RCN: LEAPS Realizing Inclusion in Societies for Environmental Biology (RISE)

传统上，专业科学协会为改善STEM领域的多样性、公平性和包容性（DEI）所做的努力主要集中在招募来自代表性不足群体的个人的项目上。虽然这些项目取得了一些成功，但环境生物学学会的人口结构和文化在很大程度上保持不变。因此，本规划提案中的社团将侧重于领导力，研究社团内部的权力结构，并探索创造包容性环境的最佳实践。社会领导人将接受培训和工具，帮助他们识别和消除社会中的结构性障碍，以创造文化变革。通过这一合作提案，每个协会都将从过去和现在的努力中吸取教训，围绕改变社会文化的最佳实践建立共同的理解和知识交流。该项目旨在通过培养社会领导人识别和消除社会结构性障碍的能力，在专业学会中培养包容的环境。该项目的参与者包括三个环境生物学学会（美国生态学会、淡水科学学会、野生动物学会）和三个致力于扩大代表性不足群体参与STEM的学会（美国印第安人高等教育联合会；农业、自然资源和相关科学少数民族学会；促进奇卡诺人/西班牙裔和美洲原住民科学学会）。这些协会的领导人将参加旨在加强合作关系的活动，同时培养他们识别和消除阻碍加入专业协会的结构性障碍的能力，包括：(1)领导力峰会——定期召开会议，以建立关系和信任，讨论成功和挑战，并参与培训，确定现有项目之间的协同作用；(2)合作伙伴会议的沉浸式体验——社会领袖将积极参与旨在扩大参与的会议，以加强社会伙伴关系，同时提高领导者的文化能力；(3)美国科学促进会海洋变化stem专业协会DEI自我评估——这些协会将利用这一工具来确定对纳入其项目造成障碍的政策和程序，并共同努力制定解决方案。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

Professional scientific society efforts to improve diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in STEM have traditionally focused on programs for recruitment of individuals from underrepresented groups. While these programs have achieved some success, the demographics and culture of Environmental Biology societies remain largely unchanged. Therefore, the societies on this planning proposal will focus on leadership, examining the power structures within societies and exploring best practices to create inclusive environments. Society leaders will receive training and tools to help them identify and remove structural barriers in their societies to create cultural change. Through this collaborative proposal, each of the societies will bring insight from their past and current efforts, building towards a shared understanding and intellectual exchange around best practices for changing the culture of societies.This project aims to cultivate an inclusive environment in professional societies by building capacity of leaders of societies to identify and to dismantle structural barriers in societies. Participants in this project include three Environmental Biology societies (Ecological Society of America, Society for Freshwater Sciences, The Wildlife Society) and three societies dedicated to broadening participation of underrepresented groups in STEM (American Indian Higher Education Consortium; Society for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences; and the Society for Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science). Leaders from these societies will participate in activities designed to strengthen collaborative relationships while building their capacity to identify and remove structural barriers to inclusion in professional societies, including: (1) Leadership Summits – regular convenings to build relationships and trust, to discuss successes and challenges, and to participate in training and identify synergies between existing programs, (2) Immersive Experiences at Partner Conferences –society leaders will actively contribute to conferences focused on broadening participation to strengthen society partnerships while boosting cultural competency of leaders, and (3) AAAS SEA Change STEMM Professional Societies DEI Self-Assessment – the societies will utilize this tool to identify policies and procedures that create barriers to inclusion in their programs and work together to develop solutions.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.