Bridging the STEM Entrepreneurial Gap for Under-Represented Minority Women By Using the NSF I-Corps' Program Methodology

朱利安C。麦迪逊大厦，有限责任公司（JCMB）项目包括STEM创业卓越计划（STEEP）的研究，评估和报告-一个试点计划，以提高文化和上下文相关性的一个行之有效的STEM创业支持计划使用NSF I-Corps™框架作为模型程序方法。 为了服务于促进科学进步的国家利益，该项目针对有兴趣推进STEM教育和企业所有权经验的代表性不足的少数民族（URM）妇女。 通过增加STEM相关职业选择的多样性，该项目为美国人口中的边缘化群体提供了广泛的社会福利和教育进步。STEEP培训计划的目标是扩大对创业感兴趣的URM女性参与NSF I-Corps™计划的范围。该项目的范围侧重于评估准备活动，这些活动共同利用STEEP的创业规划和NSF计划方法，以获得最大的效率。项目团队跟踪STEEP参与者与企业合作伙伴的互动，以利用指导机会。利用培训前、培训中和培训后的调查和访谈，在项目时间轴上收集数据，以分析其预期结果。 该方法作为一个坚实的研究模型，为长期可持续性的STEM为重点的创业，以及NSF I-Corps™计划参与URM妇女。该项目将创建一个更广泛的访问社区在这个创新的研究领域，通过捕捉关键数据具有创业精神的城市资源管理妇女参与者面临的障碍（例如，真实的或感觉到的障碍）;通过学术，专业发展和导师网络参与国家和国际社会;并在参与的学术机构中建立新的和/或改进的跨学科课程。 该项目可在NSF创新网络（NIN）中扩展和转移，其中节点，中心，团队和高等教育（IHE）的参与机构可以实施预期的研究结果，以提高URM妇女在鼓励创新和创新的STEM计划中的多样性和参与度。JCMB维护调查数据和访谈的内部存储库，然后为保护机密性（答复者提供的履历资料）作了概述。 摘要项目调查和个人访谈结果在任何出版物（即科学或管理期刊）之前被分配了名称。 一旦收集和分析完毕，协监委将以汇总形式提供所有数据，以确保保持答卷人的身份。 个人身份数据在项目期间和研究完成后三年内受到访问控制;然后销毁。 JCMB旨在向关注STEM创业缺乏多样性的广大受众分发经过净化/总结的结果。该奖项反映了NSF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。

The Julian C. Madison Building, LLC (JCMB) project includes the research, evaluation, and reporting of the STEM Entrepreneurial Excellence Program (STEEP) – a pilot initiative to enhance cultural and contextual relevancy for a proven STEM entrepreneurship support program using the NSF I-Corps™ framework as the model program methodology. In service to national interests promoting the progress of science, this project targets under-represented minority (URM) women interested in advancing their STEM education and experience for business ownership. By increasing diversity in STEM-related career options, this project provides broad societal benefits and advances in education for marginalized sectors of the US population.The STEEP Training Initiative goal is to broaden participation in the NSF I-Corps™ program for URM women interested in entrepreneurship. This project’s scope focuses on evaluating readiness activities that collectively utilize STEEP’s entrepreneurial planning and NSF program methodology for maximum efficacy. The project team tracks STEEP participants’ engagement with corporate partners to leverage mentoring opportunities. Utilizing pre-, interim, and post-training surveys and interviews, data is collected across the project timeline to analyze its intended results. The approach serves as a solid research model for long-term sustainability for STEM-focused entrepreneurship, as well as NSF I-Corps™ program participation for URM women.This project will create a broader-access community in this innovative research area by capturing critical data (e.g. obstacles – real or perceived) on URM women participants with entrepreneurial spirits; engaging the national and international community through academic, professional development and mentorship networks; and establishing new and/or improved interdisciplinary programs among the participating academic institutions. This project is scalable and transferable across the NSF Innovation Network (NIN) where Nodes, Hubs, Teams, and participating institutions of higher education (IHE) can implement the expected research findings to improve diversity and participation for URM women across STEM programs that encourage innovation and entrepreneurism.JCMB maintains an internal repository of survey data and interviews that is processed, then summarized to protect confidentiality (biographical information from the respondents). Summarized project survey and individual interview results are assigned pseudonyms prior to any publication (i.e. scientific or managerial journals). Once collected and analyzed, JCMB will present all data in aggregate form ensuring that the identity of respondents is maintained. Personally-identifiable data is access-controlled during the project and for three years after the study is complete; then destroyed. JCMB intends to distribute sanitized/summarized results to a broad audience concerned with the lack of diversity in STEM entrepreneurship.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.