ADDRESSING EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN INFORMAL STEM INSTITUTIONS: THE iPAGE LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

iPAGE works with annual cohorts of 24 individuals comprising 4-6 ISI-based leadership teams. Teams are limited to no more than six individuals. Within each cohort, we work to include teams that represent a wide range of ISIs (size, rural/urban, audiences served, etc.).

Individual team members should 1) have a passion for addressing critical issues of equity and inclusion within their institutions and 2) have the potential to function as change agents, either because they have social influence with their colleagues and/or because they are in positions to effect change within their institutions.

Note: If you would like professional development for a group larger than 6, contact us at profdev@smm.org to learn more about customized professional development for your institution.

Teams must name a Champion who is the ISI senior executive (CEO, President, or equivalent title) or a direct report to this individual. The Champion is responsible for having an overall understanding of the effort, making sure that team members have the time to devote to iPAGE, and ensuring that barriers are reduced for the iPAGE team to do site-based work. Alison Brown, Science Museum of Minnesota President, is the Champion for our own Science Museum of Minnesota team.

Team Captains must have direct access to the Champion and other team members. They will serve as the principle point of contact between the ISI and Science House for general issues and questions.

Teams can have up to four additional Team Members. Team Members can be from any level of the organization and should represent a variety of departments. Possibilities include exhibits, public programs, outreach, professional development, visitor services, human resources, community engagement, research and evaluation, volunteer programs, docent and youth programs, development, finance, etc.

The charge for the entire team is to work together to collectively serve as leaders, connectors, and role models for supporting institutional change.

Veteran Participants from the previous years’ cohorts are invited to return for Colloquia II and III each year. Veterans continue their roles as change agents and enhance learning in the iPAGE community by describing their adaptive change processes and sharing what they have learned. As participants have noted, a second year of program involvement can be extremely valuable:

“It was great to reconnect as a Veteran and learn in this very intentional environment.”

“At the end of year 2, I have a much greater grasp of the true shared nature of our struggles and our work within our ISIs. It’s easy to feel alone—to see only the successes in others and only the failures in yourself. This community disrupts that. And my understanding of the value of that disruption increases every time we gather.”

Participation in the veteran strand is encouraged, but not required.

The iPAGE program provides 11 days (approximately 70 hours) of professional development spanning a 7-month period beginning in the fall of each program year. The formal events each year include:

iPAGE Foundations Institute — September 17-21, 2018
The institute is attended by all first-year participants, and begins to build a conceptual background, attitudes, and skills that are required for tackling equity and inclusion issues within ISIs.

Colloquia —November 15-16, 2018; January 24-25, 2019; and March 21-22, 2019
During the colloquia, leaders will shift from a focus on their own understanding of inclusion issues in ISIs to applying their understanding and continually building their skills within their own sites with their colleagues. During this phase, leaders work explicitly to improve their own efficacy both in articulating the meaning and value of improving the equity and inclusion climate within their ISIs and in adapting knowledge, norms, and practices for their own contexts.

Attendance at all 11 program days is essential. Please be sure your entire team can attend all program events before applying.

Between iPAGE events, leaders return to their home institutions to work with their colleagues on equity and inclusion issues particular to their sites. The iPAGE facilitation team will provide consulting services focused on leaders’ context-specific needs and challenges. This consulting will be available to all participants throughout the life of the grant. Leaders will engage in iterative cycles of systematic and self-critical planning, acting, observing, and reflecting all within the supportive context of the iPAGE community.

Mini-grants of up to $30K will be available to support local diffusion and implementation efforts. Funding is dependent on the size of each institution’s total revenue.

Covered expenses include hotel, light breakfast, lunch, dinner, consumable materials, and textbooks. (Note: Flights will be reimbursed up to $500 per person per event.)

Teams must come from an informal STEM institution based in the United States.

Eligible institutions include museums, science centers, aquariums, zoos, botanical gardens, etc.

Teams can be no larger than 6 people and must include a Champion and a Team Captain as described above.

In order to participate in iPAGE, individuals must also participate in the associated research study, which is designed to inform the development of the iPAGE model and the ISI field at large.

The application process is competitive.

Competitive teams will have an appropriately identified Champion and a carefully chosen team that can effect change in their institutions through formal or informal means.

Highly competitive teams will also span a variety of positions and departments, and, to the extent possible, represent the cultural, racial, and economic diversity of their surrounding community.

Due to the research study, selection will also take into account institution size, geography, audiences served, etc.

Applications for the 2018-2019 iPAGE Program are closed.

• Recruit your team of 2-6 individuals, including a Champion and Team Captain, and confirm their ability to participate in the required program events (see “types of members” description above).
  
  
• Collectively compose a Team Narrative (suggested 500-word minimum) to the following prompts:
  
  Identify and describe current equity and inclusion challenges in your ISI and communities you serve or seek to serve.
  
  Describe a vision of how participation in iPAGE might inform your team’s work on the challenges identified.
  
  Describe why each member of your team was chosen to participate and the expectations for each individual to contribute to furthering equity and inclusion at your ISI.
  
  
• Each team member will also need to compose an Individual Narrative (suggested 250-word minimum) to the following prompts:
  
  Describe access and equity issues you hope to learn about and work on in iPAGE.
  
  Describe the kinds of formal or informal leadership opportunities you currently have or hope to have in the future, in which you can apply what you learn in iPAGE.
  
  
• One application is submitted for your entire team.