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

在2016年一项名为《美国创新人口统计》的研究中，信息技术与创新基金会（ITIF）发现，只有12%的美国创新者是女性，只有8%是美国少数民族（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）。 随着美国人口的人口特征发生变化，一个关键问题是，“如果没有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，EAGER计划将进行探索性研究，重点是整合基于研究的战略和最佳实践，以实现NSF I-Corps计划的多样性和包容性，该计划使科学家和工程师能够将他们的研究从大学转移到商业化的目标。通过资助EAGER提案中概述的探索性研究和试点倡议，该项目将支持确定有效的多样性和包容性战略并将其纳入国家I-Corps创新网络的努力。该小组将从各个利益相关者那里收集定性数据，以了解NSF I的现行做法，军团计划并将这些做法与最新的包容性创新学术研究和报告进行比较。因此，将编写一份研究论文，介绍技术创业中包容性创新的最佳做法。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NSF I-Corps计划中的参与。在这次利益攸关方会议上，将促进创业组织与倡导技术创业多样性的团体以及I-Corps网站和节点之间的几个新伙伴关系。在第二年，研究小组将与两个I-Corps网站合作，测试由利益相关者组织开发的包容性创新的初步模型。这一试点举措将展示和评价在技术创业/商业化方面实现多样性目标的新办法。这项研究的结果有可能加强和改变各级参与I-Corps计划的情况，并补充国家科学基金会的努力，以扩大妇女和代表性不足的少数民族在科学领域的参与。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得支持的，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。

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.