Projects & Research

Diane Miller, Detroit Zoo
Pati Ruiz, Digital Promise

In a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, this new equity resource center will serve as a critical voice and champion for advancing equity in the Informal STEM Education (ISE) field. REVISE seeks to cultivate lasting change among the ISE community and the broader STEM education ecosystem.

REVISE leverages the strength of community-building through inclusive, collaborative design, and the sharing of resources and ethical practices to establish long-lasting compassionate relationships, particularly in building trusting relationships among historically disenfranchised communities. This includes their commitment in bolstering infrastructures to extend research capacity and expand access to funding. In doing so, they will highlight more scalable, equity-focused, culturally responsive evaluation, and research findings to iteratively improve ISE programming. REVISE will additionally support increased diversity in leadership and advancing the customized adaptation of ISE program components to empower new learners and leaders with diverse perspectives to influence informal STEM.

Overall, REVISE recognizes its role in fostering a more just and equitable society. Working in concert with the ISE community, they will REVISE the field through consistent, critical reflection and dialogue on historical and contextual factors that underlie systemic inequities, mistrust, and power hierarchies in STEM. These collective efforts will promote inclusive communication and outreach that broadens participation and achieves sustained organizational change and transformative social justice, and will fortify safe spaces of belonging in STEM to create a more informed public that values STEM in everyday life, work, and global citizenship.

Read a letter from the Center’s leaders here.