ADVANCE Partnership: New Jersey Equity in Commercialization Collective (NJECC)

新泽西商业化集体公平（NJECC）将通过专注于消除系统性的制度和创业生态系统障碍，解决学术技术商业化（专利，许可和创业）中的性别平等问题。在STEM商业化和创业中实现公平和包容的主要障碍包括系统性的文化观念、培训和奖励结构以及学术机构的专利/技术转让活动。重要的是要认识到并纠正这些不平等，这不仅是公平问题，而且因为缺乏多样性的企业家精神减少了新思想的多样性，损害了美国的技术创新和经济竞争力。为了实现这一领域的系统性变革，该项目将利用新泽西州各组织的强大伙伴关系。NJECC将由新泽西理工学院与新泽西州科学、创新和技术委员会、NJEdge（新泽西州的非营利技术服务提供商和成员驱动的财团）、泽西城大学、普林斯顿大学、罗文大学、罗格斯大学、新泽西州立大学、西顿霍尔大学、史蒂文斯理工学院和圣彼得大学合作领导。通过共同努力，NJECC项目合作伙伴将致力于显著增加参与新泽西创业和创新生态系统的STEM教师研究人员的多样性。反过来，为新的和多样化的创新者开发创新途径将促进经济增长和对社会重要的新产品和服务的可用性。NJECC项目将包括两项主要举措：（1）对看门人（学术技术转让，风险开发和创业办公室）进行培训，以减少阻碍妇女和代表性不足的少数民族参与商业化活动的障碍，以及（2）建立新泽西州全州包容性网络发展计划（展示和会议）。此外，NJECC将把这些计划中的活动与NJIT NSF资助的CyberCorps @ Scholarship for Service赠款（安全计算计划）联系起来，以增加网络安全关键领域的多样性和创新。在该项目的过程中，这些举措将旨在产生可持续的，有意的战略，以增加学术创新人才池的多样性，然后可以在全州及其他地区制度化的战略。NJECC将致力于显著减少STEM商业化和创业中公平和包容的关键障碍，并将显著增加参与新泽西创业和创新生态系统的NJ STEM教师研究人员的多样性。合作还将通过利用其他参与机构的资源，扩大资源较少机构的现有基础设施和资源。此外，该项目还将鼓励不断收集专利申请和发明披露数据，并按性别、种族/民族和其他身份维度分列。NJECC团队将使用各种渠道传播项目结果和系统性变革战略，包括但不限于1）印刷，数字和社交媒体; 2）国家/区域会议介绍（NSF事件，AUTM，上田，EdgeCon）和3）相关学术期刊和资源库（技术转让策略，ARC网络）国家科学基金会的“促进”方案旨在通过重点查明和消除阻碍不同群体充分参与和发展的组织障碍，促进两性平等。阻碍公平的组织障碍可能存在于政策、流程、实践以及组织文化和氛围。ADVANCE“合作伙伴”奖为规模-该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用的支持基金会的学术价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

The New Jersey Equity in Commercialization Collective (NJECC) will address gender equity issues in academic technology commercialization (patenting, licensing, and startup creation) by focusing on the elimination of systemic institutional and entrepreneurial eco-system barriers. Key barriers to equity and inclusion in STEM commercialization and entrepreneurship include systemic cultural perceptions, training and reward structures, and patenting/ technology transfer activities at academic institutions. It is important to recognize and redress these inequities, not only as a matter of fairness but also because the lack of diversity in entrepreneurship diminishes the diversity of new ideas and hurts US technological innovation and economic competitiveness. To achieve systemic change in this area, the project will leverage a robust partnership of organizations across the state of New Jersey. The NJECC will be led by New Jersey Institute of Technology in collaboration with the NJ Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology; NJEdge (NJ’s non-profit technology services provider and member-driven consortium); New Jersey City University; Princeton University; Rowan University; Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; Seton Hall University; Stevens Institute of Technology; and St. Peters University. Working together, the NJECC project partners will aim to significantly increase the diversity of STEM faculty researchers who participate in New Jersey’s entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem. In turn, developing innovation pathways for new and diverse innovators will foster economic growth and the availability of new products and services that are important to society. The NJECC project will include two main initiatives: (1) training for Gatekeepers (academic Tech Transfer, Venture Development and Entrepreneurial offices) on methods to reduce barriers that hinder the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in commercialization activities and (2) the establishment of NJ statewide inclusive network development programs (showcases and conferences). In addition, NJECC will link these planned activities with the NJIT NSF-funded CyberCorps @ Scholarship for Service grant, the Secure Computing Initiative, to increase diversity and innovation in the crucial area of cybersecurity. Over the course of the project, these initiatives will aim to generate sustainable, intentional strategies for increasing the diversity of the academic innovator pool—strategies that then can be institutionalized across the state and beyond. The NJECC will aim to significantly reduce key barriers to equity and inclusion in STEM commercialization and entrepreneurship and will significantly increase the diversity of NJ STEM faculty researchers who participate in New Jersey’s entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem. The collaboration will also extend the existing infrastructures and resources of the less-resourced institutions through access to the resources of the other participating institutions. In addition, this project will aim to stimulate the ongoing collection of patenting and invention disclosure data, disaggregated by gender, race/ethnicity, and other identity dimensions. The NJECC team will use a variety of channels to disseminate project findings and strategies for systemic change, including but not limited to 1) print, digital, and social media; 2) national/regional conference presentations (NSF events, AUTM, UEDA, EdgeCon) and 3) relevant academic journals and resource libraries (TechTransfer Tactics, ARC Network).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 for projects that scale-up evidence based systemic change strategies to enhance gender equity for STEM faculty regionally or nationally.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.