UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Office of the Senior Vice President for Research has created a new Broader Impacts (BI) committee comprised of invited faculty and staff. The committee is charged with characterizing the current BI resources and making recommendations for how the University could enhance the impact of research activities as well as increase the competitiveness of research proposals to federal agencies. With the first survey deployed to over 100 units, a self-study has been initiated to better understand which units support BI activities across the University and the types of programs they offer.
Through a research faculty survey, the committee is now seeking to gather information on current BI activities and feedback about BI infrastructure. This is an opportunity for faculty to suggest ways that the University might better support them and their colleagues in the area of BI.
What are Broader Impacts?
According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), broader impacts refer to the activities related to research that benefit society or contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes:
- Advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training and learning
- Broaden dissemination to enhance scientific and technological understanding
- Broaden participation of under-represented groups
- Enhance infrastructure for research and education
- Other societal benefits
BI activities include the work that occurs in performing the research and/or delivering the benefits of that research to broad audiences, such as K-12 teachers, practicing farmers, undergraduate and graduate students, families and policy makers.
Growing in importance, robust BI plans are now required by many federal funding agencies to be included as part of research proposals. To increase the competitiveness of proposal submissions, high-quality BI plans need to be described in individual proposals. In the long-range view, successive proposals should evidence advancements in both technical research and BI activities. Researchers should consider how their BI activities will integrate into their research portfolio over time, manifesting in their “impact identity.”
Units exist at the University that currently support BI activities. The Center for Science and the Schools (CSATS) in the College of Education collaborates with faculty on BI across academic colleges and Commonwealth Campuses. Bringing expertise in K-12 STEM education, it builds and implements teacher professional development programs designed to translate cutting-edge research into precollege classrooms. Through extensive outreach efforts, CSATS has created a strong network of K-12 schools across Pennsylvania and beyond.
There are also units of various sizes that operate within colleges to support faculty with BI activities. Penn State Extension is a well-established unit that translates research-based findings, best practices and information. Extension has a long history of engaging stakeholders in knowledge co-production and policy making.
While not an exhaustive list, other college-level units include Science-U in Eberly College of Science, museums (e.g., Pasto Agricultural Museum, EMS Museum & Art Gallery), Center for Engineering Outreach and Inclusion, the John A. Dutton e-Education Institute in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and continuing education programs at many Commonwealth Campuses.
The University has numerous BI activities taking place. However, the current de-centralized organization of resources makes it challenging for faculty to take full advantage of these activities in grant proposals and for the University to maximize impact in society.
“The goal of the committee is to make recommendations on how to better connect faculty with BI providers and build infrastructure to support Broader Impacts at Penn State,” said Phillip Savage, interim associate vice president for research and director of strategic initiatives. “This will ultimately increase the competitiveness of research proposals and maximize the impact of Penn State research, particularly at the precollege level.”
Survey of research faculty
The BI committee is seeking information and input from research faculty about the current state of BI across the University and possible areas of improvement. The committee has developed a brief survey for research faculty to describe:
- What are your current BI activities?
- Who are your BI partners?
- What expertise would benefit you in planning and implementing your BI activities?
- What infrastructure might improve BI at Penn State?
Penn State research faculty from every location are encouraged to complete the survey. Participation in the survey will provide a chance for researchers from across the University community to play an active role in conceptualizing BI infrastructure that will (1) best support research faculty and (2) deliver BI programs that operate at the highest levels of excellence. Committee recommendations to the University will be informed by the data collected from both BI providers and research faculty. As such, it is critical that we have a significant number of faculty respond to the survey by Oct. 31.
The next meeting of the BI committee will be held in early November, at which time a summary of the preliminary data collected to date will be presented and discussed.