Insource Your Outreach: Addressing NSF’s Broader Impacts Criterion

NSF instituted revised Merit Review Criteria in January 2013. The Broader Impacts criterion is intended to promote the advancement of scientific knowledge and activities that contribute to the achievement of societally relevant outcomes.

Such outcomes could include:
•   Full participation of women, persons with disabilities, and underrepresented minorities in STEM disciplines;
•   Improved STEM education and educator development at any level;
•   Increased public scientific literacy and public engagement with science and technology;
•   Development of a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce.

The Gelfand STEM Center can connect your NSF proposal with existing pre-college STEM programs on campus consistent with NSF’s Broader Impacts goals. As a member of the National Alliance for Broader Impacts (NABI), the Center receives regular briefings from program officers on NSF broader impacts policies. Introduction to Innovation, the new centerpiece in the university’s coordinated broader impacts effort, is a direct result of input from NSF.

For more information on how the Gelfand STEM Center can help with broader impacts, please contact Jim Bader at jxb14@case.edu or call (216) 368-5289.

 

Support for Faculty and Staff Outreach Initiatives

In addition to supporting the outreach component of proposals to NSF, the Leonard Gelfand STEM Center serves Case Western Reserve University faculty and staff by assisting in the development of outreach projects and proposals to any funder, identifying potential collaborators, and facilitating communication among all the university’s pre-college STEM programs. We are able to connect your work with existing outreach programs or assist in the development of new ideas. Gelfand staff are able to share their expertise on best practices in STEM education and in-depth knowledge of K-12 science, mathematics, and technology standards including the Ohio College and Career Readiness Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards.

Please contact us at gelfand@case.edu or call (216) 368-5075 to start a conversation.

 

Volunteer Opportunities for Faculty and Staff

The Gelfand Center is involved in a large number of programs in which Case Western Reserve University faculty, staff, and students are welcome and encouraged to participate. These include, but are not limited to, the Northeast Ohio Regional Science Olympiad, the Elementary Science Olympiad, the Engineering Challenges Carnival, Introduce a Girl to Science and Engineering Days, TECHie Camps, the Science and Health Academic Enrichment Program, and the Bay STEM Academy among others.

Please contact us at gelfand@case.edu for further information on volunteer opportunities.

 

Program Assessment

Gelfand Center staff have 15 years of on the job training in program evaluation and assessment and can assist faculty and staff in the development and/or deployment of appropriate metrics of program success. We have considerable experience using logic models to align assessments with program goals and frequently use both quantitative and qualitative measures in our own work. In the present climate of accountability and transparency, it is imperative we use best practices to measure program impact.

 

Guidelines for Hosting Minors on Campus

For information on policies regarding hosting minors on campus, please visit the University Compliance Program for appropriate guidance.

For more information, contact us at gelfand@case.edu or (216) 368-5075