The Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM (EES) serves as a focal point for NSF's agency-wide commitment to enhancing the quality and excellence of STEM education, STEM education research, and STEM research through broadening participation by historically underrepresented groups - minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. Priority is placed on investments that promise innovation and transformative strategies and that focus on creating and testing models that ensure the full participation of and provide opportunities for the educators, researchers, and institutions dedicated to serving these populations. Programs within EES have a strong focus on partnerships and collaborations in order to maximize the preparation of a well-trained scientific and instructional workforce for the new millennium.

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EES's mission is to grow an innovative and competitive STEM workforce by supporting the broader participation and success of individuals currently underrepresented in STEM and the institutions that serve them.

 

EES Theory of Change

EES's fundamental mission of broadening participation in STEM is embedded in the greater EDU and NSF goals. A basic premise of all EES programs is that increasing the successful participation of individuals from historically underrepresented groups in STEM will result in a diverse, highly capable STEM workforce that can lead innovation and sustain U. S. competitiveness in the science and engineering enterprise. 

Therefore, EES has an overall goal to increase the successful participation of underrepresented minorities, women, and persons with disabilities in STEM. This is done through the implementation and testing of evidence-based practices, critical review of program results to assess impact, data-driven continuous improvement, and broad dissemination of program findings for wide adoption or scale-up of effective strategies.

 

 Photo Credit on EES Homepage: Sara Parks, NSF Iowa EPSCoR, Iowa State University