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Evaluating NSF Programs

Evaluating NSF Programs. Dr. Jennifer Giancola Carney, Abt Associates. September 18, 2008. Agenda. Two NSF program evaluations (IGERT & CAREER) Design & findings Rationale for methods used Limitations of methods used Lessons learned Q&A discussion.

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Evaluating NSF Programs

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  1. Evaluating NSF Programs Dr. Jennifer Giancola Carney, Abt Associates September 18, 2008

  2. Agenda • Two NSF program evaluations (IGERT & CAREER) • Design & findings • Rationale for methods used • Limitations of methods used • Lessons learned • Q&A discussion Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  3. Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeships (IGERT) Program • Since 1998, PhD training program (DGE) • Grants to universities who develop new IGERT-related programs (most $$  student traineeships) • Give PhD students interdisciplinary research experiences and enhanced professional skills & perspectives • Three phases of evaluation • Implementation study (1999-2002) • Impact study (2003-2005) • Follow-up study of graduates (2006-present) Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  4. IGERT Evaluation: Began with a Logic Model Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  5. IGERT Implementation Study • Annual Monitoring: “Who? What? When?” research questions • Who participates and why? What activities are conducted? • Annual web survey of program participants (PIs & trainees) • Describe the program recruitment strategies, training activities, faculty involvement • Site Visits: “How? Why?” research questions • What challenges have projects encountered? How have they overcome them? • Interviews with faculty, students, chairs, administrators • Identify common challenges and solutions project management, faculty engagement, implementing interdisciplinary education within universities Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  6. IGERT Implementation Study (cont.) • Examine implementation across projects and over time • Mixed methods (quantitative & qualitative data) • Data used for GPRA reporting, program management, revisions to solicitations, sharing common solutions with IGERT PIs • Limitations • Little information on longer-term effects of IGERT or broader program impacts on faculty and the university • No comparison to non-IGERT experiences to take into account overall trends in graduate education Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  7. 2003 IGERT Impact Study • Impact study: So what?” research questions • What have been the outcomes for participating IGERT faculty and students as compared to non-participating faculty and students? • Has there been any institutional impact of IGERT funding? • IGERT participants (PIs, dept chairs, faculty, students, administrators) and Non-IGERT participants (comparison group) Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  8. IGERT Comparison Group • Provide a counterfactual for what would have been had IGERT not existed. Needs to control for “academic quality” and variations among STEM disciplines • Matched each IGERT department to a non-IGERT department with whom they compete for graduate students • Vulnerable to selection bias: Outcomes may be due to pre-existing characteristics of IGERT students, not to IGERT program • Examples of reported findings: • Can say: “IGERT trainees engage in more interdisciplinary activities as graduate students than non-IGERT students.” • Cannot say: “IGERT causes students to engage in more interdisciplinary activities.” (Maybe these students would have sought out i/d activities regardless.) Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  9. IGERT Impact Study (cont.) • Benefits • Examine value of IGERT for: • Departmental recruitment • Student preparation • Faculty interdisciplinary involvement • Institutional offerings and support for interdisciplinary education • Assess against counterfactual of “traditional” graduate ed. • Limitations • Focused on current participants • Tested lots of outcomes – hypothesis generating (not confirming) • No data on longer term outcomes for graduates Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  10. 2006 IGERT Follow-up Study • Graduate study: “What?” “So what?” questions: • Where do IGERT graduates go and what do they do? Are they any different from non-IGERT graduates? Has IGERT helped prepare them for their chosen careers? • IGERT graduates and comparison group of non-IGERT graduates • Presenting detailed descriptive data on IGERT graduates • Limiting outcomes tested with comparison group to key outcomes (hypothesis confirming, though still selection bias) • Challenge: locating graduates • Monitoring system had info on point of contact • Easier to find those in academic positions versus non-academic positions. Introduces sample bias into results – will conduct non-response bias during analysis. Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  11. Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program • NSF’s primary support mechanism for junior faculty members since 1995. • Grants to individual faculty members • Support the research and early career advancement of junior researchers • Promote the integration of research and education: • Individual awardees • Changing university culture • Most recent evaluation: 2005-2008 Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  12. CAREER: Research Questions • Descriptive questions re: perceptions of CAREER • How do stakeholders at NSF perceive the CAREER program and its relationship to the mission of NSF? • How do faculty members in departments that host CAREER awardee(s) view the CAREER program and its relationship to their research and educational missions? • Impact questions • What is the impact of CAREER on the research activities and career advancement of awardees? • What is the impact of CAREER on the integration of research and education by faculty members? Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  13. CAREER: Methodology • Descriptive Study • Interviews with NSF Program Officers • Survey of 700 department chairs • Site visits 22 departments • Samples representative of population in question (but no comparison group) Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  14. CAREER: Methodology (cont.) • Quasi-experimental evaluation of impact on awardees • CAREER Awardees • Comparison group of Non-Awardees (same research potential and interest in integration of research and education) • Unsuccessful CAREER applicants who won another NSF grant as PI w/in 5 years of CAREER application • Matched using propensity scores (reduces selection bias) • Limited outcomes tested (confirming hypotheses) Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  15. CAREER: Findings • Description of how program goals are interpreted within and outside of NSF  Inform program management • Description of characteristics of awarded PIs  NSF program reporting (GPRA, etc.) • Assessment of grant’s impact on awardees (“Receipt of a CAREER award increases the likelihood of receiving tenure”) Inform decisions about program continuation or modification Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  16. Lessons learned • Know thy program: Until you understand the intervention, you cannot assess outcomes • Logic model, articulate goals • Develop indicators / measures of program success • Clearly define your research questions • Prioritize - you cannot evaluate everything • Identify data needs for reporting, decision-making • Be realistic (ask questions that can be answered about indicators that can be measured) • CAREER: “impact on institutional culture” Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  17. Lessons learned (cont.) • Identifying appropriate comparison groups • What’s the right counterfactual? Each comparison option allows you to answer different questions. Choose the option which best addresses the research questions. • IGERT - other interdisciplinary programs? Same or different institutions? All STEM students nationwide? • Choose right level of rigor (developing or testing hypotheses?) • Consider risk of selection bias • Change over time (longitudinal studies; pre/post) • Take advantage of available data available • National datasets • CAREER – data available to do PS matching Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  18. Lessons learned (cont.) • Ground each subsequent phase in findings from previous work: • Work from exploratory / descriptive evaluation to more summative / confirmatory evaluation. Each phase can answer questions raised (or not answered) in previous phases. • IGERT: Implementation  Impact  Graduate Follow-up • Take advantage of different levels of data collection • Qualitative versus quantitative; single versus cross-site • IGERT: Richness of single site visits enabled future studies Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  19. Lessons learned (cont.) • Think long term • Begin evaluation when program begins • Plan now for information you will need in the future • IGERT: tracking graduates • New study (GK-12) – building comparison group today for work in future Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

  20. Questions? Abt Associates AGEP Capacity Building Meeting Presentation

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