StratEGIC Toolkit
How can universities create institutional environments that support the success of women scholars in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields?
This challenge has faced U.S. institutions of higher education for decades as they seek to increase the representation and involvement of STEM academic women. Solving this problem requires system-wide efforts to identify and remove organizational constraints that lead to gendered biases in institutional policies and processes.
The StratEGIC Toolkit offers research-based advice about strategic interventions useful in this type of organizational change. Our research draws upon the programs and experiences of institutions that have implemented Institutional Transformation (IT) projects under the National Science Foundation's ADVANCE program.
This practical Toolkit distills and shares lessons learned about particular interventions and how they combine into an overall change portfolio. Organizations can strategically choose and combine interventions as they work to support the success of women scholars in STEM fields. This resource is organized in a modular form. If you'd prefer to have all the ideas in one place, our book, Building Gender Equity in the Academy: Institutional Strategies for Change, gathers these research-based strategies in a handbook for change leaders.
Read the StratEGIC Users' Guide first for an overview of the StratEGIC Toolkit and advice on how to use it in planning or implementing your own initiative.
Watch a video introduction to the StratEGIC Toolkit (~4 minutes).
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBbWJH3Xup0]
Tools in the Toolkit
The 13 Strategic Intervention Briefs (4-7 pages each) examine one type of strategic intervention that has been frequently used in ADVANCE initiatives. These interventions are not "one size fits all"—rather, the Briefs offer detailed information that will enable you to assess whether and how this intervention will be strategically useful to your institution as part of an overall change portfolio. The intent and structure of the Briefs will be most clear if you first read the concise introduction in the StratEGIC Users' Guide.
- Faculty professional development programs
- Grants to individual faculty
- Mentoring and networking activities
- Development of institutional leaders
- Inclusive recruitment and hiring
- Equitable processes of tenure and promotion
- Strengthened accountability structures
- Flexible work arrangements
- Practical family-friendly accommodations
- Support for dual-career couples
- Strategies for improving departmental climate
- Visiting scholars
- Enhanced visibility for women and women's issues
The 15 Institutional Portfolios (3-5 pages each) describe how different institutions combined interventions—such as those described in the Briefs—into an overall change portfolio. The Institutional Portfolios offer real examples of how project teams identified core problems for STEM women faculty on their campus; chose, designed and implemented interventions to address these problems; and assessed their success. All the Portfolios come from research on institutions funded in Rounds 1-2 of ADVANCE IT (funded 2001-04). The intent and structure of the Portfolios will be most clear if you first read the concise introduction in the StratEGIC Users' Guide.
The 11 Program Perspectives are video vignettes (8-13 minutes) that highlight the innovative work of specific institutions funded in later IT grants. Each vignette highlights a change leader from a single institution, describing key features of that project and challenges they faced, and giving advice about large change initiatives. Most of the Program Perspectives come from Rounds 3-6 of ADVANCE IT grants (funded 2006-12).
- Iowa State
- Jackson State
- Lehigh
- Montana State
- North Dakota State
- Northeastern & Rice
- U. Maryland, College Park
- U. Nebraska-Lincoln
- U. Texas Rio Grande Valley
- Virginia Tech
- West Virginia
You can browse all the videos at the StratEGIC Toolkit video channel.
The Cross-Cutting Perspectives are video collages (most 5-6 minutes) that combine insights from a variety of ADVANCE leaders about the broad processes of change.
- Introduction to the StratEGIC Toolkit (4 min.)
- Perspectives on the Role of Context in Shaping Change(~6 min.)
- Perspectives on Working for Change at Multiple Levels(~5 min.)
- Perspectives on Diversity, Inclusion, and ADVANCE (~5 min.)
- Perspective on the Process of Change (~6 min.)
- Researcher Perspective: Mary Armstrong on ADVANCING Intersectionality (~12 min.)
You can browse all the videos at the StratEGIC Toolkit video channel.
Other Resources
In addition to the StratEGIC Toolkit, we have written scholarly publications based on the research . Publications to date include:
- Laursen, S., & Austin, A. (2021). Building gender equity in the academy: Institutional strategies for change. Presentation to celebrate 20 years of NSF ADVANCE, March 3. Recorded talk & slide set available, together with other presentations in the month-long series (slide attachments at the bottom of the page).
- Laursen, S., & Austin, A. E. (2020). Building gender equity in the academy: Institutional strategies for change. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Laursen, S. L., & De Welde, K. (2019). The changer and the changed: Evolving theories and practices of change in ADVANCE calls for institutional transformation. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 38(2), 140-159. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-09-2017-0192 [Author accepted MS]
- Laursen, S. L., De Welde, K., & Austin, A. E. (2019). Workshop Report: ADVANCE and Beyond; Thinking Strategically about Faculty-Based Institutional Change. Boulder, CO, Charleston, SC, & East Lansing, MI.
- Laursen, S. L., & Austin, A. E. (2018). Faculty development for mid-career women in STEM: Cementing career success, building future leaders. In V. L. Baker, L. G. Lunsford, G. Neisler, M. J. Pifer, & A. L. Terosky (Eds.), Success after tenure: Supporting mid-career faculty (pp. 221-242). Sterling, VA: Stylus. [Author accepted manuscript]
- Austin, A. E., & Laursen, S. L. (2015). Organizational Change Strategies in ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Projects: Synthesis of a Working Meeting. Boulder, CO, and East Lansing, MI.
- Laursen, S. L., Austin, A. E., Soto, M., & Martinez, D. (2015). ADVANCing the agenda for gender equity: Tools for strategic institutional change. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 47(4), 16-24. DOI: 10.1080/00091383.2015.1053767 [Author version]
- Laursen, S. L., Austin, A. E., Soto, M., & Martinez, D. (2015). Strategic institutional change to support advancement of women scientists in the academy: Initial lessons from a study of ADVANCE-IT projects. Ch. 5 in M.A. Holmes, S. O’Connell & K. Dutt (Eds.), Women in the geosciences: Practical, positive practices toward parity, AGU Special Publications 70, Washington, DC, & Hoboken, NJ: American Geophysical Union & John Wiley & Sons; pp. 39-49.
- Laursen, S. L., & Austin, A. E. (2014). StratEGIC Toolkit: Strategies for Effecting Gender Equity and Institutional Change. Boulder, CO, and East Lansing, MI. www.strategictoolkit.org [this resource]
- Austin, A., Laursen, S., Hunter, A.-B., Soto, M., & Martinez, D. (2011.) Organizational change strategies to support the success of women scholars in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields: Categories, variations, and issues. Presented at Inciting the Social Imagination: Education Research for the Public Good, 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA, April 8-12. [Author version]
To learn more about the NSF ADVANCE program:
- The National Science Foundation's ADVANCE program web site includes links to the most recent call for proposals and a listing of recent awards.
- The ADVANCE Portal Website is an indexed directory of ADVANCE-related resources, maintained at Virginia Tech.
- Our StratEGIC Users Guide includes a list of additional reading.
- We compiled a list of ADVANCE IT grantees through 2019.
- We participated in the NSF Video Showcase in May 2016.
We do not take responsibility for the content or currency of material at external links.
To Cite the Toolkit
Laursen, S. L., & Austin, A. E. (2014). StratEGIC Toolkit: Strategies for Effecting Gender Equity and Institutional Change. Boulder, CO, and East Lansing, MI. www.strategictoolkit.org
This research study and development of the StratEGIC Toolkit and other products has been supported by the National Science Foundation through ADVANCE PAID grant #HRD-0930097. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations are those of the researchers and do not necessarily represent the official views, opinions, or policy of the National Science Foundation.
Acknowledgments
Our collaborative research team is based at Michigan State University and the University of Colorado Boulder. Ann Austin (MSU) and Sandra Laursen (CU) co-direct the project. We thank Melissa Soto and Dali Martinez for their work as research assistants at MSU. We also thank Anne-Barrie Hunter (CU), Melissa Arreola Peña (CU), Susan Lynds (CU) and Karla Bellingar (MSU) for their assistance. We are grateful to Elizabeth Creamer and Kris De Welde for their evaluative input.
We thank Mindy Anderson-Knott, Mary Armstrong, Canan Bilen-Green, Bonnie Bowen, Elizabeth Creamer, Kris De Welde, Patrick Farrell, Melissa Latimer, Loretta Moore, Marie Mora, KerryAnn O'Meara, Jan Rinehart, Sara Rushing, and Mary Deane Sorcinelli for participating in our video interviews. The videos were filmed by and co-produced with Ryan Vachon of Earth Initiatives in Boulder. Thanks for making us all look and sound good, Ryan!
We are grateful to our study participants, those who helped us coordinate interviews and visits, our advisory board, and the many ADVANCE program leaders and colleagues in the broader ADVANCE community who have shared their insights, advice, and encouragement.