RCN: LEAPS: Leveraging, Enhancing and Developing Biology (LED-BIO) Scientific Societies Shedding Light on Persistent Cultural Challenges

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Each field in the sciences has historically been represented by its own scientific society, bringing together individual researchers for regular meetings where they can network, share discoveries, and collaborate. While it is rare for multiple distinct scientific societies to interact, they often perform similar functions, such as promoting the professional development of their members and promoting diversity among the next generation of researchers in their respective fields. This project will establish a collaborative network of experts to identify evidence-based inclusion strategies to accomplish the following: (1) collect consistent demographic data of society memberships, (2) better integrate scientists in transitional career stages into scientific society activities, and (3) diversify the ranks of scientific society leaders. By fulfilling these goals, this project aims to overcome persistent challenges that frequently undermine diversity efforts within independent communities of scientists and to broadly share this information for the benefit of all scientific communities.Scientific societies predominantly approach diversity and inclusion efforts by supporting the professional development of individual members who are from historically underrepresented groups in STEM. Unfortunately, data is lacking to evaluate the efficacy of these efforts, and additional approaches are likely to be required to address the systemic inequities underpinning skewed demographics among STEM practitioners. Fortunately, scientific societies that function as communities of practice (CoPs) are uniquely positioned to lead cultural change and promote inclusive environments to foster a diverse STEM workforce. This Research Coordination Network (RCN) project will use virtual town halls and in-person think tanks to expand and strengthen a cross-disciplinary network of CoPs. This network will collaborate to identify evidence-based strategies to address three persistent challenges that scientific societies face as identified by members of the Alliance to Catalyze Change for Equity in STEM Success (ACCESS): (1) lack of data to track scientific society membership demographic composition, (2) lack of integration of scientists in transitional stages of their careers into disciplinary CoPs, and (3) lack of diversity among highly visible thought leaders, including speakers in scientific programs. This RCN is coordinated by ACCESS and its member societies in the life sciences (the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the American Society for Cell Biology, the American Society for Pharmaceutical and Experimental Therapeutics, the Endocrine Society, and the Biophysical Society), the Quality Education for Minorities Network, the Marine Biological Laboratories at Woods Hole, and the NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance. The resulting strategies and standards will be reported and disseminated through open access training materials and publications.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.