Collaborative Research: DESIGN: Co-creation of affinity groups to facilitate diverse & inclusive ornithological societies

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Professional societies serve as major hubs for networking, professional development, financial support, recognition of leadership, and dissemination of science. Diversity-focused initiatives can increase access to the field associated with the society, but they may have limited success in improving the inclusion of marginalized members who lack a sense of community or feel their voices are not heard. One way to instigate cultural change from the ground up is to develop affinity groups where members of historically excluded communities can develop support networks based on common experiences and identities. Such affinity groups can go beyond “one-shot” social events at conferences to build long-lasting communities and connection. This project will develop a mechanism to co-create affinity groups within ornithology that can serve to support members of historically excluded communities, amplify their voices, and empower them to help change the culture of ornithology. This project involves close collaboration between three major US ornithological societies (American Ornithological Society, Wilson Ornithological Society, and Association for Field Ornithologists) to jointly support and elevate marginalized members in ornithology. The ultimate goal is to transform ornithology into an inclusive discipline that leverages the talents of the diverse communities of learners, scientists, and practitioners to solve urgent problems in ecology, conservation, and environmental justice. A recent diversity assessment conducted by the American Ornithological Society revealed that many individuals from historically excluded groups feel a weaker sense of belonging, feel that their voices are not heard, and feel that they are not valued. These components comprise key elements of transformative resilience: a framework for not only increasing the persistence of individuals from marginalized groups, but to create paths for institutional transformation. This project aims to design a process for co-creating affinity groups—i.e., identity-based groups created by and for members from historically excluded communities—that facilitate transformative resilience. The co-creation process engages marginalized members to imagine an ornithological community where they belong and are valued, and then creates affinity groups based on those visions through a series of workshops with emerging leaders of the communities. The project sets up vast potential for implementing activities that broadens support to historically excluded communities, including targeted professional development, leadership development, improved communication, and social support. The project will have four other categories of broader impacts: (1) fostering stakeholder engagement among three ornithological societies, non-profit organizations, governmental agencies, and minority-serving institutions and societies; (2) providing educational and training opportunities in diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) for a postdoctoral scholar and summer Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program undergraduate scholars; (3) disseminating findings of the project beyond academia; and (4) broadening the diversity of scholars who are engaged in DEIJ research.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.