Water Resources Professional Project Reports

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

Summer 2023

Abstract

There is a need to utilize knowledge exchange avenues between academia and non-academic communities in order to advance environmental science and engineering education. Many universities and research centers attempt to enhance knowledge sharing by organizing broader impact outreach events such as lab tours, demonstrations, hands-on activities, and public presentations. Anecdotally, at two NSF-funded centers, the Transformation Network and Center for Water and the Environment, we have seen that only the same small subset of students and postdocs frequently participate while over 70% of those invited never volunteer. This study aims to survey environmentally-focused undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs’ motivations and barriers for participating in volunteer broader impact outreach events. We collected and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data were collected through Likert-scale type responses to motivators and barriers. Qualitative data were collected through written responses to questions on specific positive or negative student experiences and attitudes. Five main outreach trends emerged across students and postdocs: Respondents expressed 1) Outreach is helpful to society and to them personally; 2) Attending events leads them to want to attend more; 3) Lack of time is by far the top barrier to participation; 4) Differing opinions regarding if publishing papers is considered outreach; and 5) Mentor support motivates participation. Study findings suggest a targeted strategy for broader impact outreach that can be implemented across three tiers: 1) Emphasis at the individual level on personal development and contribution to society; 2) Efforts at the local level such as encouraging peer and faculty mentors to genuinely support outreach endeavors; and 3) Support at the global level between centers and universities such as sharing resources and best practices for outreach.

Keywords

outreach events, knowledge exchange, community sharing, STEM

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