NSF INCLUDES Planning Grant: Increasing the Representation of Minorities in Engineering (IRME)
This NSF INCLUDES planning grant is funded by NSF Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES), a comprehensive national initiative to enhance U.S. leadership in discoveries and innovations by focusing on diversity, inclusion and broadening participation in STEM at scale. The goal of this planning grant is to address the urgent need for the development of a diverse and equitable engineering-capable workforce by planning for an alliance of institutions that will broaden the participation and success of Black, Hispanic, and other underrepresented groups in higher education engineering programs. This collective impact effort, led by Morgan State University, builds on an existing partnership that includes Jackson State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Ziker Research. Propelled by the momentum of a strong backbone organization, GlobalMindED, the IRME project will develop a shared vision for an NSF INCLUDES alliance that will catalyze access to engineering careers and broaden the participation of underrepresented students in engineering; and crystalize partnerships between a consortium of engineering programs at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), nonprofit organizations, and industry.
The IRME project will contribute critical knowledge to the field of broadening participation research by engaging in catalytic activities that include: 1) synthesizing trends in broadening participation efforts and best practices in engineering education; 2) producing an evidence-based brief developed through the implementation of an online workshop designed for listening to and capturing the voices and perspectives of students, faculty, administrators, and industry partners seeking to hire engineering graduates; and 3) developing a robust research agenda that will examine the social, political, and academic factors that influence the success of groups historically underrepresented in engineering. Strategies for promoting equity, persistence, and effective practices will be identified and shared with the NSF INCLUDES National Network through the NSF INCLUDES Coordination Hub, as well as at relevant engineering conferences. The IRME project has the potential to bring about systemic change that will broaden participation in engineering by engaging relevant stakeholders in a multi-sector collaboration to increase minority representation in engineering through the development of an NSF INCLUDES Alliance.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
