National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Broader Impacts Workshop

The National Science Foundation considers two criteria in their review of proposals: Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts (BI). Broader Impacts relate to how the proposed research will “benefit society or advance desired societal outcomes” and is increasingly used as the differentiator for which excellent proposal to fund. 

Event Description: 
This is an in-person event*. The event is tailored to those who wish to propose their research for funding from the NSF. The event will include interactive sessions with a step-by-step guide to creating a competitive and NSF-compliant plan that aligns with their goals as a researcher. Attendees will use the ARIS Toolkit’s review rubric to peer-review BI plans for competitiveness and brainstorm ways to improve their proposal. They will also receive tips on making connections with institutional and community organizations to help put their plan into action. Please bring a laptop or other device to access the online ARIS Toolkit.  

Speaker Information: 
Dr. Katherine Chen 
Dr. Chen is the Executive Director of the STEM Education Center at WPI. She typically does around 15 BI consultations each year and provides letters of collaboration when serving as a BI partner on a grant. She has written and has been PI and co-PI of numerous NSF grants (e.g., S-STEM, TUES, RET, Noyce), and has served on several NSF review panels. She has been Professor and Department Chair of Materials Engineering at the California Polytechnic (Cal Poly) State University, San Luis Obispo and has extensive experience in engineering education, community-engaged scholarship, and advocacy for access and inclusion.  

Registration:  
Registration is required for this event. Please fill out the form below to register and receive a calendar invite to the event.

We look forward to seeing you at the workshop! 
*If there are enough requests for it, a Zoom option will be opened.