The third HBCU RAP Symposia will build on 2 years of the Quality Education for Minorities' (QEM) evaluated experiences aimed at expanding the influence of HBCUs on STEM policy, with respect to national priorities for underrepresented students in STEM. This year, PIs propose a year-long strategy to amplify scientific innovation at HBCUs as a catalyst for improving the social, educational, health and economic status of African Americans. The PIs will use select components of NSF’s “Big Ideas†to guide the community of practice and topics for forums and workshops including: Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier; Growing Convergence Research; Harnessing the Data Revolution; and NSF INCLUDES. QEM brings 30 years of leadership in STEM initiatives and conferences with the HBCU community. This series builds on research that uses organizational learning theory and focus group research to understand the process through which HBCUs acquire knowledge and translate knowledge into dynamic capabilities.
The Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network requests one year of support to host a virtual workshop in conjunction with the 2020 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), 49th Annual Legislative Conference, September – October 2020. The year-long project has 3 primary goals: (1) To fortify a community of practice among HBCU researchers who are dedicated to advancing an independent and collective research agenda that positively changes the lives of Black people; (2) To provide HBCU researchers and executive leadership with the information and resources necessary to develop robust, translational cutting edge research at their institutions; and (3) To strategically position HBCUs to make a national-level imprint on scientific issues that impact the Black community. In 2020 - 2021, QEM will use the lessons learned over the prior two years to set a one-year agenda of activities for HBCU researchers within a community of practice, within the context and confounds of the COVID-19 pandemic. HBCUs have a strategic importance to this nation, because they have played a prominent role in advancing scientific innovation and Black social and economic progress in American society. HBCU-based researchers providing national thought leadership through the sciences is a national imperative.
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.
