NODE - Network Opportunities for Developing Equitable and Effective Evaluation at HSIs

This project aims to build capacity for HSIs to conduct evaluation and research to strengthen and document the effectiveness of NSF-HSI-funded projects. With six years of congressional investment, now is the opportune time to build capacity for evaluation and research on these projects' contributions to improving STEM learning environments and outcomes. Yet, HSIs have historically lacked the capacity to conduct evaluation and research about their equity-centered STEM approaches and do not have a standard, culturally relevant approach to follow. Building such capacity requires novel, rigorous evaluation, and research approaches that map new territory to assess fairly and with integrity how these projects serve Hispanic and other minoritized students in STEM fields. As an interdisciplinary effort to integrate database creation and analysis techniques from both educational research and data science, Network Opportunities for Developing Equitable and Effective Evaluation at HSIs (NODE) project will generate a model of how to address complex data using quantitative and qualitative methods to develop standardized and comparable measures and analyses of NSF HSI Program-funded grants that collect their data in different ways. The outcomes will be (1) a database platform for grantees' evaluations, (2) a standardized evaluation framework, (3) professional development for grantees to use the evaluation database and framework, (4) impact reports about the NSF HSI Program portfolio overall effectiveness, and (5) research frameworks to improve equity-centered STEM approaches in HSIs and beyond. The goals of HSI-CERS NODE are to (1) create a framework to evaluate the impact of the NSF HSI Program's funded grant portfolio, (2) build capacity of current and potential NSF HSI Program grantees in conducting evaluation, and (3) strengthen and refine assessment and research about STEM equity in HSIs and beyond. These goals will be accomplished by five objectives: (1) create a database about NSF HSI Program grantees' activities; (2) analyze this database to develop an evaluation framework for grantees; (3) provide professional development using the evaluation framework and database to grantees; (4) generate impact reports to assess the effectiveness of the overall NSF HSI Program portfolio; and (5) generate adaptable and transferable knowledge about evaluation and research concerning HSIs and equity-centered STEM approaches. Using quantitative and qualitative research methods, the project will yield culturally sustaining HSI STEM evaluation approaches and a refined research framework of servingness that account for HSIs' diverse institutional and organizational contexts. These evaluation and research approaches will be disseminated through venues like professional associations, journal outlets, and a project website. Impact reports will address the collective effectiveness of the NSF HSI Program in meeting its intended goals. Project results will inform NSF and other federal agencies about how to diversify the workforce through supporting multi-institutional partnerships with HSIs. In the longer term, these many benefits will yield an increase in the representation of minoritized scientists in the nation. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also generate new knowledge on achieving these aims. 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.