What is the Broader Impacts Toolbox?
The Broader Impacts Toolbox originally was developed to help researchers address the National Science Foundation's requirements for grant proposals; however, the purpose of the site has expanded to provide information on professional development for scientists at all stages of their careers.
The metaphor of a toolbox was chosen because a scientist's tools extend far beyond their equipment and theories: they include the scientist's ability to communicate with his or her colleagues, teachers, students and administrators, the ability to survive the tenure process (in academia), the ability to reach out to the public and increase interest in science, and the ability to educate. The goal of this website is to assemble a set of 'tools' from which researchers can pick and choose as their interests and resources dictate.
In 2005, the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities in the Mathematics and Physical Sciences Directorate at NSF funded a workshop to discuss the Broader Impacts Criterion and the community response to it. The white paper from that workshop identified three action areas that included clarification of the criterion, the development of resources and sharing of best practices, and the need for examining the role of those professionals who work in Broader Impacts-related areas. This website also centralizes the results from a conference on Communicating Science to Broader Audiences that examines how scientists communicate beyond their own subcommunity and how scientists learn how to the communicate more broadly.
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Motivation
The response of scientists to NSF’s Broader Impacts Criteria spans a broad dynamic range. The Broader Impacts Criterion as described by the NSF Grant Proposal Guide offers scientists a menu of options, from diversity issues to undergraduate or graduate education to working with the general public. This breadth appears to be more confusing than enabling for some researchers. Few researchers have the background or experience necessary to effectively facilitate education or outreach activities, and there are few outlets for sharing information about successful activities. There also is little agreement about what constitutes a ‘successful’ education/outreach program.[1] There is a need in the broad community of NSF-funded researchers for guidance that will help researchers meet the requirements and intention of the Broader Impacts Criterion in an efficient and effective way.
The Broader Impacts Toolbox Workshop brings together math, science and engineering researchers involved in education and outreach with education/outreach professionals experienced in facilitating researcher outreach to:
a) identify and evaluate existing resources that are available to researchers to assist them in developing, executing and evaluating a meaningful Broader Impacts component;
b) identify elements missing from the existing set of tools; and
c) design a strategy for how these elements can be developed and disseminated.
[1] J. Mervis, Science 304, 1583 (2004).