DESIGN: Creating cultural change in small to medium-sized professional societies: a training network approach

像美国伊拉斯莫布兰奇学会（AES）这样规模和范围的社团通常是学生们经历的第一个专业社团。它们是使成员在科学事业中感到受欢迎、被包容和被重视的重要结构。该项目的目标是为建立一个由中小型社会组成的网络奠定基础，这些社会可以共同努力，在各自的领域内外创造文化变革。项目负责人将首先以AES为重点进行试点，他们将完成对AES指导政策的全面审查，为成员制定和实施培训，并创建培训师培训模式，向AES以外的机构提供这些培训。然后，研究人员将在其他类似的社会中试验这种方法。长期目标是将其扩展为一个相互支持的网络，将该项目中建立的培训和最佳实践扩展到AES之外。这将培养科学领域的人才，并通过持续不断地将不同的学生群体纳入上述劳动力，使科学劳动力多样化。该项目的研究人员将与美国Elasmobranch协会（AES）一起领导文化变革的创造，然后可以扩展到其他社会。具体而言，研究人员将1)通过改变AES的指导文件和政策，为AES和其他学会提供一个更受欢迎和安全的会议；2)通过强化培训和“培训-培训师”模式，看到AES内部促进成员多样性的文化变革；3)提供资源，帮助以可负担的方式在类似的社会中创造变革，通过网络方法完成。研究人员将评估与实施政策变化和可持续培训模式有关的几个假设，并为其他社会试点一个支持网络。据推测，培训的增加和培训的可获得性将导致文化转变，具体表现为：1)批准（通过成员投票）修改，使AES的指导文件具有明显的包容性；2)会议前后气候调查的改进；3)自愿完成培训的会员人数增加；4)新成员；5)成员多样性；6)担任领导职务的成员多样化。这个项目的目标是看到越来越多的社会向该网络寻求援助，并采用通过这个项目制定的最佳做法。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。

Societies of the size and scope of the American Elasmobranch Society (AES) are often the first professional societies that students experience. They are important structures in making members feel welcomed, included, and valued in the scientific enterprise. The goal of this project is to lay the groundwork for creating a network of small to medium-sized societies that can work together to create cultural change in their own fields and beyond. Project leaders will pilot this by first focusing on the AES, where they will complete a thorough review of AES’s guiding policies, create and implement training for members, and create a train-the-trainer model to deliver those trainings beyond AES. The researchers will then pilot this approach with other similar societies. The long-term goal is to expand this into a mutually supportive Network that will extend the training and best practices established in this project beyond AES. This will build talent in scientific fields and diversify the scientific workforce through the persistence of a diverse student population into said workforce. The researchers for this project will lead the creation of culture change with the American Elasmobranch Society (AES), which can then be extended to other societies. Specifically, the researchers will 1) provide a more welcoming and safe meeting for AES and other societies, accomplished through changes to the guiding documents and policies of AES; 2) see culture change within AES that facilitates diversity in membership, accomplished through intensive training and a train-the-trainer model; and 3) provide the resources to help affordably create change in similar societies, accomplished through a Network approach. The researchers will evaluate several hypotheses relating to the implementation of policy changes and a sustainable training model and pilot a support Network for other societies. It is hypothesized that increased training, and the mere availability of training, will lead to a culture shift as indicated by: 1) approval (by vote of members) of changes to make the guiding documents of AES overtly inclusive; 2) improvement in pre- versus post-meeting climate surveys; and increases in the following: 3) numbers of members voluntarily completing training; 4) new members; 5) diversity of members; and 6) diversity of members holding leadership positions. The goal of this project is to see a gradual and steady increase in the number of societies seeking assistance from the Network and adopting the best practices developed through this project.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.