insights developed by ADVANCE, there will be enhanced partnerships between academia and industry and a more diverse American STEM workforce that is globally competitive. Goals and Scope: The project brings together participants in two important NSF programs; the Innovation-Corps (I-Corps) and NSF Advance: Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions. ADVANCE fosters systemic change that promotes equity for STEM faculty in academic settings, no matter what gender, racial or ethnic backgrounds the STEM faculty participants possess. The I-Corps program prepares participants to extend their focus beyond their university footprint and to accelerate the economic and societal benefits of NSF-funded, basic-research projects that are ready to move toward commercialization. For up to 400 female attendees, this project will create personal and specific connections in the form of local teams developed between ADVANCE Centers and I-Corps Sites/Nodes. While learning best practices from the other they will work to identify and design initiatives to remove barriers and increase accessibility to positive entrepreneurial and innovation outcomes for female researchers. Potential contribution: This program will establish and make operational a connection that will enable female STEM participants to extend their focus, ideas and research outcomes beyond their University footprints.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.