SP@ISU serves as a single point of contact on campus to gain knowledge in developing quality Broader Impact programs. SP@ISU helps make connections between researchers and resources on campus to develop and implement Broader Impact plans. The target audience is faculty, postdoctoral research associates, and advanced graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The goal of SP@ISU is to strengthen the professoriate by enabling professional development in STEM, while promoting and enhancing a diverse community of scholars and learners.

More about SP@ISU

What are Broader Impacts and Why are they Important?

From the National Science Foundation

"Proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation are evaluated through use of two merit review criteria, which all proposals must address explicitly. Experience shows that while most proposers have little difficulty responding to the criterion relating to intellectual merit, many proposers have difficulty understanding how to frame the broader impacts of the activities they propose to undertake." NSF Merit Review Broader Impacts Criterion: Representative Activities

"Proposals that do not separately address both merit review criteria within the one-page Project Summary will be returned without review. To that end, proposers are encouraged to include separate headings within the one page document for both 'Intellectual Merit' and 'Broader Impacts'." NSF Grant Proposal Guide

SP@ISU Support

• Workshops - Opportunities to learn more about Broader Impacts and resources on campus that have expertise in this area.
• Catalog of Programs - A comprehensive listing of programs on campus that work with Broader Impact initiatives and information on how faculty can effectively partner with them.
• Literature - Recent literature that supports aspects of Broader Impacts.
• Consulting - Assistance in discovering what area of Broader Impacts faculty are passionate about, and identify opportunities to integrate this into their research.