Novel Pathways to CS Research Careers: Broadening Target Populations and Scaling Outreach Programs

计算机研究协会（CRA）代表其计算机研究中的妇女地位小组委员会（CRA-W）提出了一个项目，通过鼓励计算中代表性不足的群体（URG）的成员获得计算机和工程方面的高级学位，以在学术界、工业界或国家实验室从事研究事业，来增加和维持对计算机科学（CS）研究的参与。该项目建立在CRA-W以前的成功基础上，通过重塑和扩大现有的项目，包括自行完成的项目和与他人合作完成的项目。拟议的工作将扩大CRA-W的工作在三个方面：1。更广泛的多样性和改进的交叉性支架。许多CRA-W方案已经扩大范围，超出了最初对妇女的关注，将少数民族和残疾人包括在内。通过这一提议，CRA-W承诺进一步扩大其计划组合，与专注于支持弱势少数群体和残疾人的组织合作，并包括退伍军人和LGBTQ人等其他多样性人口统计数据。为了支持这些更多样化的选区，CRA-W将调整其指导计划，以直接解决交叉性问题。支持多种和独特的途径进入研究生涯。近年来，职业道路的概念已经不足以描述计算专业人员在职业生涯中所走过的许多丰富而独特的道路。通过这一努力，CRA-W计划调整其辅导计划，以支持从其他学科进入和重新进入CS，并支持行业发展或初创企业与研究生院或大学之间的转移。大规模实施。改善多样性的一个根本挑战在于找到足够的人力和技术基础设施，以支持大规模的努力，无论是在项目运作方面，还是在严格的项目评估方面。CRA-W将致力于将其在指导方面的专业知识扩大到规模，确定对成功至关重要的特征，以便其最成功的项目可以在整个计算研究界被采用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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来支持。

The Computing Research Association (CRA, on behalf of its Subcommittee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W), proposes a project to increase and sustain participation in computer science (CS) research by encouraging members of the underrepresented groups in computing (URGs) to earn advanced degrees in computing and engineering in order to pursue research careers in academia, industry or national laboratories. The project builds on CRA-W's previous successes by reshaping and expanding existing programs, both those done on its own and those done in partnerships with others. The proposed work will expand CRA-W's work in three ways:1. Broader Diversity and Improved Scaffolding for Intersectionality. Many CRA-W programs have already broadened beyond their original focus on women to include minorities and persons with disabilities. With this proposal, CRA-W commits to broadening its program portfolio further to partner with orgranizations focused on support for underpresented minorities and persons with disabilities, and to include other diversity demographics such as veterans and LGBTQ people. To support these more diverse constituencies, CRA-W will adapt its mentoring programs to directly address intersectionality concerns.2. Support for Multiple and Unique Pathways into a Research Career. In recent years, the notion of career pathway has become insufficient for describing the many rich and unique pathways by which computing professionals navigate their careers. With this effort, CRA-W plans to adapt its mentoring programs to support entry and re-entry to CS from other disciplines and to support moves between industry development or start-ups and graduate school or academia.3. Implementation at Scale. A fundamental challenge in improving diversity lies in finding enough human and technical infrastructure to support the efforts at scale, in terms of both program operation and in terms rigorous program evaluation. CRA-W will work to bring its expertise in mentoring to scale, identifying features that are critical to success so that its most successful programs can be adopted throughout the computing research community.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.