Conference: Inclusive Collaboration Resources: Enhancing Research Support Infrastructure at Minority Serving Institutions

This conference will convene research enterprise professionals from minority-serving institutions (MSIs) across the country to develop a set of best practices for equitable research collaboration. Research enterprise personnel – such as research development, pre-award, and sponsored projects professionals – are influential in catalyzing scientific innovation and productivity through their administrative work, such as administering seed grant programs, assisting with proposal development, or building interdisciplinary research teams.

Scientific discovery is enhanced when collaborative teams include diverse participants in an inclusive environment. Yet, participation in collaborative teams can lead to inequitable outcomes for diverse participants, such as less credit in co-authored publications and slower progress in career advancement. The resources developed through this conference will provide them the tools to improve the research enterprise at MSIs, strengthen scientific discovery and innovation through diverse research teams, and contribute to the retention and advancement of intersectionally diverse participants in the STEM professoriate and workforce.

Stakeholders in the conference include members of the National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP), the Society of Research Administrators International (SRA International), and the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA). This group will develop accessible knowledge, tools, and training materials about inclusive collaboration for research enterprise personnel.

The intended products – a guidebook and digital resources – will provide an understanding of the potential pitfalls for underrepresented participants of diverse science teams and actionable ways to overcome these barriers through new practices, policies, and professional development interventions.

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.