EAGER: Empowering RCD Professionals to Broaden Participation in the NAIRR Pilot

This project serves to attract more STEM educators and researchers to take advantage of the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot by leveraging the Campus Research Computing Consortium’s (CaRCC’s) existing communication network of professionals who support computing and data-intensive education and research at the nation’s colleges and universities. Having engaged this professional ecosystem since 2016, CaRCC is well-positioned to reach this audience, gather input from these professionals, and then use that input to develop communications materials to empower these professionals to promote NAIRR Pilot resources at their own campuses. This broad community comprises thousands of education- and research-supporting technology professionals with significant message-multiplying potential, employed across hundreds of campuses potentially reaching millions of students and researchers. In coordination with NAIRR Pilot objectives, communications materials and strategies are being developed to encourage NAIRR Pilot participation by educators and researchers at additional colleges and universities, especially smaller and teaching-focused establishments, and those serving communities underrepresented in STEM. The project’s NAIRR Pilot Outreach Liaisons collaborate with NAIRR Pilot staff to define detailed plans for developing the community-informed messaging and products. These products are designed to not only target these professionals and organizations, but to also equip them with self-service, customizable communications products that they can easily use to disseminate NAIRR Pilot information across their own campuses, regions, and other organizations. Messaging input is recruited and resulting outreach materials promoted via CaRCC's extensive “People Network” mailing list, community calls, and regular coordination with several other research computing and data (RCD) consortia and related professional communities, including the Minority Serving - Cyberinfrastructure Consortium, American Indian Higher Education Consortium, Campus Champions, EDUCAUSE community groups, and US Research Software Engineers, among others. 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.