NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
INNOVATION THROUGH
INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRATION
Strengthening the Professoriate through Broader Impacts Infrastructure
Iowa State’s Broader Impacts Resource • www.spisu.iastate.edu
SP@ISU
Sustainability of SP@ISU through New Grants Hub
Top Down
Provost
Department
• Policy Changes
• Faculty Satisfaction Survey
• Search Strategy Resources
• Resources and Practices
• Aggregated Assessment
• Inclusion into Faculty Work
VP for
Research
Equity Advisors/Associate Deans of Research
College
University
The SP@ISU office is positioned in the Office of the
Vice President for Research with support from the
Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost.
College level leadership is represented on the
Advisory Council which is comprised of the associate
deans of research from the five STEM colleges
as well as faculty and staff who have valuable
experience and perspectives to advise the project.
This internal campus-wide network uses bottom up
and top down approach to develop a commitment
to broader impacts. This approach is modeled after
the work of the ISU ADVANCE program.
• College-level Coordination
• Informational Training and Activities
• Department Chair Workshops
ADVANCE • Collaborative Transformations
Reports
Professors •• Department
Actions to Transform Culture
• On-Campus Workshops
• Actions to Transform Culture
• Broader Impact Expertise
Faculty
Leaders
Faculty
Connections
• Workshops—Opportunities to learn more about broader impacts and
resources on campus that have expertise in these areas.
• Catalog of Programs—A comprehensive listing of programs on campus
that work in areas of broader impacts and information on how faculty can
effectively partner with them.
• Broader Impacts Information—Informational links and recent literature
that supports aspects of broader impacts.
• Consulting—Assistance in exploring areas of broader impacts of interest to
faculty and in identifying opportunities.
College
Broader Impacts Infrastructure
Resources for Researchers
University
Iowa State Structure
Strengthening the Professoriate
SP@ISU provides and coordinates opportunities and resources to assist
faculty as they develop broader impacts plans and integrate broader impacts
activities into their research programs. Postdoctoral research associates and
advanced graduate students also participate as they prepare their professional
credentials for the professoriate. SP@ISU fosters collaboration and integration
across projects and programs, and it is advancing the conversation on faculty
rewards and recognition for broader impacts work. The results of these efforts
will include more competitive NSF proposals, a new generation of faculty who
integrate broader impacts work with their research, and increased participation
of those traditionally underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM)—all outcomes that will strengthen the professoriate.
Bottom Up
Faculty Development and Resources
NSF-funded Campus Programs
Faculty development is an
emphasis of SP@ISU. Workshops,
webinars, and event cosponsorship help advance the
knowledge, skills and abilities of
faculty. Brochures, newsletters,
and the website provide
information about available
resources, programs and expertise.
Campus programs and other
potential broader impacts
partners come together to
consult with each other and to
discuss options for collaboration
with faculty at various
SP@ISU events.
SP@ISU provides networking
opportunities for NSF-funded
programs via workshops, a
newsletter, and through planned
activities and events to increase
awareness and the potential
for collaboration among STEM
programs. SP@ISU has also
created an on-line searchable
database of ISU programs to
allow faster and easier ways
for faculty to find programs on
campus to partner with for their
broader impacts plans.
Sarah Nusser, PI
Bonnie Bowen, Co-PI
Sharron Quisenberry, Co-PI
Diane Rover, Co-PI
Mack Shelley, Co-PI
Megan Heitmann, Assistant Director
Lian Niu, Internal Evaluator
Mariko Chang, External Evaluator
National Network
Institutional integration and infrastructure for broader
impacts has emerged as a national issue relevant to educators,
researchers, and university administrators across the country.
SP@ISU team members were part of an NSF award that led
to the creation of the National Alliance for Broader Impacts
(NABI). The goal of NABI is to create a community of practice
that fosters the development of sustainable and scalable
institutional capacity and engagement in broader impacts
activity.
NSF EAGER: STEM Faculty Engagement,
Institutional Environment and Transformative
Research (STEM-FIT) Project
SP@ISU team members joined with researchers in the College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering
are studying factors affecting the engagement of STEM faculty
and the contributions of their work. The STEM-FIT project
will accomplish two main interwoven activities. The research
group will design and conduct a study to find out what
will help make faculty happier, as well as more productive,
competent, autonomous, and related to the institution. They
will also convene a workshop to discuss recent work by other
scholars, share best practices, and develop recommendations
for action by institutions of higher education to foster faculty
success.
SP@ISU worked with a linguistics
researcher to develop resources for
faculty to assist in writing broader
impacts statements for NSF proposals.
BI sections in NSF proposals were
analyzed and a workshop was held to
present findings from the research.
SP@ISU Team Members
A newly created Grants Hub provides faculty and staff across all
colleges and disciplines with a broad range of services and training
related to research development and administration. The Hub is
designed to support various aspects of planning and submitting
proposals, including developing the next generation of faculty who
will be expected to lead interdisciplinary research efforts. Services
include:
• Training programs to develop researchers’ knowledge.
• Help Desk to serve as the point-of-contact for proposal writing
and project management related resources.
• Central repository of resources on a range of topics including
broader impacts, outreach, data management planning,
program evaluation, and assessment.
• Databases on institutional information required by certain
proposals.
STEM College Equity Advisors
Mary Damhorst
Susan J. Lamont
Lisa Larson
Catherine M. Logue
Sriram Sundararajan
Faculty Leaders
2013 - 2015
Fredric Janzen
Alex Travesset
2011 - 2013
Holly Bender
Jean Goodwin
Michael Kessler
Grant No. HRD-0963584, July 2010 - 2016
This material is based upon work supported by the National
Science Foundation under Grant No. HRD-0963584. Any opinions,
findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this
material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
the views of the National Science Foundation.
April 2015