How do you use experience in science and technology to tell a story? For many of us, the idea of a story only exists within the realms of novels and literature. However, many large and small organizations have stories to tell – the challenges they face when growing, the opportunities that arise, and the strategies they use to overcome adversity and transform it into innovation.

For six community organizations, a multi-million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation looks set to create a platform for STEM storytelling – giving them the capacity to share how STEM can make a positive impact in ways you wouldn’t expect.

Any good leader qualified with an online EdD in Organizational Leadership knows the importance of diversity and equity in not only STEM fields but all industries. Let’s dive into what this grant is, what it’s creating – and why it’s so important, not just for the community, but for STEM and storytelling more broadly.

What is the National Science Foundation?

In recent years, the COVID pandemic has brought to the forefront the role that government agencies such as the National Institute of Health (NIH) play in keeping communities safe. What you may not know, however, is that while the NIH focuses on healthcare, it has a sister agency that focuses on science more broadly.

Founded in the shadow of World War II, the National Science Federation was created as an agency with the intention of supporting research and education in scientific fields, such as engineering and mathematics. Its remit focuses on three key areas – promoting scientific progress, advancing national health, welfare, and prosperity, and securing national defense.

With a funding allocation of about $10 billion annually, the NSF invests in a wide range of scientific areas through grants – supporting a wide range of STEM initiatives from computing research to broadening STEM participation across diverse communities.

Why is STEM storytelling so vital?

It can be tricky to understand why sharing stories about STEM is vital to the community’s ongoing growth and evolution. Sharing progress often seems like a natural part of innovation – however, as it turns out, storytelling is often something that isn’t brought to the forefront without attention.

Think of all the wonderful things you see daily – innovation by friends and neighbors, a cool project that you see at a local college or show. While these may be great experiences, often, these local events aren’t widely promoted. 

Getting stories out there has a range of great benefits – helping to highlight the role that STEM projects have within the community, creating a profile for grant recipients, and inspiring the next generation of scientific professionals to leap into a STEM career.

Promoting STEM can also help share stories of diversity within science. While diversity is sometimes pilloried in the media as a buzzword, it can play a remarkable role in enabling high-quality research. Consider this: Different communities often have different experiences growing up. Maybe it’s the resources they have access to, the people they meet along the way, and the opportunities they can take advantage of. These experiences shape us.

While there is a significant focus on improving science storytelling and policymakers’ interest in increasing the nation’s STEM capacity through initiatives such as the CHIPS Act, researchers often find it difficult to secure funding for initiatives. This has been made more challenging by budget cuts to the NSF in recent years and highlights how valuable an NSF grant can be to community organizations.

Enhancing the STEM Narrative in San Diego

In San Diego, a multi-million dollar grant looks set to empower six local community groups with the funds necessary to bring their STEM stories to a wider audience. The collective of groups, known as the Leadership Collaborative, has been awarded a grant totaling $3.7 million.

The six organizations – Fleet Science Center, WorldBeat Center, Project New Village, Elementary Institute of Science, NERDS RULE INC., and San Diego Public Library (Malcolm X/Valencia Park Branch), each play a vital role in the San Diego community – have a unique capability in reaching out to culturally diverse communities in a way that is not possible through traditional educational structures.

The funding grant will fund an initiative spanning these six organizations, known as STEM in Your Neighbourhood. The aim is simple – develop an initiative to empower diverse communities to engage with STEM, providing a new opportunity for groups in communities traditionally under-represented by STEM to share their stories.

The initiative, set to run over several years, aims to harness the power of story-sharing to create change within the community. While historically, San Diego communities have been under-represented in STEM storytelling, the initiative looks to flip the script – and provide a local context to the power of STEM within the community.

Creating a playbook for science storytelling may also have long-lasting impacts. Having ways to share stories about how science is used in the community and keeping a conversation going long after a project is completed is key to keeping STEM front of mind.

Creating New STEM Opportunities

The new initiative led by the Leadership Collaborative is just one part of how San Diego looks to improve STEM outcomes. In recent years, a number of programs have aspired to win residents over with stories of science through initiatives such as mentorship and improved access to STEM education.

What is unique about the Leadership Collaborative’s initiative is that it aspires to create new pathways for the people of San Diego and harness the unique science journeys that organizations travel on their way to success.

The role that diversity plays in fostering unique innovations in STEM is often understated. If there’s anything that recent innovations in AI have shown, it’s that creative innovation can come from all sorts of places – and that even little-known projects can have a seismic impact on the world around them.

The grant to the Leadership Collaborative looks set to open the door to telling new and unique STEM stories – it’s exciting to imagine what’s possible. While San Diego may not be Silicon Valley, initiatives like STEM in Your Neighbourhood show that science stories go beyond the tech hubs.