Conference Proposal: 2023 CREST Program / Understanding Interventions Conference

With support from the Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST), this project aims to provide a convening of researchers and practitioners from CREST programs and the Understanding Interventions communities of scholarship and practice. This project will provide venues for professional development (workshops), dissemination (symposia, poster sessions) of interventions research, as well as discourse (deeper dives), and training (workshops) for members across communities of practice and research. In addition, this project will facilitate networking to foster opportunities for collaborations between the various research and practice stakeholders. This work is important to informing the approaches, strategies and activities of programs aimed at broadening participation in science careers. This two-day conference will facilitate training, networking and dissemination of work related to the funded CREST program sites and interventions related research. Expected results include increase networks between CREST and UI communities leveraging the newly developed STEM social media platform, UI IMPACTS (Inclusive Matching for Professional Advancement and Career Training in Science). We also expected community building and communication between participants and the general science community beyond the UI/CREST Conference. The CREST/UI joint conference proceedings and presentations will be disseminated via the UI Journal, UI INDEX, and the UI Portal. All abstracts from posters, symposia and deeper dives will be published in a conference issue of the UI Journal. All presentations will be available on the UI Portal. The Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) program provides support to enhance the research capabilities of minority-serving institutions through the establishment of centers that effectively integrate education and research. 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.