Planet Texas 2050 Bridging Barriers Initiative - University of Texas-Austin
Planet Texas 2050 is an institutional grand challenges research initiative with the overarching goal of discovering the critical interactions between environmental and human systems in Texas and developing strategies to improve the resilience of these systems to the coupled stress of climate extreme and rapid population growth through 2050. Planet Texas 2050 work will focus on understanding the interconnectedness of four critical resource systems: Water, Energy, Urbanization and Ecosystem Services. Vincent Evaluation Consulting provided evaluation planning recommendations for the initiative and serves as the external program evaluator for a proposed PT2050 graduate training program titled Resilience of Urban Systems in Semi-Arid Regions submitted to the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Employing Model-based Reasoning in Socio-environmental Synthesis - University of Texas-El Paso
Knowledge integration across disciplines is at the heart of addressing important research challenges, such as impacts of global change, trade-offs between water, food, and energy production, and the need for sustainable cities. The EMBeRS Project is testing a new model for integrating knowledge across disciplines based on cognitive science theories of model-based reasoning. The project is also creating educational materials to train students to overcome the barriers to integrating knowledge across disciplines. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the EMBeRS project. EMBeRS was funded by the National Science Foundation NSF Research Traineeship Innovations in Graduate Education Program. The EMBeRS team has submitted a proposal to continue research to the National Science Foundation Education and Human Resources Core Research Program on Fundamental Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education.
The Aldo Leopold Foundation
The Aldo Leopold foundation’s mission is to foster a land ethic through the legacy of Aldo Leopold. Their vision is to weave a land ethic into the fabric of our society; to advance the understanding, stewardship and restoration of land health; and to cultivate leadership for conservation. Vincent Evaluation Consulting is working with the foundation to design and implement a survey research project to learn about higher education faculty members’ perceptions of social ethics and responsibility, inclusion of social ethics/responsibility in curricula, and methods/needs for content delivery and assessment.
National Transportation Career Pathways Initiative - Environmental Discipline Working Group
The Northeast Transportation Workforce Center Environmental Discipline Working Group is an advisory group of interdisciplinary and action-oriented experts focused on advising and critiquing work directed at properly equipping students and workers with the skills, competencies, and experiences necessary to succeed in a transportation career advancing environmental and sustainability goals. Dr. Vincent served as a volunteer member of the Working Group.
Resources
-
Outcome Mapping: Building Learning and Reflection into Development Programs
-
Evaluation Flash Cards
-
Evaluation Plan Workbook
-
Embracing Emergence: How Collective Impact Addresses Complexity
-
Using Complexity Science Concepts when Designing System Interventions and Evaluations
-
Ten Keys to Successful Strategic Planning for Nonprofit and Foundation Leaders
BROADN: Biology Integration Institutes: Regional OneHealth Aerobiome Discovery Network - Colorado State University.
BROADN is an interdisciplinary team of Colorado State University. The research team includes agricultural biologists, microbiologists, atmospheric scientists and sociologists who work together to understand how microbial communities impact global health. The health of animals, plants, humans and the environment are undoubtedly dependent upon the function of this invisible community. This project supports a unique interdisciplinary research and training program for the next generation of biological scientists and has potentially transformational implications for understanding weather patterns, disease spread, microbial ecology, the environment and health of humans and animals.”
COMBINE: Computation and Mathematics for Biological Networks - University of Maryland.
COMBINE immerses graduate students in interdisciplinary research and training that integrates quantitative modeling methods from physics and mathematics with data processing, analysis, and visualization tools from computer science to gain deeper insights into the structural and dynamical principles governing living systems. Participants utilize a network-based, data-driven approach, focusing on how interaction patterns can give insights into complex biological phenomena. COMBINE prepares students to become experts in the process of transforming raw biological data into useful information from which new biological insights can be inferred, positioning them to pursue a range of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers at the nexus of the computer, physical, and life sciences. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the COMBINE project. COMBINE is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
UMD Global STEWARDS: STEM Training at the Nexus of Energy, Water Reuse and Food Systems- University of Maryland.
UMD Global STEWARDS is preparing future leaders focused on innovations at the nexus of food, energy and water (FEW) systems. The program trains students to effectively work and communicate across disciplines to address food/energy/water nexus issues from molecular to societal levels and from local to global scales. The UMD Global STEWARDS NRT program prepares students through hands-on domestic and international experiences, as well as research, training and outreach opportunities that integrate the biological, physical, social, behavioral and computer sciences. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the UMD Global STEWARDS project. UMD Global STEWARDS is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Improving Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Developing a Next Generation Concept Inventory and Assessment Tool – University of Northern Colorado
To better inform those who teach, make curricular decisions, and manage college-level environmental programs, we are developing a tool for assessing environmental students’ foundational knowledge and their ability to grasp complex systems-level concepts. Specifically, we apply an established machine learning method of evaluating constructed response (short answer) questions to create a Next Generation Concept Inventory (NGCI). This new approach to concept inventory construction creates a new set of constructed-response items and associated automated scoring models focused on the complex systems typically addressed in EPs. This work focuses on Food-Energy-Water Nexus systems as an initial pilot for NGCI development. Dr. Vincent serves as a Co-Principal Investigator and internal evaluator for this project. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources program.
BRIDGES: Building Resources for Interdisciplinary Training in Genomics and Ecosystem Sciences – University of Arizona
The new science of ecosystem genomics integrates the large-scale science of how ecosystems work with the small-scale science of how genes and genomes of organisms interact with their environments. Ecosystem genomics promises new knowledge to sustain the biological systems that support, interact with, and are disrupted by human society, such as the agroecosystems that supply food to the world -- and, more generally, the plants, microbes, and insects that shape local, regional, and global cycles of energy, water, and carbon in both natural and managed ecosystems. The challenge that most limits fulfillment of the promise of ecosystem genomics is transdisciplinary integration: fundamentally, an education and training challenge. The BRIDGES program addresses this challenge by training a diverse cadre of scientists to catalyze innovation across biological scales and science disciplines. This project will diversify and improve inclusion in science and technology fields, key to enhancing intellectual strength and fostering transdisciplinarity. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external evaluator for this project. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Environmental Science and Policy Program Review - Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college with coed graduate and certificate programs in Northampton, Massachusetts. In its 2018 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked it tied for 11th among the best National Liberal Arts Colleges. The Environmental Science and Policy Program minor was established in 1996 and the major in 2010. The program seeks to educate students about the environment and pressing problem and produce future leaders with interdisciplinary analysis and problem-solving skills. The program is undergoing its first formal external review. Dr. Vincent serves as an external reviewer, preparing a report that positions the program in the national landscape and making recommendations for consideration. The review is funded by the Provost and the Program Committee.
Planet Texas 2050 Bridging Barriers Initiative - University of Texas-Austin
Planet Texas 2050 is an institutional grand challenges research initiative with the overarching goal of discovering the critical interactions between environmental and human systems in Texas and developing strategies to improve the resilience of these systems to the coupled stress of climate extreme and rapid population growth through 2050. Planet Texas 2050 work will focus on understanding the interconnectedness of four critical resource systems: Water, Energy, Urbanization and Ecosystem Services. Vincent Evaluation Consulting provided evaluation planning recommendations for the initiative and serves as the external program evaluator for a proposed PT2050 graduate training program titled Resilience of Urban Systems in Semi-Arid Regions submitted to the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Interdisciplinary Training, Education and Research in Food-Energy-Water Systems (InTERFEWS) Graduate Program - Colorado State University
As population continues to grow and demands for resources increase, understanding the nexus of Food-Energy-Water Systems (FEWS) is vital to ensure the reliability and equity of access to these crucial resources. FEWS are tightly intertwined and characterized by complex tradeoffs that are not yet well understood. Understanding the demands for and tradeoffs amongst FEW resources are particularly challenging in semi-arid regions, where increasing population trends are likely to continue, and water shortage poses risks to agriculture and energy industries. The Program brings together PhD students from traditionally disparate disciplines to conduct research on key problems in the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus with a focus on water-scarce, arid regions. The program’s mission is to prepare a diverse cohort of graduate students with the transdisciplinary and systems-level thinking skills necessary to make meaningful contributions to the complex and changing interactions in FEWS under water scarcity. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the InTERFEWS project. InTERFEWS is funded by the National Science Foundation Research program.
Employing Model-based Reasoning in Socio-environmental Synthesis - University of Texas-El Paso
Knowledge integration across disciplines is at the heart of addressing important research challenges, such as impacts of global change, trade-offs between water, food, and energy production, and the need for sustainable cities. The EMBeRS Project is testing a new model for integrating knowledge across disciplines based on cognitive science theories of model-based reasoning. The project is also creating educational materials to train students to overcome the barriers to integrating knowledge across disciplines. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the EMBeRS project. EMBeRS was funded by the National Science Foundation NSF Research Traineeship Innovations in Graduate Education Program. The EMBeRS team has submitted a proposal to continue research to the National Science Foundation Education and Human Resources Core Research Program on Fundamental Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education.
Urban Water Innovation Network - Colorado State University
The UWIN network, a consortium of academic institutions and key partners across the U.S., includes research, engagement and educational programs that address challenges that threaten urban water systems. The mission of UWIN is to create technological, institutional, and management solutions to help communities increase the resilience of their water systems and enhance preparedness for responding to water crises. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the education programs components of the UWIN project. The Urban Water Innovation Network is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network: Sustainability Research Program.
Coasts and Communities: Natural and Human Systems in Urbanizing Environments - University of Massachusetts-Boston
The interaction of coastal areas and the human communities that inhabit them presents a range of complex environmental and social challenges and opportunities which have proven difficult to investigate using traditional, single-discipline approaches. The Coasts and Communities program teaches a transdisciplinary approach to exploring the connections between the dynamics of human and natural systems. In particular, the program addresses the pressures that human activities exert on linked coastal systems and the effects of changing ecosystem dynamics on these human communities. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the Coasts and Communities program. The Coasts and Communities program is funded by the NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Program.
The Aldo Leopold Foundation
The Aldo Leopold foundation’s mission is to foster a land ethic through the legacy of Aldo Leopold. Their vision is to weave a land ethic into the fabric of our society; to advance the understanding, stewardship and restoration of land health; and to cultivate leadership for conservation. Vincent Evaluation Consulting is working with the foundation to design and implement a survey research project to learn about higher education faculty members’ perceptions of social ethics and responsibility, inclusion of social ethics/responsibility in curricula, and methods/needs for content delivery and assessment.
National Transportation Career Pathways Initiative - Environmental Discipline Working Group
The Northeast Transportation Workforce Center Environmental Discipline Working Group is an advisory group of interdisciplinary and action-oriented experts focused on advising and critiquing work directed at properly equipping students and workers with the skills, competencies, and experiences necessary to succeed in a transportation career advancing environmental and sustainability goals. Dr. Vincent served as a volunteer member of the Working Group.
Resources
-
Outcome Mapping: Building Learning and Reflection into Development Programs
-
Evaluation Flash Cards
-
Evaluation Plan Workbook
-
Embracing Emergence: How Collective Impact Addresses Complexity
-
Using Complexity Science Concepts when Designing System Interventions and Evaluations
-
Ten Keys to Successful Strategic Planning for Nonprofit and Foundation Leaders
BROADN: Biology Integration Institutes: Regional OneHealth Aerobiome Discovery Network - Colorado State University.
BROADN is an interdisciplinary team of Colorado State University. The research team includes agricultural biologists, microbiologists, atmospheric scientists and sociologists who work together to understand how microbial communities impact global health. The health of animals, plants, humans and the environment are undoubtedly dependent upon the function of this invisible community. This project supports a unique interdisciplinary research and training program for the next generation of biological scientists and has potentially transformational implications for understanding weather patterns, disease spread, microbial ecology, the environment and health of humans and animals.”
COMBINE: Computation and Mathematics for Biological Networks - University of Maryland.
COMBINE immerses graduate students in interdisciplinary research and training that integrates quantitative modeling methods from physics and mathematics with data processing, analysis, and visualization tools from computer science to gain deeper insights into the structural and dynamical principles governing living systems. Participants utilize a network-based, data-driven approach, focusing on how interaction patterns can give insights into complex biological phenomena. COMBINE prepares students to become experts in the process of transforming raw biological data into useful information from which new biological insights can be inferred, positioning them to pursue a range of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers at the nexus of the computer, physical, and life sciences. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the COMBINE project. COMBINE is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
UMD Global STEWARDS: STEM Training at the Nexus of Energy, Water Reuse and Food Systems- University of Maryland.
UMD Global STEWARDS is preparing future leaders focused on innovations at the nexus of food, energy and water (FEW) systems. The program trains students to effectively work and communicate across disciplines to address food/energy/water nexus issues from molecular to societal levels and from local to global scales. The UMD Global STEWARDS NRT program prepares students through hands-on domestic and international experiences, as well as research, training and outreach opportunities that integrate the biological, physical, social, behavioral and computer sciences. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the UMD Global STEWARDS project. UMD Global STEWARDS is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Improving Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Developing a Next Generation Concept Inventory and Assessment Tool – University of Northern Colorado
To better inform those who teach, make curricular decisions, and manage college-level environmental programs, we are developing a tool for assessing environmental students’ foundational knowledge and their ability to grasp complex systems-level concepts. Specifically, we apply an established machine learning method of evaluating constructed response (short answer) questions to create a Next Generation Concept Inventory (NGCI). This new approach to concept inventory construction creates a new set of constructed-response items and associated automated scoring models focused on the complex systems typically addressed in EPs. This work focuses on Food-Energy-Water Nexus systems as an initial pilot for NGCI development. Dr. Vincent serves as a Co-Principal Investigator and internal evaluator for this project. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources program.
BRIDGES: Building Resources for Interdisciplinary Training in Genomics and Ecosystem Sciences – University of Arizona
The new science of ecosystem genomics integrates the large-scale science of how ecosystems work with the small-scale science of how genes and genomes of organisms interact with their environments. Ecosystem genomics promises new knowledge to sustain the biological systems that support, interact with, and are disrupted by human society, such as the agroecosystems that supply food to the world -- and, more generally, the plants, microbes, and insects that shape local, regional, and global cycles of energy, water, and carbon in both natural and managed ecosystems. The challenge that most limits fulfillment of the promise of ecosystem genomics is transdisciplinary integration: fundamentally, an education and training challenge. The BRIDGES program addresses this challenge by training a diverse cadre of scientists to catalyze innovation across biological scales and science disciplines. This project will diversify and improve inclusion in science and technology fields, key to enhancing intellectual strength and fostering transdisciplinarity. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external evaluator for this project. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Environmental Science and Policy Program Review - Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college with coed graduate and certificate programs in Northampton, Massachusetts. In its 2018 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked it tied for 11th among the best National Liberal Arts Colleges. The Environmental Science and Policy Program minor was established in 1996 and the major in 2010. The program seeks to educate students about the environment and pressing problem and produce future leaders with interdisciplinary analysis and problem-solving skills. The program is undergoing its first formal external review. Dr. Vincent serves as an external reviewer, preparing a report that positions the program in the national landscape and making recommendations for consideration. The review is funded by the Provost and the Program Committee.
Planet Texas 2050 Bridging Barriers Initiative - University of Texas-Austin
Planet Texas 2050 is an institutional grand challenges research initiative with the overarching goal of discovering the critical interactions between environmental and human systems in Texas and developing strategies to improve the resilience of these systems to the coupled stress of climate extreme and rapid population growth through 2050. Planet Texas 2050 work will focus on understanding the interconnectedness of four critical resource systems: Water, Energy, Urbanization and Ecosystem Services. Vincent Evaluation Consulting provided evaluation planning recommendations for the initiative and serves as the external program evaluator for a proposed PT2050 graduate training program titled Resilience of Urban Systems in Semi-Arid Regions submitted to the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Interdisciplinary Training, Education and Research in Food-Energy-Water Systems (InTERFEWS) Graduate Program - Colorado State University
As population continues to grow and demands for resources increase, understanding the nexus of Food-Energy-Water Systems (FEWS) is vital to ensure the reliability and equity of access to these crucial resources. FEWS are tightly intertwined and characterized by complex tradeoffs that are not yet well understood. Understanding the demands for and tradeoffs amongst FEW resources are particularly challenging in semi-arid regions, where increasing population trends are likely to continue, and water shortage poses risks to agriculture and energy industries. The Program brings together PhD students from traditionally disparate disciplines to conduct research on key problems in the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus with a focus on water-scarce, arid regions. The program’s mission is to prepare a diverse cohort of graduate students with the transdisciplinary and systems-level thinking skills necessary to make meaningful contributions to the complex and changing interactions in FEWS under water scarcity. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the InTERFEWS project. InTERFEWS is funded by the National Science Foundation Research program.
Employing Model-based Reasoning in Socio-environmental Synthesis - University of Texas-El Paso
Knowledge integration across disciplines is at the heart of addressing important research challenges, such as impacts of global change, trade-offs between water, food, and energy production, and the need for sustainable cities. The EMBeRS Project is testing a new model for integrating knowledge across disciplines based on cognitive science theories of model-based reasoning. The project is also creating educational materials to train students to overcome the barriers to integrating knowledge across disciplines. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the EMBeRS project. EMBeRS was funded by the National Science Foundation NSF Research Traineeship Innovations in Graduate Education Program. The EMBeRS team has submitted a proposal to continue research to the National Science Foundation Education and Human Resources Core Research Program on Fundamental Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education.
Urban Water Innovation Network - Colorado State University
The UWIN network, a consortium of academic institutions and key partners across the U.S., includes research, engagement and educational programs that address challenges that threaten urban water systems. The mission of UWIN is to create technological, institutional, and management solutions to help communities increase the resilience of their water systems and enhance preparedness for responding to water crises. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the education programs components of the UWIN project. The Urban Water Innovation Network is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network: Sustainability Research Program.
Coasts and Communities: Natural and Human Systems in Urbanizing Environments - University of Massachusetts-Boston
The interaction of coastal areas and the human communities that inhabit them presents a range of complex environmental and social challenges and opportunities which have proven difficult to investigate using traditional, single-discipline approaches. The Coasts and Communities program teaches a transdisciplinary approach to exploring the connections between the dynamics of human and natural systems. In particular, the program addresses the pressures that human activities exert on linked coastal systems and the effects of changing ecosystem dynamics on these human communities. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the Coasts and Communities program. The Coasts and Communities program is funded by the NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Program.
The Aldo Leopold Foundation
The Aldo Leopold foundation’s mission is to foster a land ethic through the legacy of Aldo Leopold. Their vision is to weave a land ethic into the fabric of our society; to advance the understanding, stewardship and restoration of land health; and to cultivate leadership for conservation. Vincent Evaluation Consulting is working with the foundation to design and implement a survey research project to learn about higher education faculty members’ perceptions of social ethics and responsibility, inclusion of social ethics/responsibility in curricula, and methods/needs for content delivery and assessment.
National Transportation Career Pathways Initiative - Environmental Discipline Working Group
The Northeast Transportation Workforce Center Environmental Discipline Working Group is an advisory group of interdisciplinary and action-oriented experts focused on advising and critiquing work directed at properly equipping students and workers with the skills, competencies, and experiences necessary to succeed in a transportation career advancing environmental and sustainability goals. Dr. Vincent served as a volunteer member of the Working Group.
Resources
-
Outcome Mapping: Building Learning and Reflection into Development Programs
-
Evaluation Flash Cards
-
Evaluation Plan Workbook
-
Embracing Emergence: How Collective Impact Addresses Complexity
-
Using Complexity Science Concepts when Designing System Interventions and Evaluations
-
Ten Keys to Successful Strategic Planning for Nonprofit and Foundation Leaders
Verena: Biology Integration Institute: Viral Emergence Research Initiative – Georgetown University.
The Viral Emergence Research Initiative (Verena) Biology Integration Institute is a multi-institutional, multinational group of researchers advancing knowledge of the connections among microbiological processes, computational methods, and real-world problems. The Institute serves as the central hub for open data on viral biodiversity and dynamics in wildlife, while advancing a cutting-edge research agenda that targets some of the biggest sources of emerging infectious diseases, including bat reservoirs and mosquito vectors. In the process, we will train scientists at all career stages in the science of the host-virus network and the science of prediction, as well as core skills in data fluency and boundary spanning, creating the next generation of researchers familiar with our team’s unique approach.
CRESSLE: Community Resilience integrated into an Earth System Science Learning Ecosystem – University of Texas at Austin.
CRESSLE partners geoscience researchers and Austin community members to address issues of community resilience. The grant is a collaboration involving faculty from the University of Arizona, as well as faculty and researchers from the Jackson School of Geosciences, the Moody College of Communication, the College of Liberal Arts, Dell Medical School, the LBJ School of Public Affairs and local community organizations and other stakeholders, including People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources (PODER). UT researchers will partner with underserved and underrepresented communities from east Austin neighborhoods to assess community needs and create a community of practice that will design and implement community-driven research projects addressing community resilience and sustainability challenges. Projects will address resilience via three research themes: Water Resources, Climate Resilience, and Communities & Landscapes.
BROADN: Biology Integration Institutes: Regional OneHealth Aerobiome Discovery Network - Colorado State University.
BROADN is an interdisciplinary team of Colorado State University. The research team includes agricultural biologists, microbiologists, atmospheric scientists and sociologists who work together to understand how microbial communities impact global health. The health of animals, plants, humans and the environment are undoubtedly dependent upon the function of this invisible community. This project supports a unique interdisciplinary research and training program for the next generation of biological scientists and has potentially transformational implications for understanding weather patterns, disease spread, microbial ecology, the environment and health of humans and animals.”
COMBINE: Computation and Mathematics for Biological Networks - University of Maryland.
COMBINE immerses graduate students in interdisciplinary research and training that integrates quantitative modeling methods from physics and mathematics with data processing, analysis, and visualization tools from computer science to gain deeper insights into the structural and dynamical principles governing living systems. Participants utilize a network-based, data-driven approach, focusing on how interaction patterns can give insights into complex biological phenomena. COMBINE prepares students to become experts in the process of transforming raw biological data into useful information from which new biological insights can be inferred, positioning them to pursue a range of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers at the nexus of the computer, physical, and life sciences. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the COMBINE project. COMBINE is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
UMD Global STEWARDS: STEM Training at the Nexus of Energy, Water Reuse and Food Systems- University of Maryland.
UMD Global STEWARDS is preparing future leaders focused on innovations at the nexus of food, energy and water (FEW) systems. The program trains students to effectively work and communicate across disciplines to address food/energy/water nexus issues from molecular to societal levels and from local to global scales. The UMD Global STEWARDS NRT program prepares students through hands-on domestic and international experiences, as well as research, training and outreach opportunities that integrate the biological, physical, social, behavioral and computer sciences. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the UMD Global STEWARDS project. UMD Global STEWARDS is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Improving Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Developing a Next Generation Concept Inventory and Assessment Tool – University of Northern Colorado
To better inform those who teach, make curricular decisions, and manage college-level environmental programs, we are developing a tool for assessing environmental students’ foundational knowledge and their ability to grasp complex systems-level concepts. Specifically, we apply an established machine learning method of evaluating constructed response (short answer) questions to create a Next Generation Concept Inventory (NGCI). This new approach to concept inventory construction creates a new set of constructed-response items and associated automated scoring models focused on the complex systems typically addressed in EPs. This work focuses on Food-Energy-Water Nexus systems as an initial pilot for NGCI development. Dr. Vincent serves as a Co-Principal Investigator and internal evaluator for this project. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources program.
BRIDGES: Building Resources for Interdisciplinary Training in Genomics and Ecosystem Sciences – University of Arizona
The new science of ecosystem genomics integrates the large-scale science of how ecosystems work with the small-scale science of how genes and genomes of organisms interact with their environments. Ecosystem genomics promises new knowledge to sustain the biological systems that support, interact with, and are disrupted by human society, such as the agroecosystems that supply food to the world -- and, more generally, the plants, microbes, and insects that shape local, regional, and global cycles of energy, water, and carbon in both natural and managed ecosystems. The challenge that most limits fulfillment of the promise of ecosystem genomics is transdisciplinary integration: fundamentally, an education and training challenge. The BRIDGES program addresses this challenge by training a diverse cadre of scientists to catalyze innovation across biological scales and science disciplines. This project will diversify and improve inclusion in science and technology fields, key to enhancing intellectual strength and fostering transdisciplinarity. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external evaluator for this project. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Environmental Science and Policy Program Review - Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college with coed graduate and certificate programs in Northampton, Massachusetts. In its 2018 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked it tied for 11th among the best National Liberal Arts Colleges. The Environmental Science and Policy Program minor was established in 1996 and the major in 2010. The program seeks to educate students about the environment and pressing problem and produce future leaders with interdisciplinary analysis and problem-solving skills. The program is undergoing its first formal external review. Dr. Vincent serves as an external reviewer, preparing a report that positions the program in the national landscape and making recommendations for consideration. The review is funded by the Provost and the Program Committee.
Planet Texas 2050 Bridging Barriers Initiative - University of Texas-Austin
Planet Texas 2050 is an institutional grand challenges research initiative with the overarching goal of discovering the critical interactions between environmental and human systems in Texas and developing strategies to improve the resilience of these systems to the coupled stress of climate extreme and rapid population growth through 2050. Planet Texas 2050 work will focus on understanding the interconnectedness of four critical resource systems: Water, Energy, Urbanization and Ecosystem Services. Vincent Evaluation Consulting provided evaluation planning recommendations for the initiative and serves as the external program evaluator for a proposed PT2050 graduate training program titled Resilience of Urban Systems in Semi-Arid Regions submitted to the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Interdisciplinary Training, Education and Research in Food-Energy-Water Systems (InTERFEWS) Graduate Program - Colorado State University
As population continues to grow and demands for resources increase, understanding the nexus of Food-Energy-Water Systems (FEWS) is vital to ensure the reliability and equity of access to these crucial resources. FEWS are tightly intertwined and characterized by complex tradeoffs that are not yet well understood. Understanding the demands for and tradeoffs amongst FEW resources are particularly challenging in semi-arid regions, where increasing population trends are likely to continue, and water shortage poses risks to agriculture and energy industries. The Program brings together PhD students from traditionally disparate disciplines to conduct research on key problems in the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus with a focus on water-scarce, arid regions. The program’s mission is to prepare a diverse cohort of graduate students with the transdisciplinary and systems-level thinking skills necessary to make meaningful contributions to the complex and changing interactions in FEWS under water scarcity. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the InTERFEWS project. InTERFEWS is funded by the National Science Foundation Research program.
Employing Model-based Reasoning in Socio-environmental Synthesis - University of Texas-El Paso
Knowledge integration across disciplines is at the heart of addressing important research challenges, such as impacts of global change, trade-offs between water, food, and energy production, and the need for sustainable cities. The EMBeRS Project is testing a new model for integrating knowledge across disciplines based on cognitive science theories of model-based reasoning. The project is also creating educational materials to train students to overcome the barriers to integrating knowledge across disciplines. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the EMBeRS project. EMBeRS was funded by the National Science Foundation NSF Research Traineeship Innovations in Graduate Education Program. The EMBeRS team has submitted a proposal to continue research to the National Science Foundation Education and Human Resources Core Research Program on Fundamental Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education.
Urban Water Innovation Network - Colorado State University
The UWIN network, a consortium of academic institutions and key partners across the U.S., includes research, engagement and educational programs that address challenges that threaten urban water systems. The mission of UWIN is to create technological, institutional, and management solutions to help communities increase the resilience of their water systems and enhance preparedness for responding to water crises. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the education programs components of the UWIN project. The Urban Water Innovation Network is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network: Sustainability Research Program.
Coasts and Communities: Natural and Human Systems in Urbanizing Environments - University of Massachusetts-Boston
The interaction of coastal areas and the human communities that inhabit them presents a range of complex environmental and social challenges and opportunities which have proven difficult to investigate using traditional, single-discipline approaches. The Coasts and Communities program teaches a transdisciplinary approach to exploring the connections between the dynamics of human and natural systems. In particular, the program addresses the pressures that human activities exert on linked coastal systems and the effects of changing ecosystem dynamics on these human communities. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the Coasts and Communities program. The Coasts and Communities program is funded by the NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Program.
The Aldo Leopold Foundation
The Aldo Leopold foundation’s mission is to foster a land ethic through the legacy of Aldo Leopold. Their vision is to weave a land ethic into the fabric of our society; to advance the understanding, stewardship and restoration of land health; and to cultivate leadership for conservation. Vincent Evaluation Consulting is working with the foundation to design and implement a survey research project to learn about higher education faculty members’ perceptions of social ethics and responsibility, inclusion of social ethics/responsibility in curricula, and methods/needs for content delivery and assessment.
National Transportation Career Pathways Initiative - Environmental Discipline Working Group
The Northeast Transportation Workforce Center Environmental Discipline Working Group is an advisory group of interdisciplinary and action-oriented experts focused on advising and critiquing work directed at properly equipping students and workers with the skills, competencies, and experiences necessary to succeed in a transportation career advancing environmental and sustainability goals. Dr. Vincent served as a volunteer member of the Working Group.
Resources
-
Outcome Mapping: Building Learning and Reflection into Development Programs
-
Evaluation Flash Cards
-
Evaluation Plan Workbook
-
Embracing Emergence: How Collective Impact Addresses Complexity
-
Using Complexity Science Concepts when Designing System Interventions and Evaluations
-
Ten Keys to Successful Strategic Planning for Nonprofit and Foundation Leaders
Verena: Biology Integration Institute: Viral Emergence Research Initiative – Georgetown University.
The Viral Emergence Research Initiative (Verena) Biology Integration Institute is a multi-institutional, multinational group of researchers advancing knowledge of the connections among microbiological processes, computational methods, and real-world problems. The Institute serves as the central hub for open data on viral biodiversity and dynamics in wildlife, while advancing a cutting-edge research agenda that targets some of the biggest sources of emerging infectious diseases, including bat reservoirs and mosquito vectors. In the process, we will train scientists at all career stages in the science of the host-virus network and the science of prediction, as well as core skills in data fluency and boundary spanning, creating the next generation of researchers familiar with our team’s unique approach.
CRESSLE: Community Resilience integrated into an Earth System Science Learning Ecosystem – University of Texas at Austin.
CRESSLE partners geoscience researchers and Austin community members to address issues of community resilience. The grant is a collaboration involving faculty from the University of Arizona, as well as faculty and researchers from the Jackson School of Geosciences, the Moody College of Communication, the College of Liberal Arts, Dell Medical School, the LBJ School of Public Affairs and local community organizations and other stakeholders, including People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources (PODER). UT researchers will partner with underserved and underrepresented communities from east Austin neighborhoods to assess community needs and create a community of practice that will design and implement community-driven research projects addressing community resilience and sustainability challenges. Projects will address resilience via three research themes: Water Resources, Climate Resilience, and Communities & Landscapes.
BROADN: Biology Integration Institutes: Regional OneHealth Aerobiome Discovery Network - Colorado State University.
BROADN is an interdisciplinary team of Colorado State University. The research team includes agricultural biologists, microbiologists, atmospheric scientists and sociologists who work together to understand how microbial communities impact global health. The health of animals, plants, humans and the environment are undoubtedly dependent upon the function of this invisible community. This project supports a unique interdisciplinary research and training program for the next generation of biological scientists and has potentially transformational implications for understanding weather patterns, disease spread, microbial ecology, the environment and health of humans and animals.”
COMBINE: Computation and Mathematics for Biological Networks - University of Maryland.
COMBINE immerses graduate students in interdisciplinary research and training that integrates quantitative modeling methods from physics and mathematics with data processing, analysis, and visualization tools from computer science to gain deeper insights into the structural and dynamical principles governing living systems. Participants utilize a network-based, data-driven approach, focusing on how interaction patterns can give insights into complex biological phenomena. COMBINE prepares students to become experts in the process of transforming raw biological data into useful information from which new biological insights can be inferred, positioning them to pursue a range of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers at the nexus of the computer, physical, and life sciences. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the COMBINE project. COMBINE is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
UMD Global STEWARDS: STEM Training at the Nexus of Energy, Water Reuse and Food Systems- University of Maryland.
UMD Global STEWARDS is preparing future leaders focused on innovations at the nexus of food, energy and water (FEW) systems. The program trains students to effectively work and communicate across disciplines to address food/energy/water nexus issues from molecular to societal levels and from local to global scales. The UMD Global STEWARDS NRT program prepares students through hands-on domestic and international experiences, as well as research, training and outreach opportunities that integrate the biological, physical, social, behavioral and computer sciences. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the UMD Global STEWARDS project. UMD Global STEWARDS is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Improving Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Developing a Next Generation Concept Inventory and Assessment Tool – University of Northern Colorado
To better inform those who teach, make curricular decisions, and manage college-level environmental programs, we are developing a tool for assessing environmental students’ foundational knowledge and their ability to grasp complex systems-level concepts. Specifically, we apply an established machine learning method of evaluating constructed response (short answer) questions to create a Next Generation Concept Inventory (NGCI). This new approach to concept inventory construction creates a new set of constructed-response items and associated automated scoring models focused on the complex systems typically addressed in EPs. This work focuses on Food-Energy-Water Nexus systems as an initial pilot for NGCI development. Dr. Vincent serves as a Co-Principal Investigator and internal evaluator for this project. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources program.
BRIDGES: Building Resources for Interdisciplinary Training in Genomics and Ecosystem Sciences – University of Arizona
The new science of ecosystem genomics integrates the large-scale science of how ecosystems work with the small-scale science of how genes and genomes of organisms interact with their environments. Ecosystem genomics promises new knowledge to sustain the biological systems that support, interact with, and are disrupted by human society, such as the agroecosystems that supply food to the world -- and, more generally, the plants, microbes, and insects that shape local, regional, and global cycles of energy, water, and carbon in both natural and managed ecosystems. The challenge that most limits fulfillment of the promise of ecosystem genomics is transdisciplinary integration: fundamentally, an education and training challenge. The BRIDGES program addresses this challenge by training a diverse cadre of scientists to catalyze innovation across biological scales and science disciplines. This project will diversify and improve inclusion in science and technology fields, key to enhancing intellectual strength and fostering transdisciplinarity. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external evaluator for this project. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Environmental Science and Policy Program Review - Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college with coed graduate and certificate programs in Northampton, Massachusetts. In its 2018 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked it tied for 11th among the best National Liberal Arts Colleges. The Environmental Science and Policy Program minor was established in 1996 and the major in 2010. The program seeks to educate students about the environment and pressing problem and produce future leaders with interdisciplinary analysis and problem-solving skills. The program is undergoing its first formal external review. Dr. Vincent serves as an external reviewer, preparing a report that positions the program in the national landscape and making recommendations for consideration. The review is funded by the Provost and the Program Committee.
Planet Texas 2050 Bridging Barriers Initiative - University of Texas-Austin
Planet Texas 2050 is an institutional grand challenges research initiative with the overarching goal of discovering the critical interactions between environmental and human systems in Texas and developing strategies to improve the resilience of these systems to the coupled stress of climate extreme and rapid population growth through 2050. Planet Texas 2050 work will focus on understanding the interconnectedness of four critical resource systems: Water, Energy, Urbanization and Ecosystem Services. Vincent Evaluation Consulting provided evaluation planning recommendations for the initiative and serves as the external program evaluator for a proposed PT2050 graduate training program titled Resilience of Urban Systems in Semi-Arid Regions submitted to the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Interdisciplinary Training, Education and Research in Food-Energy-Water Systems (InTERFEWS) Graduate Program - Colorado State University
As population continues to grow and demands for resources increase, understanding the nexus of Food-Energy-Water Systems (FEWS) is vital to ensure the reliability and equity of access to these crucial resources. FEWS are tightly intertwined and characterized by complex tradeoffs that are not yet well understood. Understanding the demands for and tradeoffs amongst FEW resources are particularly challenging in semi-arid regions, where increasing population trends are likely to continue, and water shortage poses risks to agriculture and energy industries. The Program brings together PhD students from traditionally disparate disciplines to conduct research on key problems in the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus with a focus on water-scarce, arid regions. The program’s mission is to prepare a diverse cohort of graduate students with the transdisciplinary and systems-level thinking skills necessary to make meaningful contributions to the complex and changing interactions in FEWS under water scarcity. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the InTERFEWS project. InTERFEWS is funded by the National Science Foundation Research program.
Employing Model-based Reasoning in Socio-environmental Synthesis - University of Texas-El Paso
Knowledge integration across disciplines is at the heart of addressing important research challenges, such as impacts of global change, trade-offs between water, food, and energy production, and the need for sustainable cities. The EMBeRS Project is testing a new model for integrating knowledge across disciplines based on cognitive science theories of model-based reasoning. The project is also creating educational materials to train students to overcome the barriers to integrating knowledge across disciplines. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the EMBeRS project. EMBeRS was funded by the National Science Foundation NSF Research Traineeship Innovations in Graduate Education Program. The EMBeRS team has submitted a proposal to continue research to the National Science Foundation Education and Human Resources Core Research Program on Fundamental Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education.
Urban Water Innovation Network - Colorado State University
The UWIN network, a consortium of academic institutions and key partners across the U.S., includes research, engagement and educational programs that address challenges that threaten urban water systems. The mission of UWIN is to create technological, institutional, and management solutions to help communities increase the resilience of their water systems and enhance preparedness for responding to water crises. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the education programs components of the UWIN project. The Urban Water Innovation Network is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network: Sustainability Research Program.
Coasts and Communities: Natural and Human Systems in Urbanizing Environments - University of Massachusetts-Boston
The interaction of coastal areas and the human communities that inhabit them presents a range of complex environmental and social challenges and opportunities which have proven difficult to investigate using traditional, single-discipline approaches. The Coasts and Communities program teaches a transdisciplinary approach to exploring the connections between the dynamics of human and natural systems. In particular, the program addresses the pressures that human activities exert on linked coastal systems and the effects of changing ecosystem dynamics on these human communities. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the Coasts and Communities program. The Coasts and Communities program is funded by the NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Program.
The Aldo Leopold Foundation
The Aldo Leopold foundation’s mission is to foster a land ethic through the legacy of Aldo Leopold. Their vision is to weave a land ethic into the fabric of our society; to advance the understanding, stewardship and restoration of land health; and to cultivate leadership for conservation. Vincent Evaluation Consulting is working with the foundation to design and implement a survey research project to learn about higher education faculty members’ perceptions of social ethics and responsibility, inclusion of social ethics/responsibility in curricula, and methods/needs for content delivery and assessment.
National Transportation Career Pathways Initiative - Environmental Discipline Working Group
The Northeast Transportation Workforce Center Environmental Discipline Working Group is an advisory group of interdisciplinary and action-oriented experts focused on advising and critiquing work directed at properly equipping students and workers with the skills, competencies, and experiences necessary to succeed in a transportation career advancing environmental and sustainability goals. Dr. Vincent served as a volunteer member of the Working Group.
Resources
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Outcome Mapping: Building Learning and Reflection into Development Programs
-
Evaluation Flash Cards
-
Evaluation Plan Workbook
-
Embracing Emergence: How Collective Impact Addresses Complexity
-
Using Complexity Science Concepts when Designing System Interventions and Evaluations
-
Ten Keys to Successful Strategic Planning for Nonprofit and Foundation Leaders
Partnerships for International Research and Education: Coastal Flood Rick Reduction Authentic Learning and Transformative Education – Texas A&M University.
Coastal floods are the most costly, disruptive, and life-threatening hazard worldwide. The negative impacts of these storm events are increasing in the United States (U.S.) and abroad. In response to this growing problem, this project will establish a research and education program on coastal Flood Risk Reduction (FRRP) between the U.S. and the Netherlands. This international collaboration will support excellence in research and learning across the engineering and management sciences, leading to new knowledge that will transform the way floods are dealt with in the U.S and around the world. Recognizing that now, more than ever, scientific innovation is needed to better understand the causes and consequences of coastal flooding, this project will bring together the world’s top researchers to generate new solutions that will help local decision makers reduce loss of both property and human lives in the future.
Tamamta (All of Us): Transforming Western and Indigenous Fisheries and Marine Science Together – University of Alaska - Fairbanks.
Tamamta, a Yup’ik and Sugpiaq word meaning 'all of us', is centered on elevating 14,000+ years of Indigenous stewardship and bridging Indigenous and Western sciences to transform graduate education and research in fisheries and marine sciences. This program is motivated by the deep inequities that persist in the education and resource management systems in Alaska. While Alaska Natives make up nearly 20% of the state’s population, less than 3% of students and less than 1% of faculty in our college are Alaska Native. There is a near complete absence of Alaska Native people in state or federal resource management bodies, and a near complete absence of Indigenous knowledge being taught or guiding management. In the Tamamta Program we are trying to transform our whole approach to education, research, and management. Our team builds on years of cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary work to address pressing questions of equity and sustainability of life and relations in Alaska. Our fellows will use a co-production of knowledge (bridging Indigenous and Western knowledge) approach to explore key questions in our fisheries and marine and ocean systems.
Grounding Science Education in Indigenous Knowledge, Food Systems and Sustainability – University of South Dakota.
Grounding Science Education in Indigenous Knowledge, Food Systems, and Sustainability focuses on increasing enrollment and persistence of Native American students in sustainability-focused STEM education at six critical transitions that include entering first-year students, entering students from tribal colleges, and beginning MS and PhD students. One area of focus for Grounding Science is to broaden the knowledge and teaching practices of USD’s STEM faculty. Another area of focus for Grounding Science is on increasing enrollment and persistence of Native American students in sustainability focused STEM education.
Verena: Biology Integration Institute: Viral Emergence Research Initiative – Georgetown University.
The Viral Emergence Research Initiative (Verena) Biology Integration Institute is a multi-institutional, multinational group of researchers advancing knowledge of the connections among microbiological processes, computational methods, and real-world problems. The Institute serves as the central hub for open data on viral biodiversity and dynamics in wildlife, while advancing a cutting-edge research agenda that targets some of the biggest sources of emerging infectious diseases, including bat reservoirs and mosquito vectors. In the process, we will train scientists at all career stages in the science of the host-virus network and the science of prediction, as well as core skills in data fluency and boundary spanning, creating the next generation of researchers familiar with our team’s unique approach.
CRESSLE: Community Resilience integrated into an Earth System Science Learning Ecosystem – University of Texas at Austin.
CRESSLE partners geoscience researchers and Austin community members to address issues of community resilience. The grant is a collaboration involving faculty from the University of Arizona, as well as faculty and researchers from the Jackson School of Geosciences, the Moody College of Communication, the College of Liberal Arts, Dell Medical School, the LBJ School of Public Affairs and local community organizations and other stakeholders, including People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources (PODER). UT researchers will partner with underserved and underrepresented communities from east Austin neighborhoods to assess community needs and create a community of practice that will design and implement community-driven research projects addressing community resilience and sustainability challenges. Projects will address resilience via three research themes: Water Resources, Climate Resilience, and Communities & Landscapes.
BROADN: Biology Integration Institutes: Regional OneHealth Aerobiome Discovery Network - Colorado State University.
The BROADN project, or Biology Integration Institute Regional OneHealth Aerobiome Discovery Network, allows a diverse research team to investigate how the microbiome of the air is altered by environmental stresses, and how it impacts human, animal and environmental health. This project supports a unique interdisciplinary research and training program for the next generation of biological scientists and has potentially transformational implications for understanding weather patterns, disease spread, microbial ecology, the environment and health of humans and animals.
COMBINE: Computation and Mathematics for Biological Networks - University of Maryland.
COMBINE immerses graduate students in interdisciplinary research and training that integrates quantitative modeling methods from physics and mathematics with data processing, analysis, and visualization tools from computer science to gain deeper insights into the structural and dynamical principles governing living systems. Participants utilize a network-based, data-driven approach, focusing on how interaction patterns can give insights into complex biological phenomena. COMBINE prepares students to become experts in the process of transforming raw biological data into useful information from which new biological insights can be inferred, positioning them to pursue a range of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers at the nexus of the computer, physical, and life sciences. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the COMBINE project. COMBINE is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
UMD Global STEWARDS: STEM Training at the Nexus of Energy, Water Reuse and Food Systems- University of Maryland.
UMD Global STEWARDS is preparing future leaders focused on innovations at the nexus of food, energy and water (FEW) systems. The program trains students to effectively work and communicate across disciplines to address food/energy/water nexus issues from molecular to societal levels and from local to global scales. The UMD Global STEWARDS NRT program prepares students through hands-on domestic and international experiences, as well as research, training and outreach opportunities that integrate the biological, physical, social, behavioral and computer sciences. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the UMD Global STEWARDS project. UMD Global STEWARDS is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Improving Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Developing a Next Generation Concept Inventory and Assessment Tool – University of Northern Colorado
To better inform those who teach, make curricular decisions, and manage college-level environmental programs, we are developing a tool for assessing environmental students’ foundational knowledge and their ability to grasp complex systems-level concepts. Specifically, we apply an established machine learning method of evaluating constructed response (short answer) questions to create a Next Generation Concept Inventory (NGCI). This new approach to concept inventory construction creates a new set of constructed-response items and associated automated scoring models focused on the complex systems typically addressed in EPs. This work focuses on Food-Energy-Water Nexus systems as an initial pilot for NGCI development. Dr. Vincent serves as a Co-Principal Investigator and internal evaluator for this project. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources program.
BRIDGES: Building Resources for Interdisciplinary Training in Genomics and Ecosystem Sciences – University of Arizona
The new science of ecosystem genomics integrates the large-scale science of how ecosystems work with the small-scale science of how genes and genomes of organisms interact with their environments. Ecosystem genomics promises new knowledge to sustain the biological systems that support, interact with, and are disrupted by human society, such as the agroecosystems that supply food to the world -- and, more generally, the plants, microbes, and insects that shape local, regional, and global cycles of energy, water, and carbon in both natural and managed ecosystems. The challenge that most limits fulfillment of the promise of ecosystem genomics is transdisciplinary integration: fundamentally, an education and training challenge. The BRIDGES program addresses this challenge by training a diverse cadre of scientists to catalyze innovation across biological scales and science disciplines. This project will diversify and improve inclusion in science and technology fields, key to enhancing intellectual strength and fostering transdisciplinarity. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external evaluator for this project. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Environmental Science and Policy Program Review - Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college with coed graduate and certificate programs in Northampton, Massachusetts. In its 2018 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked it tied for 11th among the best National Liberal Arts Colleges. The Environmental Science and Policy Program minor was established in 1996 and the major in 2010. The program seeks to educate students about the environment and pressing problem and produce future leaders with interdisciplinary analysis and problem-solving skills. The program is undergoing its first formal external review. Dr. Vincent serves as an external reviewer, preparing a report that positions the program in the national landscape and making recommendations for consideration. The review is funded by the Provost and the Program Committee.
Planet Texas 2050 Bridging Barriers Initiative - University of Texas-Austin
Planet Texas 2050 is an institutional grand challenges research initiative with the overarching goal of discovering the critical interactions between environmental and human systems in Texas and developing strategies to improve the resilience of these systems to the coupled stress of climate extreme and rapid population growth through 2050. Planet Texas 2050 work will focus on understanding the interconnectedness of four critical resource systems: Water, Energy, Urbanization and Ecosystem Services. Vincent Evaluation Consulting provided evaluation planning recommendations for the initiative and serves as the external program evaluator for a proposed PT2050 graduate training program titled Resilience of Urban Systems in Semi-Arid Regions submitted to the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program.
Interdisciplinary Training, Education and Research in Food-Energy-Water Systems (InTERFEWS) Graduate Program - Colorado State University
As population continues to grow and demands for resources increase, understanding the nexus of Food-Energy-Water Systems (FEWS) is vital to ensure the reliability and equity of access to these crucial resources. FEWS are tightly intertwined and characterized by complex tradeoffs that are not yet well understood. Understanding the demands for and tradeoffs amongst FEW resources are particularly challenging in semi-arid regions, where increasing population trends are likely to continue, and water shortage poses risks to agriculture and energy industries. The Program brings together PhD students from traditionally disparate disciplines to conduct research on key problems in the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus with a focus on water-scarce, arid regions. The program’s mission is to prepare a diverse cohort of graduate students with the transdisciplinary and systems-level thinking skills necessary to make meaningful contributions to the complex and changing interactions in FEWS under water scarcity. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the InTERFEWS project. InTERFEWS is funded by the National Science Foundation Research program.
Employing Model-based Reasoning in Socio-environmental Synthesis - University of Texas-El Paso
Knowledge integration across disciplines is at the heart of addressing important research challenges, such as impacts of global change, trade-offs between water, food, and energy production, and the need for sustainable cities. The EMBeRS Project is testing a new model for integrating knowledge across disciplines based on cognitive science theories of model-based reasoning. The project is also creating educational materials to train students to overcome the barriers to integrating knowledge across disciplines. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the EMBeRS project. EMBeRS was funded by the National Science Foundation NSF Research Traineeship Innovations in Graduate Education Program. The EMBeRS team has submitted a proposal to continue research to the National Science Foundation Education and Human Resources Core Research Program on Fundamental Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education.
Urban Water Innovation Network - Colorado State University
The UWIN network, a consortium of academic institutions and key partners across the U.S., includes research, engagement and educational programs that address challenges that threaten urban water systems. The mission of UWIN is to create technological, institutional, and management solutions to help communities increase the resilience of their water systems and enhance preparedness for responding to water crises. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the education programs components of the UWIN project. The Urban Water Innovation Network is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network: Sustainability Research Program.
Coasts and Communities: Natural and Human Systems in Urbanizing Environments - University of Massachusetts-Boston
The interaction of coastal areas and the human communities that inhabit them presents a range of complex environmental and social challenges and opportunities which have proven difficult to investigate using traditional, single-discipline approaches. The Coasts and Communities program teaches a transdisciplinary approach to exploring the connections between the dynamics of human and natural systems. In particular, the program addresses the pressures that human activities exert on linked coastal systems and the effects of changing ecosystem dynamics on these human communities. Vincent Evaluation Consulting serves as the external program evaluator for the Coasts and Communities program. The Coasts and Communities program is funded by the NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Program.
The Aldo Leopold Foundation
The Aldo Leopold foundation’s mission is to foster a land ethic through the legacy of Aldo Leopold. Their vision is to weave a land ethic into the fabric of our society; to advance the understanding, stewardship and restoration of land health; and to cultivate leadership for conservation. Vincent Evaluation Consulting is working with the foundation to design and implement a survey research project to learn about higher education faculty members’ perceptions of social ethics and responsibility, inclusion of social ethics/responsibility in curricula, and methods/needs for content delivery and assessment.
National Transportation Career Pathways Initiative - Environmental Discipline Working Group
The Northeast Transportation Workforce Center Environmental Discipline Working Group is an advisory group of interdisciplinary and action-oriented experts focused on advising and critiquing work directed at properly equipping students and workers with the skills, competencies, and experiences necessary to succeed in a transportation career advancing environmental and sustainability goals. Dr. Vincent served as a volunteer member of the Working Group.
Resources
-
Outcome Mapping: Building Learning and Reflection into Development Programs
-
Evaluation Flash Cards
-
Evaluation Plan Workbook
-
Embracing Emergence: How Collective Impact Addresses Complexity
-
Using Complexity Science Concepts when Designing System Interventions and Evaluations
-
Ten Keys to Successful Strategic Planning for Nonprofit and Foundation Leaders