Exciting to see cross-sector collaboration to address an enduring challenge we have had in STEM. Approaching the challenge from a systems perspective can provide a useful model for understanding the barriers that each group has had from their perspective in shifting the access to underrepresented groups while highlighting strategies that begin to address and make changes. Interested in learning more about the model.

Yes, I agree that it is great to see so many different stakeholder groups involved! I am wondering about the extent to which the Silicon Valley tech companies are on board since they are such a unique (deep pocketed) resource in the area? I am also curious about the programs targeting the earliest ages? I am familiar with a program in Chicago that provides summer research experiences at a teaching hospital for underrepresented public school juniors, but one of the findings from that 10+ year effort are that the students enter the program without a good sense of what is required to get a STEM job. They call this misaligned ambitions. So it makes a lot of sense to me that providing exposure at much younger ages would help solve this problem. I assume it is too early in your program to see such effects but would be interested in learning more about what you have planned to start breaking down the cultural and institutional barriers that prevent young children from developing a realistic ambition to pursue a STEM career? 

I am delighted to see this comprehensive regional approach to help broaden participation in STEM careers. We are taking a similar approach with our INCLUDES project in southern California.  

I'd like to hear more about the approaches you're using to recruit and identify roles models as well as engage the students themselves. What were the major challenges you encountered when developing this model and in engaging various sectors? How did you overcome these challenges?  Who are the critical partners in a regional effort of this nature?  How do you measure success -- do you have a set of baseline data for the region that you are monitoring to see if the interventions work?

Many thanks,

Erin

In agreement with the previous commenters, it's great to see this project taking a broad approach, in terms of both stakeholders and students' ages/educational levels. Erin asked about challenges you encountered engaging various sectors, and I have the same question, specifically about community organizations (i.e. those that are not educational institutions and not industry). What types of community organizations did you engage? How did you seek them out, and in what ways are they involved?

It is exciting to see the work you are doing to ensure that all are represented in your regional STEM workforce. Has your group established shared metrics and a measurement system?

HI all,

What great questions! 

• We are in the process of gathering organizations that are already successful in order to determine best practices for certain contexts, ability to scale, and gaps in the spectrum from pre K - post grad.  It is our strategy to begin with the diverse riches already in communities and then puzzle about the gaps within communities. 
• We have strong connections with community organizations through the work of Children's Hospital, UCSF and the Alameda County Office of Education as we have existing consortium's that already work on Career Pathways. 
• We have not established metrics for the particular interventions as of yet because we will launch our collective effort together in the near future.  At the moment we are gathering our allies and partners. 
• One of the tenets of collective impact work is that we will co-create the indicators with our partners, not articulate beforehand.  This is because we actually don't know what is keeping our community from joining the STEM workforce.  That is why we are listening to our community and gathering best known practices,

We  believe that together we are better, and together we make the future.  I appreciate you and all your good thoughts and questions.

Great to see this work happening in the Bay Area! We're involved in INCLUDES over here at SRI (Menlo Park) -- let us know if we can help out.

Wondering how you are keeping track of the results of your gathering process?  This seems like a challenge across projects.

We're in the process of creating an online collection of programs that is searchable by audience, region, and program focus.  Should have a viewable version next week.  Would like to hear about other approaches and what information is proving to be most valuable.

This project sounds far reaching and impactful. What is your process for recruiting and selecting potential partners in the area? How do you determine who best can help your project reach its goals?

It is motivating to hear students speak up about how to support their success in STEM careers.

What a great video! I would love to learn more about the "collective impact model" and how you are implementing it in your project. Are there resources online that I can access to learn more?

I am so proud to see my students sharing about their goals and opinions on STEM...that they are INCLUDED in this conversation is essential. 

Thanks for sharing what a simple, but important approach to increase the number of underrepresented students into STEM careers.  All the best!  Dwyane Smith, provost--Harris-Stowe State University.   

Great to see collaboration in helping to increase the number of under represented students in STEM in the Bay Area! Looking forward to seeing how this will positively impact our students and communities. 

     I love the strategy you mention “to begin with the diverse riches already in communities and then puzzle about the gaps within communities.” This reminds me of a metaphor I heard at an NSF INCLUDES conference in Cincinnati (from Paul Schmitz, Senior Advisor of the Collective Impact Forum) that every person and every community is like a bottle of water, in that we all have fullness and we all have emptiness.

     I also admire your plan to first listen to your community to learn about what makes it difficult for historically underrepresented youth and their families to join the STEM workforce, as well as best known solutions. Might you be willing to share a few details about how you will go about this community listening?

This work is so important. Every child needs to know that they are capable of being successful in math and engineering jobs. This program supports that belief and puts it into action.