What We Do

Accelerating broadened participation in STEM education and careers

The NSF Eddie Bernice Johnson INCLUDES National Network uses collaborative infrastructure to accelerate and enhance the preparation, participation, and contributions of historically excluded populations in STEM—including persons who are Black or African American, Alaska Native, Hispanic or Latino, Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Native Pacific Islander; persons with disabilities; persons from economically disadvantaged backgrounds; women and girls; and persons with intersectional identities.

The INCLUDES Coordination Hub facilitates the INCLUDES National Network to provide community building and engagement, research, communications, and measurement and learning support for members, in the service of building a national movement to broaden participation in STEM. At the project level, we seek to change systems that hold inequities in place. Collectively, we aim to affect broad policy- and practice-based change, focused on levers that drive systems change.

Read the NSF INCLUDES 2023 Report to the Nation

A photo of professionals speaking with each other at a conference.

A photo of two women speaking together at a conference.

Using collaborative infrastructure to build strong networks

The INCLUDES Coordination Hub fosters collaboration across and within the Network and builds capacity to use the NSF-developed five design elements of collaborative infrastructure. Collaborative infrastructure helps build stronger, more flexible, more scalable, and more equitable networks that accelerate change.

A graphic with five icons containing the text "SHARED VISION, PARTNERSHIPS, GOALS & METRICS, LEADERSHIP & COMMUNICATION EXPANSION, SUSTAINABILITY & SCALE. Engage the community in a shared vision. Provide a platform for collaborative action. Allow for evidence-based decision making. Increase communication & visibility. Establish the capacity for expansion, sustainability & scale.

Shared Vision
Align action by collaborating on a shared vision to address an identified broadening participation challenge and achieve related outcomes.

Partnerships
Partnerships and networks are at the heart of the INCLUDES National Network; partnering organizations engage in mutually reinforcing activities and act collaboratively to accomplish shared goals.

Goals and Metrics
Document and communicate progress through shared goals and metrics of objectives and outcomes that are well-defined and relevant.

Leadership and Communications
Inspire action through strategic internal and external communication and by developing, demonstrating, and distributing leadership.

Expansion, Sustainability, and Scale
Set the stage for expansion, sustainability, and equitable scaling of proven and promising approaches to broadening participation through collaborative infrastructure.

Are you interested or engaged in broadening participation in STEM efforts?

Join the INCLUDES National Network!