NSF INCLUDES Planning Grant: Idaho STEM Ecosystem

爱达荷州公民进入STEM途径的比率低于美国目前和预计的STEM劳动力需求。机会差距，特别是在一些人口结构中，极大地限制了对STEM途径和职业的参与。需要跨部门的努力来应对这些挑战，并改善历史上任职人数不足和经济上处于不利地位的群体的STEM成果。爱达荷州的STEM生态系统最近就是为了满足这一需求而建立的。它努力通过促进获得STEM教育项目并在其中取得成功来扩大STEM的参与，以培养一支更强大和多样化的STEM劳动力队伍。爱达荷州的STEM生态系统拥有十几个合作组织，汇聚了一大批随时准备推动STEM教育实践以及劳动力发展和培训的系统性变革的利益相关者。这项计划拨款的目标是支持爱达荷州STEM生态系统为爱达荷州STEM教育制定全州范围的战略计划，重点是扩大STEM的参与。它将建立在已建立的共同愿景和伙伴关系的基础上，进一步发展其协作基础设施，以通过区域枢纽支持规模庞大的网络。它还将利用通过与EPSCoR辖区的现有联系收集的资源和专业知识，NSF包括山间STEM设计和开发发射试点。如果成功，这笔规划拨款将为一个具有更广泛影响的大规模网络奠定基础，影响范围超出爱达荷州。在为期一年的项目期间，催化活动将专注于NSF包括协作基础设施设计元素的五个元素中的两个：目标与指标和领导力与沟通。这些活动将主要是进行地区性STEM教育需求评估，并与来自教育、商业、政府和非营利部门的合作伙伴在有需要的领域召开两次工作务虚会。爱达荷州有针对性的任职人数不足和经济上处于不利地位的社区将在这项工作中发挥重要作用，因为他们的参与和投入对于理解和应对日益扩大的参与挑战至关重要。系统性变革将是所有活动和产品的核心，包括：(1)该州三个主要地区的STEM教育需求评估；(2)州STEM教育战略计划，包括目标、目的、结果和衡量标准；(3)爱达荷州STEM生态系统的沟通计划；(4)爱达荷州STEM生态系统的领导计划。这项工作将由一个骨干组织爱达荷州STEM行动中心指导。爱达荷州STEM生态系统将利用在制定州STEM教育计划、州STEM网络、衡量扩大STEM参与程度以及州一级数据收集计划方面的经验和获得的知识，并将与NSF包括国家网络的组织合作，以实现扩大参与的共同目标。作为这笔规划拨款的结果，爱达荷州STEM生态系统预计将有一条明确的道路来实现其愿景，即通过缩小人口差距，增加STEM和经济机会，建立一个公平的、懂STEM的公民，支持强大的劳动力和经济。这笔规划拨款的资金来自NSF在全国工程和科学领域未被充分代表的发现者社区(NSF Includes)的纳入，这是一项综合性的国家倡议，旨在通过关注多样性来加强美国在发现和创新方面的领导地位，纳入并扩大对STEM的参与。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。

Idaho citizens are entering STEM pathways at a rate lower than current and projected STEM workforce needs in this country. Opportunity gaps, especially among some demographics, significantly limit participation in STEM pathways and careers. A cross-sector effort is needed to address these challenges and improve STEM outcomes for historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged groups. The Idaho STEM Ecosystem was recently established to serve this need. It endeavors to broaden participation in STEM by facilitating access to, and success in, STEM educational programs to prepare a more robust and diverse STEM workforce. With over a dozen partnering organizations throughout the state, the Idaho STEM Ecosystem brings together a large contingency of stakeholders poised to advance systemic change in STEM education practices and workforce development and training. The goal of this planning grant is to support the Idaho STEM Ecosystem in developing a statewide strategic plan for STEM education in Idaho focused on broadening participation in STEM. It will build on its established shared vision and partnerships to further develop its collaborative infrastructure to support a scaled network through regional hubs. It will also draw upon resources and expertise gleaned through existing connections with EPSCoR jurisdictions and the NSF INCLUDES Intermountain STEM Design and Development Launch Pilot. If successful, this planning grant will lay the foundation for a large-scale network with broader impacts that extend beyond the state of Idaho.Over the yearlong project duration, the catalytic activities will focus on two of the five NSF INCLUDES design elements of collaborative infrastructure: Goals & Metrics and Leadership & Communication. These activities will primarily be to conduct regional STEM education needs assessments and convene two working retreats in areas of need with partners from the education, business, government, and nonprofit sectors. The targeted underrepresented and economically disadvantaged communities in Idaho will play a salient role in this work, as their participation and input are critical to understanding and addressing the broadening participation challenges. Systemic change will be central to all activities and products including: (1) STEM education needs assessments for the three main regions of the state, (2) a state STEM education strategic plan with goals, objectives, outcomes and metrics, (3) a communication plan for the Idaho STEM Ecosystem, and (4) a leadership plan for the Idaho STEM Ecosystem. This work will be guided by a backbone organization, the Idaho STEM Action Center. The Idaho STEM Ecosystem will leverage the experiences and gained knowledge on developing state STEM education plans, state STEM networks, measuring broadening participation in STEM, and state level data collection plans and will partner with organizations in the NSF INCLUDES National Network to accomplish mutual goals in broadening participation. As a result of this planning grant, the Idaho STEM Ecosystem anticipates having a clear path forward to reach its vision of an equitable, STEM-literate citizenry that supports a strong workforce and economy, by closing demographic gaps and increasing the STEM and economic opportunities.This planning grant is funded by NSF Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES), a comprehensive national initiative to enhance U.S. leadership in discoveries and innovations by focusing on diversity, inclusion and broadening participation in STEM at scale.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.