EAGER: Regional Cyberinfrastructure Connect Days Pilot; Regional R&E Network-Hosted Cyberinfrastructure Workshops for Small Institutions

The NSF “Missing Millions Report” highlights a persistent gap in ready access to critical research infrastructure between smaller, under-resourced institutions and larger universities. Effective engagement of these institutions in the national cyberinfrastructure (CI) ecosystem requires exposure to opportunities, discussions, and resources that are delivered regionally, in closer proximity to campuses. The Quilt, the national coalition of regional non-profit research and education networks, is ideally positioned to play a key role in bridging this gap through their regional focus and partnerships with CI stakeholders. The Quilt is conducting the Regional CI Connect Days Pilot. This initiative is hosting three regionally focused workshops designed to enhance the capabilities of participating institutions to use advanced cyberinfrastructure technologies and techniques that support STEM education and research. The project is producing a curated repository of workshop materials and a tested, scalable framework that will support the delivery of future regional workshops. The project includes a robust iterative evaluation plan that will improve the delivery of the materials and framework for subsequent workshops. Expected outcomes of the workshops include enhanced institutional capabilities to achieve STEM goals, strengthening of regional and national CI collaborations, and increased participation in the use of local, regional, and national cyberinfrastructure resources. The long-term impacts of this project are to grow critical STEM research infrastructure at smaller, under-resourced institutions and larger universities nationwide, and to build partnerships that promote the effective use of these infrastructures for STEM research and education. 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.