Cohort

This session will share information about current practices and provocative questions about issues of equity and diversity in Research Development by sharing experiences from two different faculty development/mentoring programs, one at Saint Louis University (SLU) and the other at Appalachian State University (ASU).  At SLU, the BILCN-Research helps faculty in Building Integrated Learning and Coaching Networks for Research.  The Appalachian State University PREPARE program (Prepare for Appalachian Research Experiences) is a similar, more established program.
The purpose of this session is to stimulate discussion about different approaches to cohort-based faculty research development programs and more specifically the role of such programs in addressing research needs for underrepresented groups of faculty and linking such programs directly to Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (JEDI) initiatives.  Current cohorts of PREPARE specifically address gender underrepresentation in STEM disciplines and the program has been supported by the NSF.  The initial BILCN-Research@SLU did not have a requirement for DEI categorization, though all the faculty participants have been in intersectional underrepresented categories. Future iterations of the BILCN cohort program will explicitly aim to provide faculty researchers not only with networking and proposal development tools, but also guidance on how to contribute to an effective and inclusive research ecology.
BILCN-Research is a 6-9 month, cohort-based research development program that develops SLU faculty’s networks and skills needed to advance their research agendas and effectively compete for external funding. Faculty participants are selected by a committee of faculty members and are high-potential, full-time SLU faculty who have not received major external funding awards in the past 3-5 years, but who have active research agendas and a project for which they will seek major external funding. The expected outcome for all participants is submission of a major external grant proposal within approximately 1 year. 
PREPARE is a customized research mentoring program for research-interested junior faculty at Appalachian State University.  Each cohort is introduced to a mentor network which assists these individuals with establishing a realistic research agenda, improving grantsmanship skills, seeking appropriate external funding sources, and promoting compliance with internal and external protocols to increase successful grant submissions. Participants anticipate preparing and submitting a grant proposal within 12-24 months.
The program will invite participants to examine Research Development practices at their own institutions, specifically cohort-based programs and those that target JEDI-impacted faculty.