Collaborative: Implementation Grant: Navigating Home

“回家导航”计划将为来自美国三个领土中心之一（关岛、波多黎各和美属维尔京群岛）的黑人、西班牙裔、太平洋岛民或其他在地球科学领域未被充分代表的群体的近期岛内外毕业生提供支持，为他们提供新的海洋和环境科学工作机会。“返航家园”旨在促进建立一个包容性的海洋和环境科学研究界，以反映这些岛屿的多样性。“回家航行”的目标是：(1)带回、培训和留住拥有海洋和环境科学学士或硕士学位，并有兴趣成为本国劳动力的岛民；(2)通过共同决策和共同设计，加强岛屿大学与当地合作伙伴的伙伴关系；(3)提供与公众参与科学和社区参与有关的跨学科培训；(4)通过这些创新战略和伙伴关系转变地球科学文化，这些战略和伙伴关系将成为其所在岛屿社区内外的典范。在五年的时间里，该项目将为来自大学和社区合作组织的68名研究员和68名专业人员提供跨学科地球科学丰富机会。该项目将受益于NSF INCLUDES海洋岛屿联盟、NSF EPSCoR投资的早期成功，以及将NSF资助的STEMAP计划整合到基于岛屿的社区参与中。它将通过支持历史上被边缘化和代表性不足的群体（也来自岛屿地区）的个人，扩大STEM的参与，并增加地方和国家STEM劳动力的多样性，从而在解决问题方面产生更大的创造力和创新。“导航家园”将改变当地的地球科学学习生态系统，并作为改变地球科学文化、稳定STEM职业道路和对抗影响许多农村社区，特别是美国领土的“人才流失”的示范项目。项目成果将通过全国会议和学术出版物与当地社区广泛分享。“回家导航”将培育可持续和长期的STEM学习和研究生态系统，以学习生态系统作为辫状河的理念为基础，促进“包容、反应迅速和现代的职业发展”（Bachelor et al., 2021）。该项目将利用国家科学基金会包括海洋岛屿联盟，通过大学和当地伙伴组织之间的伙伴关系，促进岛屿上的劳动力机会。机构间的合作伙伴关系可能有助于减轻传统的障碍和培训的隔阂，同时也解决了本科和研究生阶段之间的课程失调，特别是对于那些可能无法获得研究生课程和教师的少数民族服务机构的学生（Allen-Ramdial & Campbell 2014）。中介是任何学习生态系统的重要组成部分（Ching, Santo, Hoadley, & Peppler, 2016; Akiva, Kehoe, & Schunn, 2017; Penuel, Clark & Bevan, 2016； Allen等人，2019），这将是Hub团队（美属维尔京群岛、波多黎各、关岛）开展工作的一个关键特征，因为他们合作开始改变这些岛屿社区的地球科学工作人员文化，以反映这些岛屿社区的多样性。将提供心理健康急救方面的跨学科培训（John and Kahn, 2018），并加强研究员、教师和合作伙伴的影响力认同（Risien & Storksdieck, 2018），以及他们深入有效地与当地社区接触的能力。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。

Navigating Home will support recent on- and off-island graduates who identify as Black, Hispanic, Pacific Islanders or other underrepresented groups in the geosciences and who originally hail from one of three U.S. territory Hubs (Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) by placing them in new, marine and environmental science job opportunities. Navigating Home is designed to contribute to the creation of an inclusive marine and environmental science research community that reflects the diversity of these islands. The goals of Navigating Home are to: (1) bring back, train, and retain islanders who have Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees in the marine and environmental sciences, and who are interested in being part of their home island’s workforce; (2) strengthen partnerships between island-based universities and their local partners through joint decision-making and co-design; (3) provide transdisciplinary training related to public engagement with science and community engagement; and (4) transform geoscience culture through these innovative strategies and partnerships, that will serve as model examples within and beyond the island communities in which they are based. Over five years, the project will support 68 Fellows and 68 professionals from university and community partnering organizations in transdisciplinary geoscience enrichment opportunities. This project will benefit from the early successes of the NSF INCLUDES SEAS Islands Alliance, NSF EPSCoR investments, and integrating the NSF-funded STEMAP program into island-based community engagement. It will broaden participation in STEM by supporting individuals from historically marginalized and underrepresented groups who are also from the island regions and increase diversity in local and national STEM workforces, resulting in greater creativity and innovation in problem solving. Navigating Home will transform local geoscience learning ecosystems and serve as a model program in transforming geoscience culture, stabilizing STEM career pathways, and combating “brain drain” that affects many rural communities and especially, U.S. territories. Project results will be shared broadly with local communities, and through national conferences and academic publications.Navigating Home will nurture sustainable and long-term STEM learning and research ecosystems that build on the idea of learning ecosystems as a braided river, to foster “inclusive, responsive, and modern career development” (Bachelor et al., 2021). The project will leverage the NSF INCLUDES SEAS Islands Alliance to foster workforce opportunities in the islands through partnerships between universities and local partner organizations. Inter-institutional partnerships may help mitigate traditional barriers and training silos while also addressing curricular misalignment between the undergraduate and graduate stages, especially for those students at Minority Serving Institutions that may lack access to graduate programs and faculty (Allen-Ramdial & Campbell 2014). Brokering is an important part of any learning ecosystem (Ching, Santo, Hoadley, & Peppler, 2016; Akiva, Kehoe, & Schunn, 2017; Penuel, Clark & Bevan, 2016; Allen et al., 2019), and will be a key feature of the work conducted by Hub teams (U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam) as they collaborate to begin to transform the culture of geoscience workforce in these island communities to reflect the diversity of these island communities. Transdisciplinary training will be provided in mental health first aid (John and Kahn, 2018), and to strengthen the impact identities of fellows, faculty and partners (Risien & Storksdieck, 2018) and their ability to engage with local communities deeply and effectively.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.