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

新泽西州商业化公平集体(NJECC)将通过重点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、许可和创业创建)中的性别平等问题。在STEM商业化和创业中公平和包容的主要障碍包括系统的文化观念、培训和奖励结构以及学术机构的专利/技术转让活动。承认和纠正这些不平等很重要，这不仅是公平的问题，也是因为创业缺乏多样性会减少新想法的多样性，并损害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之间的牢固伙伴关系。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(新泽西州的非营利性技术服务提供商和成员驱动型财团)、新泽西城市大学、普林斯顿大学、罗文大学、罗格斯州立大学、西顿霍尔大学、史蒂文斯理工学院和圣彼得斯大学合作领导。NJECC项目合作伙伴将共同努力，旨在显著增加参与新泽西州创业和创新生态系统的STEM教员研究人员的多样性。反过来，为新的和多样化的创新者开发创新路径将促进经济增长，并提供对社会重要的新产品和服务。NJECC项目将包括两项主要举措：(1)对看门人(学术技术转让、创业发展和创业办公室)进行培训，了解如何减少阻碍妇女和代表不足的少数群体参与商业化活动的障碍；(2)建立新泽西州全州包容性网络发展方案(展示和会议)。此外，NJECC将把这些计划的活动与NJIT NSF资助的CyberCorps@Scholarship for Service赠款--安全计算倡议--联系起来，以增加网络安全关键领域的多样性和创新。在项目过程中，这些举措将旨在产生可持续的、有目的的战略，以增加学术创新者群体的多样性--这些战略随后可以在全州乃至更远的地方制度化。NJECC将致力于显著减少STEM商业化和创业中的公平和包容性的关键障碍，并将显著增加参与新泽西州创业和创新生态系统的新泽西州STEM教职研究人员的多样性。协作还将通过利用其他参与机构的资源来扩大资源较少机构的现有基础设施和资源。此外，该项目的目的是促进目前正在收集的按性别、种族/族裔和其他身份层面分列的专利和发明披露数据。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/地区会议报告(美国国家科学基金会活动、美国科技大学、UEDA、EdgeCon)和3)相关学术期刊和资源库(技术转移策略，ARC网络)。国家科学基金会高级计划旨在通过重点识别和消除阻碍不同教员在学术机构充分参与和进步的组织障碍来促进性别公平。 组织障碍可能存在于政策、过程、实践、以及组织文化和氛围。 高级合作伙伴奖为 项目提供支持，这些项目扩大基于证据的系统性变化战略 ，以增强地区或国家 教师的性别平等。该奖项反映了国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.