2025 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD)

Using Grant Transition Periods to Improve Program Evaluation & Offerings; Case Study: Washington Space Grant

Presented at Track 7: Technical Session 6: Using Grant Transition Periods to Improve Program Evaluation & Offerings; Case Study: Washington Space Grant

Sometimes projects settle into a status quo of doing the same things because that is what has always been done. In this presentation, we’ll talk about the process of transitioning a NASA-funded [State] Space Grant to develop more meaningful activities/interventions for students and to improve the evaluation of the project. The project is writing a renewal grant now and has been collaborating with an evaluator to refine the planned activities and the SMART goals and planned measurement of the outcomes of those activities.

The project supports students pursuing careers in STEM, helps develop faculty skills/knowledge and supports some pre-college education activities. The new grant has an increased focus on broadening participation and has a new requirement for external evaluation. Historically, 50% of student funding is awarded to marginalized students in STEM. Starting in 2024 the program began to increase the percentage of marginalized student recipients and alongside funding will incorporate cohort programs that honor students’ cultural, racial, and ethnic identities. The presentation will discuss the motivations for the changes as well as some of the outcomes from prior work.

The [State] Space Grant recently engaged a new evaluator on the project to help write the new proposal and to develop a strong evaluation plan for the renewal grant. This opportunity has led to additional discussion about what goals and outcomes the project is trying to achieve, and has sharpened the project’s articulation of how the project’s activities are connected to those outcomes. For example, the new grant includes a focus on building strong, reciprocal relationships with affiliate institutions to support the partners to move toward specific learning objectives that are relevant and sustaining for the students in their programs. The presentation will discuss how projects working towards continued funding/renewal funding can think about framing their work and their changes to ensure that meaningful outcomes are captured in the evaluation.

Authors

Dr. Elizabeth Litzler http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0626-8473 University of Washington [biography]

Elizabeth Litzler, Ph.D., is the Director of the University of Washington Center for Evaluation and Research for STEM Equity (UW CERSE) and an affiliate assistant professor of sociology. She has been at UW working on STEM Equity issues for 21 years.
Dr. Rae Jing Han University of Washington Center for Evaluation & Research for STEM Equity [biography]

Dr. Rae Jing Han (they/them) is a Research Scientist at the University of Washington Center for Evaluation & Research for STEM Equity.
Dr. Erin Carll University of Washington [biography]

Erin Carll is the associate director at the University of Washington Center for Evaluation and Research for STEM Equity (CERSE). Her evaluation and research focus on efforts to expand equity and inclusion in the STEM fields, including through community building and leveraging existing assets. She currently serves on the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) Board of Directors and the Society for Women Engineers Research Advisory Council. Erin has published research in the fields of engineering education, housing, neighborhoods, and the carceral system. She earned a PhD and MA in sociology as well as a certificate in demographic methods and a concentration in social statistics from the University of Washington. Erin also holds an MA and BA in Russian and Eastern European studies, and an AA in liberal arts and sciences.
Kam H Yee University of Washington
Brenda N Martinez University of Washington

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on February 9, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on February 11, 2025

« View session