Collaborative Research: EPIIC:Increasing our Innovation SCOREs: Symbiotic Collaboration of Regional Ecosystems

This is a collaborative project across the following institutions: Seattle University, Cal Poly Humboldt State University, St. Francis University, St. Mary’s University, and Utah Tech University. The EPIIC award is to establish an innovation ecosystem in a cohort-based model specifically designed for primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs). The cohort comprises a diverse range of institutions with varying demographics, sizes, missions, and locations. The primary goals of this project are twofold: (1) to develop innovation capacity within the cohort institutions and (2) to collectively establish best practices and foster a community of innovation for PUIs. This regional ecosystem encompasses several rural institutions, many of which cater to low-income and first-generation students, while others have a significant representation of historically underrepresented students in STEM fields. The cohort is deeply committed to implementing institutional changes that expand access to career opportunities requiring advanced skills in their respective regions. The overarching aim is to cultivate a mutually beneficial relationship among the cohort members, empowering each institution to play an expanded role within the regional economy. The award's purpose is to establish a Symbiotic Collaboration for Regional Ecosystem (SCORE) cohort, which introduces an innovative approach to enhancing STEM innovation capacity. This approach stems from the cohort's undergraduate-focused mission and its strong emphasis on students and the communities they serve. The proposed project envisions a community-based approach, fostering the development of best practices in various aspects of innovation and partnerships, including workforce development, experiential learning, research and innovation, industry partnerships, investors, entrepreneurship, and regulatory issues. Operating as a community of practice, the cohort of primarily undergraduate institutions will collaborate, learn, and grow together while upholding the values of inclusive excellence as a central aspect of the project. The greatest collective impact the cohort will have will come from the increased capacity to serve the regions’ economic and community needs and to expand institutional capacity to provide access for students into an advanced, quickly evolving STEM workforce. A broader impact of this cohort-based learning community for innovation will result in infrastructure for innovation capacity, continued collaborations, enhancing innovation capacity for the STEM workforce, and developing models and best practices for PUIs nationwide. 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.