Cultivating Collaborative Partnerships: Bridging Emerging Research Institutions and Scientific Research Entities

STEM fields continue to struggle to form reciprocal, respectful and intentional collaborations across a variety of diverse partnerships. This is particularly telling in relationships with Minority Serving Institutions, where scientific research entities still often fall short of truly equitable and dynamic partnerships.

Systemic barriers to inclusive science, pervasive assumptions and biases, and exclusive structures and expectations play a large role in that reality, where MSI partners often feel either overlooked and/or tokenized when researchers or their students are approached for potential partnership.

NSF NCAR and UCP ACO, in partnership with our Rising Voices Center for Indigenous and Earth Sciences colleagues, have launched a series of four stand-alone 2-hour virtual trainings to work towards addressing these issues. The themes for these trainings were developed through contributions and feedback from NSF NCAR scientists and staff and MSI partners, including suggestions for working through challenges that may arise when engaging with institutions. The four trainings are: “Showing Up Authentically: Using Our Own Stories to Create Meaningful Relationships”, “Creating Inclusive Spaces with Student and Faculty Colleagues”, “Engaging with Minority-Serving Institutions: Strategies for Conducting Equitable Research”, and “Respectfully Engaging Indigenous Science and Partnerships”.

Taken individually or as a whole, these trainings strive to help support NSF NCAR and UCP scientists and staff in:

• Developing, expanding, and strengthening authentic research partnerships with MSIs that span beyond current collaborations
• Enhancing staff skill and fluency in working with MSIs
• Understanding the diversity of institutions, strengths, and challenges across the MSI umbrella
• Expanding opportunities for connection with NSF NCAR staff and scientists and MSI faculty and students
• Promoting non-extractive, capacity sharing in our research engagements
• Valuing cultural and knowledge capital
• Developing future workforce and career pathways

This presentation aims to share lessons learned in this process, initial evaluation takeaways, and offer space to reflect on experiences navigating these partnerships.