George Washington University proposes the ADVANCE PAID project, PAY IT FORWARD, which is a four-year dissemination and research project that distills lessons learned and best practices from our previous ADVANCE workshops, and from others who have expertise in leadership development for women. This project focuses on training, mentoring, seed funding, and a vast array of materials and tools via a virtual workshop repository, to train a cadre of individuals able not only to conduct their own workshops but to train others. Specifically, this program provides a core set of knowledge and materials at established locations to eliminate time loss by institutions starting from scratch. Workshop participants will serve as representatives of experts to share lessons learned and discuss what future research and procedures may be needed to advance knowledge on their respective campuses.
Intellectual merit. This project will feature the development of a training and mentoring process to develop a cadre of trained STEM career workshop organizers and documentation of a synthesis of themes and best practices for women?s leadership development. The subsequent implementation, testing, and evaluation of the PAY IT FORWARD model of leadership development will further the understanding of the acceptance and resistance faced in institutional change.
Broader impacts. This project will significantly broaden the participation of women, underrepresented groups, and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the faculty ranks from a variety of institutions not currently involved with ADVANCE, thereby contributing to the national need to diversify and retain women and previously underrepresented persons in the STEM workforce. The project will also train a new generation of leadership development organizers and will serve to synthesize and contribute to a body of literature on progress in leadership development for women academics.
