INCLUSION ACROSS THE NATION OF COMMUNITIES OF LEARNERS OF UNDER-REPRESENTED DISCOVERERS IN ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE (INCLUDES)

NSF INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) is a national initiative to develop science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) talent from all sectors and groups in our society through access and engagement. It aims to improve preparation, increase participation, and ensure the contributions of individuals from groups that traditionally have been underserved and/or underrepresented in STEM. Significant successes toward greater STEM inclusion have been achieved from prior efforts. Yet many challenges remain, such as under-preparation and lack of sufficient opportunity for members of all demographic groups to become "STEM-capable" workers. Other challenges include growing disparities in access to quality learning experiences and under-production of STEM graduates from the above-mentioned sectors.

The goal of the NSF INCLUDES program is to achieve significant impact at the national scale in transforming STEM so that it is fully and widely inclusive. That will require strong partnerships and collaborations across many sectors, and among many organizations and people in the overall STEM development ecosystem. The first NSF INCLUDES cohort of grantees was awarded in September 2016 and reflects 37 grants awarded to a wide range of institutions and organizations (NSF Press Release 16-104, Sept. 2016). This funding supports novel approaches and collaborative strategies that build effective networks based on collective impact theory – sharing agendas, activities, measurement and communication to achieve the desired change.

These INCLUDES projects -- collaborative alliances, spanning education levels, public and private sectors, and including new partners -- are leveraging state-of-the-art knowledge on scaling of social innovations. The cohort also includes grants for conferences. Within the early cohorts, the education levels are focused in K-12 and post-secondary pathways. The strategies identified by proposers are quite diverse, with the majority citing collective impact, with networked impact, participatory access, and integrated approaches making up the balance.

How do you design for equity?