What to include in an NSF Broader Impacts Statement
November 30, 2010
I attended the session this evening about what can be including in an NSF Broader Impacts statement, a requirement for all NSF grants. Sue Whitsett, a 29-year high school biology teacher currently working as a fellow within NSF to determine effective approaches to K-12 outreach, really made her points. She emphasized that we need to grab more children and get them interested in science and make sure they are not intimidated by science. Further, she emphasized that outreach to children can really be most efficiently accomplished by outreach to their teachers. It was suggested that in writing the broader impacts statement, to look at it through the lens of the intellectual merit requirements. Sue intimated that her slides would be available on the MRS website, and I would suggest checking them out if they show up.