ADVANCE Partnership: ACCESS+ Initiative to Leverage STEM Professional Societies to Accelerate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Systemic Change in STEM Academic Professions

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After two decades of ADVANCE-funded research on gender-related diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) change strategies, the problem is not so much a lack of evidence-based policies and practices, but rather varied and unsystematic awareness, knowledge, and adoption of these strategies. The goal of the ACCESS+ Initiative is to accelerate the awareness and adoption of policies and practices developed by NSF ADVANCE grantees by coordinating and integrating efforts of STEM professional societies (ProSs). The ACCESS+ Initiative will prepare and support a community of practice of motivated STEM Professional Society (ProS) “boundary spanning” change agents who will act to accelerate the adoption of evidence-based policies and practices. ACCESS+ proposes three strategies: 1) conduct a STEM gender-focused DEI Environmental Scan; 2) organize an annual ACCESS+ convening to prepare multiple cohorts of STEM ProS Boundary Spanners to develop DEI Action Plans, and 3) support accountability and promote Boundary Spanner effort to accelerate adoption of evidence-based Action Plan objectives by establishing a STEM ProS gender-focused DEI Community of Practice (CoP). By preparing and supporting selected cohorts of STEM ProS “Boundary Spanners,” the ACCESS+ Initiative will accelerate collective, national-level change to promote ADVANCE policies and practices. ACCESS+ efforts will inform and complement gender-focused DEI efforts not only within and between STEM ProSs, but also across member academic institutions, and the academic-influencing domains of STEM accrediting bodies, national laboratories, STEM industry, and government.Five partner organizations recognized for their national leadership in STEM DEI will leverage their unique resources and networks in service of the proposed work. The ADVANCE Implementation Mentors (AIM) Network (NSF #0810927) and the Association for Women in Science’s (AWIS’s) ADVANCE Resource and Coordination (ARC) Network (NSF #1740860) bring ADVANCE-specific expertise, and resources. WEPAN brings 40 years of experience in serving women in the engineering domain (NSF EEC #1445076, HRD GSE #1203164, HRD ESE# 0833076, HRD GSE #0648210). The INCLUDES Aspire Alliance (NSF #1834518, 1834522, 1834510, 1834513, 1834526, 1834521) National Change Team connects the proposed work to the Aspire Alliance and broader INCLUDES efforts. The Alliance to Catalyze Change for Equity in STEM Success (ACCESS) Project (NSF# 1744098) provides proof of concept and the foundation for the proposed ACCESS+ Initiative. This project will extend, adapt, and expand upon the original ACCESS Project. As disciplinary “melting pots,” STEM professional societies (ProSs) serve not only academic institutions but also academic-influencing organizations like accrediting agencies, national laboratories, corporations, and government representatives, and thus are uniquely positioned to accelerate adoption of ADVANCE evidence-based strategies. The NSF ADVANCE program is designed to foster gender equity through a focus on the identification and elimination of organizational barriers that impede the full participation and advancement of diverse faculty in academic institutions. Organizational barriers that inhibit equity may exist in policies, processes, practices, and the organizational culture and climate. ADVANCE "Partnership" awards provide support to collaborations among STEM professional societies and academic and non-academic non-profit organizations designed to broaden the implementation of evidence-based equity strategies and have a national or regional reach.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.