Engagement activities are designed to achieve one or more of the following objectives towards this goal:

• demonstrate that scientists and the focal group have shared values;
• reveal that scientists have “identities” outside of science and respect for diverse focal group identities;
• manifest that the scientific community cares about the broader community’s well-being and opinions;
• demonstrate scientists’ desire to learn from and with the focal group; and
• increase accessibility of scientists to the community and the community to scientists

STEM Ambassadors are faculty members, post-docs, and graduate students in STEM departments at colleges and universities who wish to carry out public engagement in nontraditional settings (e.g., outside schools, museums, science centers). They participate in a series of workshops, either in-person or online, to identify a focal group to engage and build skills to design and implement an effective engagement activity.

Meet the Ambassadors

STEMAP is grounded in the Impact Identity Framework published by Julie Risien and Martin Storksdieck in 2018 (1). Under this framework, scientists integrate their research, personal interests, skills, and social connections to identify the societal impact they wish to have as a scientist and member of society. STEMAP applies practices derived from three validated informal science education models to support scientists in developing their impact identity, designing engagement activities, and carrying out engagement (2). Click here for more information on training.

(1) Risien, J. Storksdieck, M. 2018. Unveiling Impact Identities: A Path for Connecting Science and Society. Integrative and Comparative Biology. 58: 58-66.

(2) Design Thinking, Portal to the Public, Research Ambassador Program

The STEMAP team carries out research and evaluation on the impacts of STEMAP on scientists and focal group participants through case studies interviews and surveys.
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We address the following questions:

1. What is the impact of STEMAP on scientists to shift self-identities of STEM Ambassadors from scientists to science communicators?
2. What is the impact of STEMAP on focal group participants?
3. What motivates scientists to participate in STEMAP? What incentives do they need?
4. How can STEMAP be extended and sustained?

External evaluation for the STEM Ambassador Program is provided by Inverness Research, which specializes in the evaluation of educational programs.

Dr. Mark St. John is the President of Inverness Research. Becky Carroll is a Senior Researcher who implements the external evaluation component of STEMAP.