The National Girls Collaborative Project---Reaching Hands, Minds, Hearts, and Girls

Photos by Karen Peterson, National Girls Collaborative Project, 2010

Have you ever walked into a room and instinctively knew that you were in the midst of something quite special? That’s how I felt when I attended the National Girls Collaborative Project Collaboration Conference in Washington, D.C., October 20-22, 2010. It was exciting to be part of the incredible energy that emanated from the participants and speakers. Dr. Jolene Jesse, Program Director for NSF’s Research on Gender in Science and Engineering program (GSE) also noted and recognized this vibrant energy during her welcoming address. Karen Peterson, the lead Principle Investigator for the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP), invited me to this conference to experience the collaborative networking, to interact with presenters and participants, and to learn more about the resources and opportunities for collaboration that NGCP has to offer. I met Karen Peterson, one of our GSE Extension Services grantees at the 2010 Joint Annual Conference in Washington, DC, this past June. It makes me feel so honored to be an Einstein Fellow working with GSE, especially when I see the quality of the programs that NSF/ GSE helps to fund.



The National Girls Collaborative Project doesn’t directly serve girls, but rather focuses on building extensive networks, collaboration, and strategies to support girl-serving organizations for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) statewide, regionally, and nationally throughout the United States. One of the primary goals for NGCP is to inform, engage, encourage, and expand girls’ participation in STEM fields by supporting organizations committed to working to encourage girls to pursue STEM careers. The collaborative model utilizes research-based strategies and training to help the people (practitioners and educators) that directly work with girls and young women in STEM. The NGCP begins by building partnerships among organizations within regional collaboratives. These organizations are higher education institutions, private non-profits, and community-based organizations, such as Girl Scout councils. NGCP uses the power of the network to leverage best practices, maximize access, and share resources, knowledge, and professional development. The NGCP partners with over 210 organizations, such as the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), Microsoft Corporation, Google, Techbridge, the Boeing Company, Girl Scouts of the USA, the National Center for Women and Information Technology, Verizon Wireless, the Afterschool Alliance, and the Exploratorium-Center for Learning and Teaching, and many others.

Regional Collaboratives are operating in California, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Texas, and Pennsylvania, as well as the Mid-Atlantic (MAGIC) Girls Collaborative (DC, DE, MD, VA), the Midwest Girls Collaborative Project (IL, KS, MS), the New Hampshire/Vermont, Southern New England (MA,RI), the Pacific Northwest Girls Collaborative Project (AK, HI, ID, MT, OR, WA), the Science House Girls Collaborative Project (NC),GRITS (Girls Raised in Tennessee Science Collaborative Project), and the Great Lakes Girls Collaborative Project ((MN, WI, MI, IL, IN, OH).
The NGCP will be expanding to 11 more states over the next five years.



The conference opened with a panel of girls relaying their stories, and how they have been affected by programs the NGCP supports. The panel of girls at the conference ranged from 6th grade to high school seniors. They were all articulate and enthusiastic about their favorite STEM activities and projects. Two of the students spoke of the STEM programs that they as students had initiated and organized because they wanted to know more about options before deciding on a major. One of the high school girls said that her dad was an engineer, but he didn’t know everything, so she wanted to talk to women engineers and scientists from places such as Boeing, IBM, and Fermi Lab. She commented that instead of setting up talks that would only affect her and her two friends, they decided to have a workshop and open it up for all girls in the area. They were surprised by the turnout of 100 girls from 20 schools.

One of the high school panelists said that her school didn’t have a science club, so she got together with one of her buddies, and they collaborated together to start a science club with field trips with 35 to 40 members at their school. The science club consisted of girls and boys from all different grades. The student said that some of the kids were not initially into science, but joined because the after school field trips were cool. Their field trips took them to study the science around Chesapeake Bay, to the planetarium, or to learn more about rockets.



It was no surprise to see that the NGCP began its conference by including feedback, thoughts, and successes shared from girls that had experienced some of the outcomes and effects of the NGCP collaborative efforts. The girls not only shared their experiences, but they also participated. I think that one of the best ways to see the effectiveness of a program is to see the extended outreach and how outreach continues beyond the experience. Talk about a “Trickle Down Effect”!

Keep in mind that it’s the collaborative organizations that work to directly reach girls. The NGCP’s focus is to reach and aid the regional collaborative organizations by expanding an extensive network for communication and collaboration, as well as to provide access to high quality resources and projects. We live in a world that has an overload of information, resources, and self-help books, yet we still often find that we are dealing with feelings of isolation. With the overload, it is refreshing and productive for educators and organizations to offer support and share best practices without having to reinvent the wheel. The more I learn about the NGCP, the more I see how this project not only encourages collaboration, but maintains quality over time. It’s empowering for girls and stakeholders to see the extent that this effect has made on girls- whether it’s leading girls to take STEM courses or to pursue STEM careers, or for unintended benefits, such as “Girls Empowering Girls” by giving students the tools and confidence to collaborate together to put together workshops to address their specific needs. This positive enthusiasm and “Can-Do” Attitude and level of confidence are what the girls conveyed during the panel discussion and subsequently in their poster sessions. I loved that the girls had this opportunity to present their STEM projects and give out their “business cards”.



Karen Peterson addressed a filled-to-capacity crowded room, which offered many opportunities for collaborative networking and professional development at the national conference. During this time, the NGCP recognized and awarded special individuals and organizations for their outstanding collaboration. The outstanding individual award was awarded to Kate Pickle, National Program Manager, STEM, Girls Scouts of the USA for advancing girls in STEM through training, resource development, collaboration, and making connections to many other organizations through her tireless efforts. She strives to connect groups without duplicating efforts. She was noted as a role model that “breathes collaboration” in a “non-competitive spirit” with the intent to inform, encourage, and advance girls in STEM. Karen Tandy, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, accepted the Outstanding Organization award, for Motorola Foundation. The Motorola Foundation supports girls and underrepresented groups in STEM education through the “Innovation Generation” grants program for students to inspire and generate interest for science and science-related careers. It provides funding for grants to students, as well as matches employee volunteers to the Innovative Generation grant recipients to extend expertise from the field, build relationships, and create innovative programs.



To learn more about Regional Collaboratives, the NGCP ‘s activities, publications, newsletters, web casts, a step-by-step guidebook, an online program directory with programs and resources, and mini-grants offered to build collaborations without overlapping services, and to assist in informal learning and evaluation, check out the NGCP Video, free services, and opportunities at www.ngcproject.org.

One of my goals with this blog is to share quality resources and projects. When I think about the success or quality of a project, I begin by asking, “Did the outcome change someone for the better? Did the efforts facilitate and guide? Did it change the direction, or the course of a person’s life and make a difference? “ I know firsthand that the National Science Foundation has played a major role in my life and learning, so it’s always nice for me to see evidence one more time of how their funding has helped to contribute toward efforts to impact people and projects such as the quality of the National Girls Collaborative Project to reach wider audiences through innovation and best practices involving science and STEM, which in turn enables organizations to work together to collaborate to help bridge gaps, extend gender equity, and encourage girls through STEM activities and projects.