Broader Impacts Collaboration Training Tool: Characteristics of Success
As part of efforts to continue supporting scientists' broader impacts activities, COSEE-OS partners have worked to develop a set of concept maps to support the development and maintenance of NSF Broader Impact (BI) collaborations between scientists and educators. The purpose of these maps is to act as a source of research, best practices, case studies, and other forms of information about BI collaborations for scientists, educators, and others.
Needed: A Road Map with Tools
The idea for the maps came from a workshop in March 2011 at which 31 scientist and educators were asked to provide insight into the question: “What are the characteristics of a successful Broader Impacts collaboration?” Their responses to that question formed the basis for the structure of the concept maps.
The foundation of that structure are the sequential stages of the relationship – initiating the partnership, planning the collaboration, implementing the plan, distributing the products, evaluating the results of the collaboration, and extending the collaboration where appropriate.
Within each stage, important components of the relationship were identified and linked to the appropriate stages of the relationship. For example, within the collaborative planning process the participants identified as critical components: undertaking a literature review, completing a needs assessment, and creating a clear timeline for the project. These became segments of a map for which new resources are being identified and attached. The intention is that as scientists and educators embark on BI collaboration, they can access the resources within these component stages to learn about effective practices.
View the maps here!
Feedback Wanted
Currently resources are being identified and embedded in the maps. The developers of the map are eager to have feedback about the usefulness of the map, and suggestions for resources that address components of the relationship that could be embedded in the map.
Please direct any feedback or resource suggestions to Mark Wiley at mark.wiley@unh.edu.
