AAUW National Educational Foundation (EF)

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics for Women and Girls
National Girls Collaborative Project

Numerous programs and initiatives to create gender equity in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have been implemented only to lose effectiveness or fade away. Had these programs had the benefit of collaboration with other girl-serving projects, organizations and institutions, and tools to assess and evaluate the impact of their efforts, their capacity for continuation and/or broader impact could have been substantially increased.

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) is a co-recipient along with the Puget Sound Center for teaching, learning and technology of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to fund the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP).  The NGCP seeks to broaden the participation of girls and women in all fields of STEM by supporting research, dissemination of research, and extension services in education. 

A central feature of the NGCP is the Program Directory (http://www.pugetsoundcenter.org/ ngcp/directory/index.cfm) which lists organizations and programs that focus on motivating girls to pursue careers in STEM.  The directory contains program descriptions, resources available within each organization, program and/or organization needs, and contact information.  The directory can be searched by Program Name, Organization, City, State, and/or Program Focus.  All organizations offering programs in the STEM area are encouraged to register that program on the NGCP Program Directory.  This includes programs offered by AAUW branches, Girl Scouts, YMCA/YWCA, schools (primary and colleges), or any other community group whose program serves girls or girls and boys in any grade(s) from K through 12th.

AAUW’s role in the NGCP is to establish regional liaisons in each region of the US.  In the Middle Atlantic region there are two regional liaisons, the liaison for Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey is Dot McLane (dotmclane@comcast.net).  Eventually a Regional Collaborative organization will be established in the Middle Atlantic Region whose purpose will be to hold regional conferences, forums, and award mini-grants to programs in the region. To find out more about the project and to monitor its progress go to the NGCP website at http://www.pugetsoundcenter.org/ngcp/index.html and sign up for the NGCP e-newsletter http://www.pugetsoundcenter.org/ngcp/resources/newsletter.html.