Project management to support broadening participation in STEM

With thanks to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a small conference grant, the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) is partnering with the ICS Group, a project management consultancy, to present an intensive two-day experience, February 14-15, 2019 in Arlington, VA, to provide a highly interactive workshop for informal science institutions and their research and community partners.

The Collaborative Project Management Institute (Co-PM) is designed to increase communication between organizations throughout the implementation process. The Institute will provide the structure and tools needed for effectively managing complex partnership efforts aimed at broadening participation in STEM. Participants will learn how to leverage the inherent diversity of experience, cultural perspectives, personal motivations, and priorities to advance the project mission.

Developed by experienced museum and project management professionals, the Institute will introduce a process and Playbook that informal science institutions (ISI) and their research and community partners can use to:

• Articulate a shared purpose and goals that represent the interests of all parties.
• Identify some cross cultural and organizational differences that need to be accommodated for successful collaboration.
• Foster joint decision making based on objective steps vs priorities of one organization.
• Clarify deliverables of their project and how to measure success.

Teams should be of two to three will comprise two Principal Investigators (PI), co-PIs, or project directors; an optional third participant may be a project manager, evaluator, or other member of the project team. Travel stipends of $1,000 per team are available to help cover transportation and hotel. The registration charge for the Institute is paid in full by the grant (a value of $800 per registrant).