EAGER: Inclusive Innovation - Increasing the Participation of women and underrepresented minorities in the NSF I-Corps? Program

2016年，美国信息技术与创新基金会（ITIF）发布了一份名为《美国创新人口统计》的研究报告，发现美国创新者中只有12%是女性，只有8%是美国少数族裔（包括亚洲人、非洲裔美国人、西班牙裔美国人、美洲原住民和其他种族）。随着美国人口结构特征的变化，一个关键问题是，“如果不调动所有公民的才能和能力，美国如何保持竞争力？”为了解决这个问题，这个EAGER提案将进行探索性研究，重点是整合基于研究的策略和最佳实践，以实现NSF I-Corps项目的多样性和包容性，该项目为科学家和工程师将他们的研究从大学转移到商业化的目标做好准备。通过资助本EAGER提案中概述的探索性研究和试点计划，该项目将支持努力确定并将有效的多样性和包容性战略整合到国家I-Corps创新网络中。在第一年，该团队将从各个利益相关者那里收集定性数据，以了解NSF I-Corps项目的当前实践，并将这些实践与最新的关于包容性创新的学术研究和报告进行比较。因此，将撰写一篇研究论文来描述技术创业中包容性创新的最佳实践。在2020年第二季度，这项研究将在利益相关者会议上提出，以便工作组可以利用这些信息制定新的战略，以增加代表性不足的少数民族在国家科学基金会I-Corps计划中的参与。在这次利益相关者会议上，创业组织和促进技术创业多样性的倡导团体以及I-Corps网站和节点之间将建立几项新的伙伴关系。在第二年，研究团队将与两个I-Corps站点合作，测试利益相关者组织开发的包容性创新的初步模型。这一试点倡议将展示和评价实现技术创业/商业化多样化目标的新办法。这项研究的结果有可能提高和改变I-Corps项目在各个层面的参与，并补充美国国家科学基金会的努力，扩大妇女和代表性不足的少数民族在科技创业中的参与，以整体努力增强和保持美国创新经济的全球竞争力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In a 2016 study entitled "The Demographics of Innovation in the United States", the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) found that only 12% of U.S. innovators are women, and only 8% are members of U.S. minority groups (including Asians, African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and other ethnicities). As demographic characteristics of the U.S. population change, a key question is, "How can the U.S. remain competitive without engaging the talents and abilities of all of its citizens?" To address this question, this EAGER proposal will conduct exploratory research focusing on integrating research-based strategies and best practices to achieve diversity and inclusion in the NSF I-Corps program, which prepares scientists and engineers to transition their research out of universities with the goal of commercialization. By funding the exploratory research and pilot initiative outlined in this EAGER proposal, the project will support efforts to identify and integrate effective strategies for diversity and inclusion into the national I-Corps innovation network.In year one, the team will collect qualitative data from various stakeholders to understand the current practices of the NSF I-Corps program and compare these practices to the most current academic research and reports on inclusive innovation. As a result, a research paper will be written to describe best practices for Inclusive Innovation in technology entrepreneurship. During the 2nd quarter of 2020, this research will be presented at a stakeholders meeting such that working groups can leverage the information to develop new strategies for increasing the participation of underrepresented minorities in the NSF I-Corps program. At this stakeholders meeting, several new partnerships will be facilitated between the entrepreneurship organization and advocacy groups that promote diversity in tech entrepreneurship and the I-Corps Site and Nodes. In year 2, the research team will work with two I-Corps Sites to test a preliminary model for inclusive innovation developed by the stakeholder organizations. This pilot initiative will demonstrate and evaluate new approaches to achieving diversity goals in technology entrepreneurship/commercialization. The findings from this research have the potential to enhance and transform the participation in the I-Corps program at all levels, and complement NSF efforts to broaden participation of women and underrepresented minorities in science/technology entrepreneurship towards the overall effort to enhance and maintain the global competitiveness of America's innovation economy.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.