ADVANCE Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and

Engineering Careers

A Cross-Foundation Program at the National Science Foundation

Institutional Transformation pre-proposal webinar June 17, 2015Jessie DeAro, Program Officer ADVANCE

Departure from prior programs with goals related to increasing numbers of women in academics (1980 to 2000)◦ Starting with passage of Science & Technology Equal Opportunities Act of 1980◦ Visiting Professorships for Women in Science and Engineering (1982-1997)◦ Research Planning Grants and Career Advancement Grants for Women

Scientists and Engineers (1986-1998)◦ Faculty Grants for Women Scientists and Engineers (1990-1991)◦ Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education (1997-2000)◦ ADVANCE Fellowships (2001-2003)

The ADVANCE Institutional Transformation track represents a switch to a focus on the organizations within which academic careers are experienced – fix institutions of higher education rather than fix women or help them “survive” ADVANCE Institutional Transformation (2001-present)

The ADVANCE Model

To develop systemic approaches to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic STEM careers

To contribute to and inform the knowledge base on gender equity in academic environments

To create positive and sustainable change in academic climates

ADVANCE Goals

The current solicitation (14-573) has three tracks:

1. IT-Catalyst2. Institutional Transformation (IT)3. Partnerships for Learning and Adaptation

Networks (PLAN) PLAN-D PLAN-IHE

Which ADVANCE Track is Right for your Project?

Innovative systemic organizational approaches that include all STEM disciplines and are institution-wide designed to increase the participation and advancement of women in STEM academic careers.◦ All faculty, tenure and non-tenure can be included◦ Projects targeting the intersectionality of gender and race, ethnicity,

disability, and LGBTQ are encouraged◦ All faculty and administrators – men and women should be involved in the

project activities Proposed activities must be based on and justified by:

◦ The institution’s data and identified issues in academic career outcomes at your institution; and

◦ The relevant research on organizational change and barriers to participation and advancement in STEM academics.

All projects must include an original research component related to the project design and goals.

Up to 5 year projects with appropriate budgets for the proposed scope Institutions that have had an IT award are not eligible for an additional

project.

Institutional Transformation (IT)

ADVANCE PLAN Track Partnerships for Learning and Adaptation Networks:

◦ Adapt strategies that have evidence of effectiveness from the literature or from previous ADVANCE to enhance gender equity in STEM academics.

◦ Learn from the implementation in new contexts to determine what works, why, in what context(s), and for what populations.

◦ Networks are the proposed community of adaptors of the activity.

PLAN D proposals focus on one STEM discipline Professional societies are eligible to participate as partners

PLAN IHE proposals focus on IHEs ◦ Can focus on one discipline, subset of STEM, or all STEM

disciplines Up to five years up to $750,000 total Another PLAN competition is anticipated for 2016 –

always review the new solicitation for changes6

IT-Catalyst projects can be designed to:◦ Conduct self-assessment work in preparation for an

Institutional Transformation proposal or other transformation activities; and/or

◦ Implement strategies adapted from those found effective by other ADVANCE grantees or new strategies designed to be responsive to the unique environment of the institution.

IT-Catalyst projects must include an evaluation of the project effectiveness.

Up to 3 years and up to $250,000 total

Institutions that have had an IT or IT-Catalyst award are not eligible for an additional project.

IT-Catalyst Projects

Examples of IT Activities

Reviewing and revising policies such as recruitment, retention, career flexibility, promotion and tenure

Developing work/life programs such as dual career hiring programs Establishing, revising, formalizing mentoring programs for faculty at

all career stages Providing professional development opportunities for faculty Training for departmental leaders and members of P&T and search

committees Conducting climate surveys and other data collection and analysis Conducting related social science research

Equitable Career Support For Individuals◦ Mentoring, leadership development, network development,

research support

Empowerment of Individuals & Leaders◦ Tools and resources decision making addresses

institutionalized barriers to gender equity

Improvement of Institutional Structures◦ Data collection for creating a visibility for improving equity;

policy review for equity

Work Life Support Policies◦ Dual career hiring; flexible career; family care

Organizational Strategies that Work

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Equitable Career Support

Examples of Strategies Establish formal mentoring structures and

provide recognition of service for time and effort of mentors

Develop mechanisms to recognize professional excellence of both female and male faculty

Provide workshops, training, and coaching on the tenure and promotion processes to all faculty

Implement leadership development, career coaching and network building programs

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EmpowermentExamples of Strategies Provide tools and resources to address the

gender equity barriers to faculty, department leaders, and institutional administrators

Provide training on effective strategies to reduce the stressors that result in a greater reliance on implicit biases when making decisions, especially in search committees and promotion and tenure committees

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Institutional StructureExamples of Strategies Review, revise, and increase the transparency

and effective implementation of policies and procedures (particularly recruitment, promotion and tenure policies)

Develop systematic and recurring institutional data collection and reporting of faculty data and climate surveys, disaggregated by demographics and rank for use in decision-making

Incorporate equity and diversity responsibilities and accountability into institution-wide administrative positions, departmental leadership, as well as faculty to ensure equitable distribution of resources, responsibilities, and commitment

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Work-Life SupportExamples of Strategies Implement flexible career policies that address

the needs identified by the faculty Develop career and life transition support

programs Establish dual-career hiring programs tailored to

the institution and region Encourage department and institutional flexibility

and support for dependent-care responsibilities Create institutional and departmental climates

that encourage faculty to take advantage of work-life programs and ensure that there are no negative impacts on a faculty member’s career for participating in the programs

Required Letters of Intent (LOI) IT Due Date: November 5, 2015

1. Project Title

2. Synopsis - Description of proposed project and social science research component (2,500 characters max)

3. Other Comments (2,500 characters max)

◦ List of senior project personnel and proposed roles for each

◦ List of partner institutions and organizations and description of involvement (not generally applicable for IT)

◦ Other information such as known conflicts and areas of specialized expertise pertinent for the review process can also be included.

4. Contact Information for:

◦ Point of Contact (and an alternate) for NSF inquiries

◦ PI for the project

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Data in the Proposal

Baseline data that might be included:◦ Numbers of faculty at various ranks in each department.◦ Search and hiring data.◦ Start up packages and salaries.◦ Promotion and tenure data.◦ National pool data or peer institution comparison data.

The data to be included in the proposal will depend on the issues you want to address and the types of activities that are proposed.

The IT data toolkit:◦ http://teaching.nmsu.edu/advance/advance-data-reports/◦ Can help identify important baseline data to include in an

proposal.◦ Developed for reporting purposes by NMSU and other IT

grantees.◦ Note that the toolkit may not include all the data

that should be included in your proposal.

Key Components of Successful IT Proposals

Understanding of the Problem(s)

Leadership Commitment Familiarity w/Prior ADVANCE awards

Leadership Expertise

Description of the institutional context and problems:• Mission and goals• What are the issues for

faculty and what is the evidence showing that these are important issues for the faculty and institution

Activities are designed to address the institutional problems and to meet the institution’s goals

• Demonstrated commitment from leadership (president, provost) to the ADVANCE project and to the personnel to be involved in implementation.

• Involvement of key administrative decision makers with project (as PI or involvement on internal advisory committees etc.)

• Familiarity with strategies of earlier ADVANCE awardees and relevant literature

• Team with appropriate mix of expertise

• Junior and senior STEM faculty involvement

• Appropriate internal steering committee(s) and external advisory committee members

• Social science expertise involved in design and implementation

Key Components of Successful IT Proposals

Realistic Plans

Evaluation Plan

Innovation Data

• Realistic timeline and management plan

• The budget reflects scope of the project

• Complete description of proposed activities to be implemented related to the theory of change for the project

• Plan for formative and summative evaluations

• Internal and external evaluation components

• The collection and reporting of project-related data and participants’ evaluations of activities are not sufficient for project evaluation

• See Online Evaluation Resource Library

The project must be important and innovative• Develop or study new

transformational strategy

• Provide unique contribution to understanding on organizational change and transformation (i.e. different institution type or populations)

• Contribute to knowledge base with a strong social science research component (5 page supplement)

• Relevant data included to provide an understanding of the potential impact of the project

• Understanding of types of data to be collected during the project

• Relevant data on targeted populations in the proposal (women of color, faculty with disabilities, associate level faculty, adjunct, part-time, etc.)

• See ADVANCE Indicators Toolkit

Common Problems in IT Proposals• Reinventing the wheel – project will develop materials, tools,

resources, or activities without building on relevant existing resources.

• Leadership team that is not sufficiently broad for the kinds of activities and goals proposed.

• Underestimation of the time and human resources to set up and maintain an ADVANCE project.

• Lack of cohesiveness between social science research and activities.

• Lack of innovation or lack of study of the innovation.

• No, or inappropriate, data provided in the proposal.

• Exceeding fifteen page limit for the project description.

• Standard dissemination plans – need communication plans.

How significant will the contribution of the study of the proposed innovative components and other IT activities be to the institutional transformation knowledge base?

How strong are the indicators of institutional readiness for institutional transformation and commitment to the project activities and goals?

How well are the proposed activities linked to the institutional context and data?

How well is the relevant literature (from evaluation, education, behavioral, social and economic sciences, as appropriate) inform the design of the proposed innovative components and other IT activities?

If women from special populations are included, how likely are the proposed activities to target their unique circumstances?

Are mechanisms planned that ensure long-term sustainability beyond the duration of the funded project?

Is the current proposal devoid of significant budgetary overlap with previous ADVANCE PAID or PLAN funding (if applicable)?

IT Additional Review Criteria

Supplementary Documents

5 page social science research description Letters of Commitment from key

administrators ◦ Include description of what the commitment is…

◦ Do not include letters of support

Postdoctoral mentoring plan

◦ NSF required if a postdoc is supported by project funds

Data management plan (NSF required) External evaluator CV(s)

Projects involving research with human subjects must ensure that subjects are protected from research risks in conformance with the relevant federal policy known as the Common Rule (Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, 45 CFR 690)

All projects involving human subjects must either ◦ (1) have approval from the organization's Institutional Review Board (IRB)

before issuance of an NSF award or, ◦ (2) must affirm that the IRB has declared the research exempt from IRB

review, in accordance with the applicable subsection, as established in section 101(b) of the Common Rule.

Human Subjects Research

Does the PI of this proposal have to be a senior level administrator?◦ No, but it is suggested as a way to demonstrate institutional commitment to

the project. It will depend on your institution’s organization and culture. Do we need to include all STEM disciplines?

◦ For IT and IT-Catalyst, all non-clinical sciences including the social, behavioral and economic sciences should be included.

Can I support undergraduate or graduate student activities such as mentoring and tutoring?◦ No this program focuses on the academic workforce and is not a “pipeline”

program. Do you have to have an IT-Catalyst before getting an IT?

◦ No – if you are ready and able to apply for an IT award you can. Can I make changes to the project after submitting the LOI?

◦ Yes, as long as your proposal is responsive to the solicitation. Who will be reviewing the IT-Catalyst and IT proposals?

◦ Peer reviewers include STEM faculty and administrators as well as social science experts on gender and the academy and organizational change.

Frequently Asked Questions

NSF ADVANCE Program web page◦ http://www.nsf.gov/ADVANCE

ADVANCE Web Portal for access to materials◦ http://www.portal.advance.vt.edu/

Program Office – ADVANCE@nsf.gov ◦ Jessie DeAro, Program Officer – jdearo@nsf.gov ◦ Cynthia Douglas, Program Specialist – cdouglas@nsf.gov◦ Maurice Dues, Program Specialist – mdues@nsf.gov

Learn More About ADVANCE