Let us help you with Broader Impacts!

UA Science Connections promotes outreach efforts among campus researchers and the larger community. Increase your likelihood of successfully pursuing grant funding.  Researchers can plug into existing programs, facilities and networks to enhance the broader impacts of their research grants by effectively using existing infrastructure. Local teachers and informal science groups can find connections to research-based learning and collaborations for their classrooms and programs.  Better broader impacts = higher funding success!

• Expertise
  We are experienced outreach professionals who know how to communicate science to a variety of audiences.  In addition to engaging the general public, we possess the knowledge, experience, and skill-sets to target more specific audiences such as underserved, underrepresented, and female K-12 students.
   
• Outreach Venues
  Our staff members are based at and operate Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium, Biosphere 2, Mt Lemmon SkyCenter, Tumamoc Hill, Laboratory for Tree-Ring Research, and the Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory.  Together, these venues serve more than 160,000 people annually and are available to host a variety of different exhibits and programs based on faculty research.  For more information, please click here:  UA Science Venues.
   
• Exhibits and Multimedia
  In addition to expertise in exhibit and hardscape design, standards-based lesson plan creation and other informal science education and outreach products, our team possesses the full range of multimedia capabilities including film, still photography, sound design, web page design, and social media expertise.  This wide-ranging experience allows us to fully engage the community with UA Science.

  

Menu of Outreach Components

UA Science Connections provides a menu of opportunities for researchers: any researcher working on a grant proposal can plug into this group to get help to develop an education and public outreach (E/PO) plan for the grant proposal, to implement an E/PO component tied to the research of the project, and to amplify the impact of the project’s E/PO particularly in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).  Examples include:

• Interpretive graphics
• Interactive game kiosks
• Short films
• K-12 lessson plans & teacher resources

 

For a comprehesive list and prices/budget figures please see: 

Contact us today!  Shipherd Reed, Matthew Adamson,                      Jennifer Fields

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Education and Public Outreach (EPO) Resources

• National Science Foundation Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) Grants
  • http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf12560&org=NSF

Science Literacy Principles

• Climate Literacy Principles (NOAA)
  • http://climate.noaa.gov/index.jsp?pg=/education/edu_index.jsp&edu=literacy
• Ocean Science Literacy Principles (NOAA)
  • http://oceanliteracy.wp.coexploration.org/?page_id=164

Education and Outreach Goals of Federal Funding Agencies

• NOAA Education Strategic Plan
  • http://www.education.noaa.gov/noaa_educ.html
• National Science Foundation Broader Impacts Review Criterion
  • http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07046/nsf07046.jsp
• NASA Education
  • www.nasa.gov/offices/education/about/index.html
• NASA Science Mission Directorate
  • http://science.nasa.gov/researchers/education-public-outreach

Private Foundations

Many private foundations make grants for education and public outreach. The Grant, Information, Facilitation, and Training (GIFT) Center supports University of Arizona faculty, staff, and development personnel with non-governmental charitable grantseeking activities.
http://uafoundation.org/information/faculty_staff/grantseeking/giftcenter/

Grant Evaluation Resources

• NSF Human Subjects guidelines
  • http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/human.jsp
• NSF Handbook for Project Evaluation
  • http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02057/start.htm