Broader Impacts Group

Questionnaire: Getting Started

• 1. Are you interested in forming a CAG for a specific grant project, or do you envision engaging with a CAG on a long-term basis across multiple projects?

  Clarifying the stage you are in and whether funding is pending or secured can help determine potential roles for a CAG. Will they help co-design your research or broader impacts from scratch, or will you invite them to provide feedback and suggested revisions on a previously developed plan? Ideally a CAG will get involved in the earliest stages of planning--well before proposal submission--but you can still meaningfully engage a CAG in an existing body of work provided that you and your funding source are open to reconsidering approaches and incorporating new ideas.

• 2. Do you intend for the CAG to be involved with your research, your broader impacts, or both?

  While this toolkit focuses specifically on partnering with CAGs on broader impacts, there's no reason you have to create a bright line between your research and broader impacts. Jump to Section IV. Resource Library for suggested resources on community-engaged research, which is beyond the scope of this toolkit but may be of interest to researchers conducting research of potential significance to specific audiences and can align with community-focuased broader impacts design.

• 3. Do you aim to form a wholly new CAG, or are you interested in partnering with an existing organization or advisory group that could advise, co-design, and/or co-implement with you?

  Convening a new and possibly project-specific CAG is high-effort and potentially high-reward endeavor. A project-specific CAG can dedicate its full effort and attention to the project, and you can partner with stakeholders to shape its membership to be representative of the communities you intend to serve. Forming and convening a CAG is labor intensive, though, and requires diligent care and communication with members. Alternatively, you might consider approaching an existing community organization or advisory group as a potential partner on your broader impacts if you see potential alignment between your broader impacts goals and a particular group's mission or work.

• 4. How long do you intend for this community partnership to persist? Is this partnership likely to be specific to a grant or other time-bound project, or do you intend for the CAG to continue indefinitely?

  Your CAG may be time-bound by a specific grant period, or you may have a reliable stream of funding available to sustain the group long-term. When recruiting potential members, be clear about the anticipated duration of the CAG. Likewise, if you and/or CAG members see the potential to extend a project beyond a specific grant period, discuss sustainability plans explicitly with the whole CAG and do not expect that every member will be able to or interest in remaining beyond the orignally planned end date.

• 5. What will the ideal meeting frequency be for your project's CAG?

  This is a question you should ask both of yourself and of CAG members. Collaboratively with the CAG, consider what schedule would best support your broader impacts groups. For example, if you intend to co-design an exhibit or a field-trip curriculum, you and the CAG might decide on a more intensive, short-term schedule, such as meeting weekly for a single month, to maintain momentum, then reduce meeting frequency during other phases of the project. Or if transportation or travel time presents barriers for some members, you might meet infrequency in person, perhaps quarterly, and virtually for months in between. CAG members' availability and preferences may also depend on their professional roles and personal commitments; for example, some educators may be unavailable during the summer, while others may be more available during that time. Always ask before scheduling meetings and check in regularly with the CAG to ensure that the meeting frequency continues to suit their needs.