This award to the Quality Education for Minorities QEM Network will support technical assistance workshops to broaden participation in NSF?s Major Research Instrumentation Program. In order to offer competitive research and research training programs in science and engineering, it is imperative that all US faculty, including faculty at minority-serving institutions (MSIs), and students conducting research have access to state-of-the-art instrumentation enabling them to perform high quality research. MSIs have an essential role in the production of baccalaureate degree recipients of under-represented groups in STEM disciplines as well as in the disproportionate production of under-represented college graduates who pursue graduate degrees. Ensuring the competitiveness of faculty and students enhances diversity in STEM and helps the science and engineering enterprise achieve the objectives outlined in the America Competes Act.
From 2009 to 2014, the Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network, with support from a National Science Foundation Award #0807841, conducted three proposal development workshops and one proposal follow-up workshop. The goal of these workshops was to prepare faculty at minority-serving institutions to submit competitive proposals to the NSF’s Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program. Over the course of the five-year period, 134 faculty members participated in MRI workshops. Workshop sessions included discussions on the strengths and weakness of MRI proposals; evaluation criteria; ethics in research; achieving tenure and promotion; involving undergraduates in research; and integrating research into teaching. Twenty-one (21) workshop participants who applied for a MRI award and were unsuccessful in securing funding attended a MRI follow-up workshop in 2013. Workshop participants received tailored training at the QEM-led MRI proposal development workshops. Participants engaged in discussions that were specific to the MRI program at NSF. They also spoke with NSF program officers about their proposed projects. Likewise, QEM consultants reviewed project summaries and addressed specific concerns each participant had about the proposal process and about the research and instrumentation for which they sought funding. The one-on-one feedback that workshop participants received from NSF and QEM experts was integral to each workshop’s success. QEM used both qualitative and quantitative data to assess how well the MRI Project was meeting its objectives. Workshop participants received workshop evaluation questionnaires to solicit feedback regarding participants’ overall rating for the workshop they attended. Of the 124 participants who responded, at least 93 percent gave the workshop an overall rating of excellent or very good. One hundred (100) percent of the respondents who attended the follow-up workshop (18 respondents out of 21 participants) gave the workshop an overall rating of excellent or very good. Workshop participants were encouraged to share information and materials with colleagues on their campuses. Upon conclusion of the workshop, presentations were posted on the QEM website for dissemination to participants and the general public. QEM’s website is accessible via the following URL: www.qem.org/MRI.htm. Workshop participants also received a resource CD, which they could share with colleagues. Resource CD topics included information and research materials on professional development; proposal preparation; budget preparation; evaluation; research and teaching; and mentoring, ethics, and responsible conduct of research. Under the leadership of President Shirley McBay, the QEM Network was established in 1990 as a non-profit organization in Washington, DC, dedicated to improving education for minorities throughout the nation. QEM works with minority and non-minority individuals, organizations, and institutions to help coordinate and energize efforts to improve the education of minorities, particularly in STEM.
