J. Britt Holbrook - Workshop & Lecture

As part of October Research Month, the office for Research, Innovation and Graduate Education (RIGE) is presenting an appearance by J. Britt Holbrook on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013. A leading scholar in the area of peer review of grant proposals, Dr. Holbrook will present a workshop titled Navigating NSF’s Broader Impacts Criterion. The presentation is targeted to UO researchers interested in applying for National Science Foundation (NSF) grants. The workshop will be held from noon to 2 p.m. in the Umpqua River Room in the Erb Memorial Union. A seminar and discussion, titled NSF’s Broader Impacts:  Seeing – and Seizing – The Opportunity for Societal Impact will follow at 3 p.m. in the EMU Board Room. 

The Broader Impacts criterion requires the NSF to evaluate research proposals based not only on their intellectual merit, but also on whether the proposed activities benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes. Within these general guidelines, there are a variety of activities that researchers might propose. Proposers and reviewers have expressed both confusion about the meaning of this criterion and resistance to its employment as part of the merit review process. How should proposers approach the issue of broader impacts in order to maximize their chances of receiving funding from NSF?

Dr. Holbrook is a visiting assistant professor in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech and assistant director of the Center for the Study of Interdisciplinarity at the University of North Texas. His talk and workshop will broadly address the peer review process at the NSF with an emphasis on the second merit review criterion employed by the agency and reviewers to evaluate grant proposals.

All members of the UO research community (faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students) are encouraged to attend the workshop and lecture. To register for the workshop contact Research Development Services by email (rds@uoregon.edu), or phone (541-346-6391).