Tuesday, November 12, 2024
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Kellogg Center, East Lansing

Register Now

Are you planning an NSF grant application, or do you have a funded proposal right now? If so, the MSU Broader Impacts Conference is designed just for you! Researchers at every level (faculty, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students) and the staff who support researchers’ BI efforts are welcome to attend.  

You will learn:

  • Why a broader impacts (BI) plan is required in every proposal
  • BI basics: the essential ingredients of a successful BI plan
  • How campus partners, tools, and resources can help you write a great BI statement or design, implement your BI plan, and evaluate it
  • How to build successful BI teams and partnerships
  • How to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM education and careers and work effectively with collaborators
  • Effective science communication strategies and how to connect with MSU science communication partners

The conference will have multiple session formats, including lightning talks and networking sessions where you can meet and talk with BI experts, MSU partners who can help you design and implement innovative and impactful BI activities, and MSU researchers who have conducted successful BI activities.  

Preliminary Agenda

Preliminary Agenda
Time Session Room
8:00 a.m.

Breakfast

Continental breakfast

Lincoln Room
9:00 – 9:50 a.m.

Welcome and Keynote

Angela Hall
Associate Professor, School of Human Resources and Labor Relations
Faculty Excellence Advocate
College of Social Science

Lincoln Room
10:00 – 10:50 a.m.

Charting Your Broader Impacts Pathway

Come to this session to envision your broader impacts pathway to achieving societal impacts through your research! After a brief overview of the basics of broader impacts, attendees will participate in facilitated discussion to identify their desired impacts, the audiences or communities they intend to engage, and the partners who will assist them in engaging effectively with those audiences or communities.

Lincoln Room
11:00 – 11:50 a.m.

Partnering for Impact: Best Practices in Broader Impacts Partnerships

Jessica Barnes-Najor, Director for Community Partnerships, Office for Public Engagement and Scholarship
Dorinda Carter Andrews, Chairperson and Professor, Department of Teacher Education
Kurt Dewhurst, Director for Arts and Cultural Initiatives, Office for Public Engagement and Scholarship
Elizabeth Schultheis, Outreach and Education Coordinator, W.K. Kellogg Biological Station

Strong, equitable partnerships based on trust are essential to achieving broader impacts. In this panel discussion, researchers who engage in community-based and participatory research will share their tips for how to develop and sustain reciprocal partnerships to achieve societal impacts.

Lincoln Room
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Lunch and Networking

Lincoln Room
1:00 – 1 :50 p.m.

Concurrent session

Broadening Participation in STEM: Best Practices and MSU Partners

Come to this panel discussion to learn about best practices in broadening participation in STEM education, research, and careers and meet MSU partners who can help you reach your inclusion goals.

Room 103
1:00 – 1:50 p.m.

Concurrent session

Achieving Broader Impacts Through Science Communication (Panel Discussion)

Devin Silvia, Specialist, Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering
Abbie Stevens, Manager of Programming, MSU Museum CoLab Studio
Maeve Bassett, Education Director, W. J. Beal Botanical Garden and Campus Arboretum

Every broader impacts activity requires the effective communication of science to nonscientists. In this panel, science communication practitioners share their tips for communicating effectively with public audiences.

Room 104
2:00 – 2:50 p.m.

MSU Partners for Broader Impacts Lightning Talks

Denice Blair, Director of Education, Michigan State University Museum
Brad Fingland, Director of Venture Creation, Physical Sciences, Spartan Innovations, MSU Research Foundation
Matthew Grossman, Director, Institute for Public Policy and Social Research
Shannon Schmoll, Director, Abrams Planetarium
Michelle Word, Director of Education, MSU Broad Art Museum
Misty Klotz, Education and Outreach Coordinator, W.K. Kellogg Biological Station
Katherine Prokopchuk, Science Festival Coordinator, University Outreach and Engagement

Through short lightning talks, this session highlights MSU's broader impacts partners who assist researchers in engaging effectively with public audiences and communities.

Lincoln Room
3:00 – 3:30 p.m.

Meet MSU Broader Impacts Partners Networking Session

In this networking session, participants will network with BI partners to discuss opportunities for collaboration and potential strategies for engaging with their intended audiences or communities.

Lincoln Room
3:30 - 4:00 p.m.

Closing Session

In this closing session, participants will learn about upcoming grant opportunities and available support for proposal and BI plan development.

Lincoln Room