Broader Impacts

Aerial shot of presenters engaging with the Kids' Tech University participants.

Partnerships for Broader Impacts

Broader Impacts are a critical element of your National Science Foundation (NSF) grant proposals and deserve thoughtful attention. The Fralin Life Sciences Institute’s Education and Outreach arm can help you craft meaningful outreach and learning opportunities for students of all ages.

We partner with faculty from across the environmental and life sciences and STEM disciplines to help their research achieve broad impacts. Some examples that are ready to implement include:

Provide scholarships spots for kids to attend an FLSI STEM Summer Camp
Host an activity for the FLSI STEM Summer Camp or Homeschooling STEM Club
Host a booth at Kids’ Tech University or Kids' Tech University Español
Fund the An Achievable Dream Academy program
And so much more!

Specifically, the FLSI team can help you with:

Design: We can review your broader impact/outreach plan drafts or help you create activities tailored to your target age group. You can plug into one of our established programs or we can develop a custom program to suit your needs.
Evaluation: NSF requires a well-articulated evaluation plan for Broader Impact activities. We can assist in creating a plan to gather and present evaluation data that align with your outreach goals.
Budgeting: We can help you craft a budget that is appropriate to the scope of your project and anticipated outreach activities.

Broader Impacts Budgeting

In sync with national guidelines, we recommend that 10% of your budget be allocated to addressing societal impacts of your grant. See here why adequate funding for Broader Impacts is important.

Here are some examples of costs for some broader impacts activities:

$50-100 funds consumables for a hands-on activity centered on your research delivered to kids at our Homeschooling Program
$100 provides financial aid sponsorship for a child’s FLSI Summer Camp registration fee
$125 provides financial aid sponsorship for a child’s registration for Kids’ Tech University
$200 funds consumables for your hands-on booth at Kids’ Tech University
$3,000 funds the entire Kids’ Tech University en Español program
$7,000 funds an entire day of Kids’ Tech University including the morning lecture, lunch for the kids and 2 hands-on activity tables thus reducing the overall cost of the program for all registrants.
$25,000 funds a week-long overnight program for 16 kids and 2 teachers to attend the Achievable Dream STEM camp at Virginia Tech

If you are interested in working with us to craft your ideal Broader Impacts program please contact Kristy Collins, director of education and outreach for the Fralin Life Sciences Institute. We also can/will provide letters of support or collaboration.