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Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
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7

Paths Forward: Recommendations

The committee was tasked to address the issue of how to increase the diversity and inclusion in the leadership of competed space missions. The expertise of the committee spanned a wide range of experience from both scientists involved in National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) missions as well as the social sciences. The committee approached the task through meetings with representatives of different groups and institutions, as well as contracted a qualitative study involving structured interviews with past principal investigators (PIs) of competed mission proposals.

This report begins with a description of the substantial, complicated process involved in developing, preparing and submitting a proposal for a competed mission. Some of these steps are formal, others are informal; some of the evaluation criteria involved in this process are explicit, others are tacit. In order to characterize the current state of diversity in the space sciences, the comparative analysis was made using the available demographic data on teams who have submitted competed mission proposals, on individuals who have submitted proposals to NASA’s research and analysis programs, and on the overall space sciences profession. Examination of education-career pathways into the space sciences profession shows that the “pinch point” where the persistence of underrepresented minorities in the physical sciences significantly declines is at the early undergraduate stages, with severe underrepresentation persisting through all subsequent stages of the profession. Moreover, interviews with institutions and with individuals reveal that there are multiple barriers encountered along the path to mission PI-ship. Finally, the programs and processes that inspire, train, mentor the next generation of NASA space scientists—potentially leading to PI-ship of a competed mission—were compared with similar efforts at other agencies, leading to the identification of a number of best practices.

The committee approached the development of its recommendations with the goal of achieving two related but distinct outcomes to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) for future NASA space missions. First, the diversity of the workforce leading into NASA mission leadership—not just within NASA, but also at colleges and universities, industry and other organizations—needs to significantly improve. This report provides quantitative analyses of the scale of the challenge and opportunity with respect to the makeup of the workforce (see Chapters 3 and 4). Second, in order to achieve—and importantly to sustain—the needed increases in NASA’s workforce diversity, the system of processes and policies (e.g., proposal development, review and evaluation) that determine who gets access to NASA mission involvement and leadership opportunities need to be made more equitable, inclusive, and accessible (see Chapters 2 and 5). In its current form, the process for proposing a competed mission to NASA is closed, opaque, and exclusive. Processes that are closed/siloed/opaque present barriers,

Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×

particularly disadvantaging underrepresented groups, and thereby hindering efforts to realize DEIA. Both the “D” and the “EIA” of DEIA are important outcomes, one in the form of the people who make up the NASA mission workforce and leadership, and the other in the form of the architecture of the system that includes, prepares and supports that workforce toward mission engagement and leadership. Furthermore, achieving diversity of the workforce requires sustained DEIA efforts. Some past efforts by NASA on DEIA have been defunded (see Chapter 4). Mechanisms for assessing the effectiveness of such programs are routinely applied at other agencies (see Chapter 6), which in part, allow them to sustain effective programs.

This chapter puts forward recommendations that appear based on the timeframe for their implementation—from near term to long term, and it is in the view of this committee that to sustain any specific actions taken by NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) to realize DEIA in competed missions, a cultural change—changed mindsets, policies, and practices across multiple levels—is needed across the organization along with collaboration across different divisions that usually operate in siloes. At the very highest level, the lack of a NASA Advisory Council (NAC) committee focused on DEIA misses a unique opportunity to both help set the tone at the top of the Agency as well as ensure ongoing and critical focus on shaping NASA SMD’s broadening participation efforts in space missions.

RECOMMENDATION 1: NASA should empanel an ongoing NASA Advisory Council (NAC) committee specifically focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), whose committee chair serves directly on the NAC. This committee should have a broad charter and external world-class membership in this area to directly advise top NASA leadership and ensure an ongoing strong focus on NASA’s broadening DEIA efforts.

At the same time, the existence of a NAC committee specifically focused on DEIA does not eliminate the need for DEIA to also be a priority for the other six committees of the NAC. Therefore, as the NAC undergoes reconstitution, there is also an opportunity to articulate how each committee’s focus on DEIA in ways that are most appropriate given its respective charter, aggregates toward meeting NASA’s broadening participation objectives.

Since the competed missions are managed by four science divisions of SMD—Heliophysics, Astrophysics, Planetary Science, and Earth Science—the following recommendations are aimed at these divisions, and are gathered together under four general themes: (1) Proposal Process and Review: Enhancing Opportunities, Mitigating Barriers; (2) Data System: Collection, Analysis, and Reporting of Data on Proposal Teams, Proposer Pools, and Workforce; (3) Training and Mentoring Potential PIs; (4) Investment in Career Pathways for Underrepresented Groups. However, most of the recommendations could also apply to all areas that fall within NASA’s sphere of influence, and if the suggested actions were carried out throughout the agency and organizations funded by NASA, then a more diverse workforce would drive U.S. endeavors in space exploration.

THEME 1: PROPOSAL PROCESS AND REVIEW: ENHANCING OPPORTUNITIES, MITIGATING BARRIERS

NASA’s competed space missions are selected from proposals that are submitted in response to a public announcement of opportunity (AO). The committee found many ways in which NASA could improve the proposal process to make it more accessible, inclusive, and equitable, from making the process of proposal development and submission more transparent to including DEIA as evaluation criteria to simplifying site visits to reducing bias in the review process. Moreover, there are valuable lessons to be learned from other federal agencies.

Before the AO is made public, the process of team formation and concept development requires significant resources from proposers and their institutions. These stages of the proposal process are often referred to as “the competition before the competition” which, is in part informal, idiosyncratic, organic, opaque and often personality-driven. Moreover, these informal and organic processes, influenced by who knows whom in the community, directly impact the diversity of the PI candidate pool.

For example, many proposals for competed missions are submitted by NASA centers. Thus, NASA is a leading force in the overall demographic makeup of the pool of mission PIs. Moreover, across the range of institutions

Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×

submitting proposals, the lack of uniformity in internal resources available for preparation and production of mission concepts, full proposals, and site visits may result in a disadvantaged position for some institutions compared to others. For example, larger, well-resourced institutions often have teams with specific roles to support the proposal process, such as managers, administrative staff, financial advisers, expert engineers, internal reviewers, graphic artists, editors, etc. Likewise, in addition to such internal resources, NASA center teams likely have a greater understanding of the proposal process (e.g., reporting requirements, administrative processes, etc.), which is undoubtedly an important factor for developing high-quality mission proposals. The process of PI selection for NASA center-led competed missions could be much more transparent and committed to partnering with and supporting traditionally underrepresented PIs. A restructuring of this type would provide a roadmap for other institutions to follow in their own PI selection processes.

RECOMMENDATION 2: NASA should work to make the pre-proposal “competition before the competition” process transparent and accessible. Additionally, NASA should use its own resources to expand support of pre-proposal and proposal efforts of diverse, external principal investigators through its field centers and encourage other institutions in the business of supporting and investing in Science Mission Directorate proposals and missions to do the same.

One demanding component of the mission proposal process is the site visit where a NASA review team visits the proposing institution for a presentation of the proposal by the PI’s team followed by questioning by the review team (see Chapter 2). Over time, such site visits have grown in scale in terms of required resources, time, and costs with the tendency to escalate into an elaborate event in execution (see the qualitative study in Appendix C). As the proposal process for competed missions has gotten more expensive and complex, it is likely that the cadre of institutions that can credibly lead them has gotten smaller.

RECOMMENDATION 3: NASA should reconsider the requirements for site visits to emphasize the evaluation of technical and programmatic readiness, and eliminate any unnecessary elements. NASA should evaluate the benefit of providing uniform funding to each team that is preparing a site visit, disallowing supplemental funding and other contributions that may result in inequities across teams.

The steps of the NASA AO process for competed mission proposals are governed by detailed regulations, but scrutiny for sources of bias throughout the implementation of the review process is warranted, and the process should also include DEIA as explicit criteria for evaluation. Furthermore, the fact that bias review and DEIA criteria are not currently used in a consistent and systematic fashion, results in limited ability to identify barriers in the mission proposal process, and consequently the specific kinds of interventions that are needed to eliminate them and make progress toward the stated goal of effectively increasing DEIA in the leadership of competed missions.

RECOMMENDATION 4: NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) should develop and make public a systematic and transparent process to assess how the review of proposals submitted for research support is conducted.

Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×

RECOMMENDATION 5: In keeping step with its core values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), NASA Science Mission Directorate should:

RECOMMENDATION 6: NASA should regularly monitor and assess adherence to the proposed diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility plans throughout the mission lifecycle and require up-to-date reporting on climate within mission teams in ways that go beyond compliance. For designing and interpreting climate assessments, NASA Science Mission Directorate should engage with content experts (e.g., survey design experts, social science scholars).

Additionally, it is important to note that PIs and mission teams may need specific training and supports to develop feasible and appropriate plans that effectively work toward realizing DEIA beyond achieving greater numerical representation across different demographic groups. Therefore, NASA SMD may also want to consider offering workshops and training sessions for mission teams (proposing and existing) on creating and implementing effective DEIA plans, similar to those that focus on writing successful proposals. Such professional learning opportunities could be provided directly by NASA or in partnership with professional space sciences organizations. Similar training at proposing institutions where these plans will be executed may also be needed, given experiences of bias, discrimination, and exclusionary interpersonal interactions hinder the creation of an inclusive work climate. Thus, it may take coordinated efforts at multiple levels of the system to yield the organizational culture change that is needed to fully realize DEIA in the context of competed missions.

THEME 2: DATA SYSTEM: COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, AND REPORTING OF DATA ON PROPOSAL TEAMS, PROPOSER POOLS, AND WORKFORCE

Inadequate data gathering, monitoring and reporting are key barriers to NASA’s understanding of the demographics of their proposer pool, and to their ability to measure improvements. Specifically, the inadequate infrastructure for collecting demographic data on teams submitting mission proposals severely limits NASA SMD’s ability to accurately determine the relationship between the current mission proposal process, the diversity in the pool of PIs, and the overall workforce in the space sciences. For example, further study is needed to evaluate to what extent variations over time and differences between SMD divisions in the proportion of women among mission PI proposers compared to the proportion of women among doctorate recipients in the physical sciences are due to the mismatch between the career stage distribution of women in these various populations and the current seniority expectation for mission PIs. The current data gathered by NASA on the demographics of proposal teams, for both competed missions and grants, is inadequate to inform NASA about the diversity in participation of Earth and space scientists from different demographic groups in research and activities funded by the Agency. Furthermore, promise of NASA’s existing best practices to address DEIA, within the agency, across the space sciences workforce, and on PI-led mission teams, is limited by the lack of defined metrics to rigorously evaluate and track the progress resulting from these interventions.

Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×

RECOMMENDATION 7: NASA Headquarters (HQ) should develop a systematic and transparent process that employs routine monitoring and tracking of proposal submissions and selections, and submit an annual report of these data to the diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility committee of the NASA Advisory Council as well as make the report publicly available. This report should include data on dimensions such as funding rates and diversity in team participation in principal investigator–led missions as well as research and analysis grants; but could also include data on other important dimensions of interest to the Agency. NASA HQ should seek professional statistical expertise to set in place the needed infrastructure to support robust data collection, monitoring, and reporting including, but not limited to, adequate staffing, data collection standards of practice, monitoring and analytic systems, annual reporting capability, and external partnerships, to overcome the challenges of tracking participation in NASA’s Earth and space science activities.

Proposals to NASA’s SMD are submitted via an online system (NSPIRES) that requires the proposal team to fill in a Personal Profile that comprises answering some basic questions about gender, ethnicity, race, and disability/serious health conditions. Presentations from NASA’s Office of the Chief Scientist and analysis of these Personal Profile data revealed that there are several users (~20%) who select Prefer Not to Answer in response to these questions, which limits the potential of these data to inform decision-making around broadening participation in NASA’s Earth and space science activities. Moreover, NSPIRES users are not regularly requested to update their profile. Other government agencies (e.g., NSF) routinely gather such proposers demographic data and regularly report on their analyses. Most important is that experts from the social sciences are consulted on the nature of the questions as well as best practices for enhancing response rates.

RECOMMENDATION 8: Working with experts in demographics data gathering and analysis, NASA should review, update and expand the NSPIRES Personal Profile questions and regularly encourage proposers to update their responses.

The issue of lack of demographic data is not limited to NASA proposals. There is currently no strategy and methodology being employed to effectively gather demographic data on participation in the Earth and space sciences along the whole career pathway—from undergraduate and graduate programs to academic departments to the professional workforce. The American Institute of Physics (AIP) is an umbrella organization that encompasses organizations such as the American Physical Society, the American Geophysical Union, the American Astronomical Society, etc., and includes a Statistical Research Center with experience in surveying the workforce of the corresponding academic fields. While NSF and AIP regularly gather information about academic departments (such as numbers and types of bachelor’s degrees, doctorate degrees, and faculty in different science fields), the workforce in the Earth and space sciences is usually categorized according to the type of object observed and therefore does not align directly with the disciplinary categories typically represented in such studies. Not only are the SMD divisions interdisciplinary in nature (e.g., Planetary Science comprises geology, biology, atmospheric science, space physics, etc.) but there is also considerable overlap in the science covered by different divisions. Currently, both the total size of the U.S. post-PhD workforce in each of the disciplines associated with the four divisions of SMD with competed missions, and the degree of the overlap between those disciplines, are very poorly quantified. The knowledge and experience of the AIP in working with professional organizations should be combined with rigorous statistical expertise in survey development and analysis. Workforce surveys have recently been included as part of decadal surveys, but to inform NASA and the space sciences community of changes in the workforce, such surveys need to be carried out and the results made public every 3-5 years.

RECOMMENDATION 9: To regularly assess the state of the profession, NASA Science Mission Directorate should provide funding for professional organizations (e.g., American Institute of Physics, American Astronomical Society, American Geophysical Union, American Physical Society, etc.) to employ the necessary professional expertise in survey methodology and statistical analysis to systematically carry

Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×

out surveys of the workforce, within and across the four science divisions with competed missions, to inform NASA of the participation of different demographic groups as well as the barriers and opportunities for advancement along entire career pathways in the Earth and space sciences.

Such data and analytics on participation in the Earth and space sciences, in the NASA-funded workforce, and on mission teams will enable NASA SMD to monitor trends and evolution over time, and inform decision-making around broadening participation with better clarity, for example, around “who” is in the profession, where barriers remain, and consequently what NASA-specific efforts can help to mitigate them. Moreover, these data could also be leveraged by other agencies that support research in the Earth and space sciences (e.g., NSF, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense) as well as by interagency groups, such as the Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education (Co-STEM), to yield better coordination of federal investments toward broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

THEME 3: TRAINING AND MENTORING POTENTIAL PIs

Preparation for competed mission leadership starts early in a space science career. Training and mentorship opportunities are valuable tools to develop a diverse pool of future mission leaders. The informal pre-proposal process presents critical challenges to the aspiring PI, and especially PIs from small and less-resourced institutions. A small number of individuals and institutions are effectively “gate keepers” for selection of mission PIs, and non-PhD granting academic institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), where a high concentration of woman physics faculty and Black and Latinx physics faculty are employed, experience inequitable access to opportunities that are helpful to scientists who go on to submit competed mission proposals. Proposal development, preparation, and submission—including site visits—are resource-intensive processes, and therefore diversifying the PI population will require investment in a range of institutions, but particularly in less-resourced MSIs. Furthermore, the collective evidence that the committee analyzed in its work suggests that the onus is not primarily on the individual when it comes to enhancing the likelihood of success as a future leader of a competed space mission given the range of structural, institutional/organizational and interpersonal factors that are major hindrances to assuming leadership positions on competed space missions. Therefore, most of the recommended actions within this theme are directed at the organizational/institutional level rather than the individual level.

RECOMMENDATION 10: NASA should expand and increase the frequency of training programs that are aimed at encouraging women and historically minoritized communities to become more involved in mission leadership.

RECOMMENDATION 11: To engage and train diverse teams at all stages of professional talent development, NASA should offer mission-related research, mentorship, and training opportunities—ideally, integrated into actual NASA missions—through colleges/universities as well as NASA centers, that should start as early as first-year undergraduates and graduate students (e.g., internships), and extend to the ranks of postdocs (e.g., fellowships), and established scientists (e.g., participating scientists).

Thus, not only does NASA need to make opportunities to lead missions more accessible and transparent, but also be directly involved in expanding the pool of potential PIs at various stages of professional development. Examples of experiences for mission-related engagement and training could include participation in mission summer schools organized for graduate students and junior post-docs, attendance at mission-related workshops at scientific conferences or at proposing institutions, and involvement in mission science team meetings.

Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×

RECOMMENDATION 12: Principal investigator (PI)-led missions present opportunities for aspiring PIs to gain invaluable experiences. NASA should expand resources (e.g., instructional materials, seminars, workshops) for aspiring PIs to gain leadership experience and connect with individuals with mission experience for mentorship opportunities. This may include:

RECOMMENDATION 13: NASA should evaluate the skills and expertise needed for success as a principal investigator (PI) beyond scientific competencies, including abilities leading and managing diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible teams. This more expansive set of competencies should be reflected in discussions about PI-ship in instructional materials and other outreach efforts.

Mentoring and access to collaborative networks that include experienced PIs are formative in preparing those who submit competed space mission proposals. However, women and racially minoritized space scientists report less access to mentors and a lower quality of relationship with their doctoral advisors and senior colleagues. Inequitable access to high-quality mentoring relationships is a barrier to increasing diversity in the leadership of competed space missions. Thus, there is a need for all mentors, regardless of identity, to adopt inclusive mentoring practices (see Chapter 5), to ensure that the benefit of high-quality mentoring relationships is more widely experienced. Moreover, given the demographic realities within the Earth and space sciences, the current pool of mentors (i.e., PIs, Co-Investigators, and others with relevant mission experience) may also need explicit training around advising and supporting early-career scientists from underrepresented groups. Additionally, given many of the skills that are required to be a successful PI are not generally incorporated in academic education, developing such competencies may need to be a central part of mission-related mentorship and training.

THEME 4: INVESTMENT IN CAREER PATHWAYS FOR UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS

The very low overall retention (~11%) in space science disciplines during undergraduate training, and the accompanying racial/ethnic disparity, is currently a major “pinch point’’ that limits representation at all later stages of the education-career pathway and restricts the size and diversity of the pool of PhD scientists for future NASA mission leadership. Interventions to improve the diversity and inclusion of STEM students—the ultimate source of proposer pools—are needed at the high school and college levels, where studies show that much of the diversity in relevant fields is lost. NASA needs long-term, sustained investments in effective activities that inspire, educate, train and mentor, to ensure that the currently small pool of scientists of color have every opportunity to engage in NASA mission-related work and leadership. NASA is uniquely positioned to provide individuals with research experiences that are relevant to future mission roles, and there is arguably nothing more authentic than experiences linked to actual NASA missions.

Informed by the existing knowledge base and recognized exemplar interventions, several guiding principles were identified to inform NASA’s investment in these career pathways (see Chapter 6). The committee found it more important to recommend an intentional strategy through guiding principles to inform NASA’s future investments for bolstering STEM pathways rather than prescribing specific interventions. The guiding principles include (1) promoting the development of identities; (2) establishing flexible and relevant STEM education-to-career pathways;

Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×

(3) intentionally recruiting from historically underrepresented groups; (4) providing access to diverse mentorship; (5) fostering career-life balance; and (6) promoting systemic change around diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Historical underinvestment in the space science R&D infrastructure at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other MSIs has in effect limited the capacity at these institutions to compete for a NASA space mission. Moreover, given the racialized patterns of where today’s faculty are employed and where degree earners in SMD-related fields are educated, historical underinvestment leads to a disproportionately negative impact on faculty members of color in SMD-related fields and limits access to early-career mission experiences for students of color at MSIs. A previous NASA SMD-funded program, MUCERPI (Minority University and College Education and Research Partnership Initiative), did afford students with training in state-of-the-art research methods and preparation for future NASA leadership, specifically through partnerships with MSIs, but has been defunded. The Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) and MUREP Institutional Research Opportunity (MIRO) through NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) provide specific engagement to underrepresented and underserved communities in STEM, and develop the research capacity and infrastructure of MSIs in areas of strategic importance and value to NASA’s mission and national priorities. Further partnership among NASA SMD, OSTEM, and MSIs, leveraging NASA’s unique assets, and making NASA-led opportunities more perceptible to individuals and organizations would strengthen participation of underrepresented groups in missions. Likewise, NASA’s current investments in STEM education and STEM-related training programs and activities in the United States appear to be concentrated during the K-graduate years of STEM pathways, with very little intentional interventions employed during the post-PhD stages where attrition continues to be observed. Thus, NASA’s influence on the growth and development of a more diverse and inclusive space sciences workforce is potentially minimized by limited investments along the career path at the post PhD stage.

RECOMMENDATION 14: In order to ensure a vibrant, next generation pool of excellent and diverse talent for leadership in competed space missions, NASA Science Mission Directorate, in collaboration with the Office of STEM Engagement, should provide consistent and adequate funding for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics initiatives that are explicitly centered on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accesibility, address recruitment and retention challenges in the Earth and space sciences, and support and expand opportunities for individuals from underrepresented groups. These investments should reflect a pathways approach spanning the academic and career continuum from post-secondary through post-PhD years in order to establish flexible and robust education-to-career trajectories into the Earth and space sciences workforce, and ultimately into principal investigator–led missions. A systematic process should also be in place to document measurable impacts of these investments.

RECOMMENDATION 15: Recognizing the critical role that Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) play in educating and employing women and racially minoritized populations in the Earth and space sciences workforce, NASA leadership, specifically the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and the Office of STEM Engagement Associate Administrators, should charter a joint team to examine and strengthen the historic and current relationship between the two organizations with respect to investments in MSIs. NASA’s investments should also redress the historical inequities in NASA supported research and training at these institutions. Specifically, NASA should:

Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×
  • Provide funding to support mission-related work and activities (e.g., building and designing instruments for spaceflight, hosting science team meetings, etc.) as a means of enhancing research capacity at HBCUs, HSIs, and other MSIs.

The committee acknowledges that to enact these proposed investments, NASA may need to specifically request funding for them and receive subsequent congressional approval. Nevertheless, it is in the view of this committee that such investments are needed to better position HBCUs, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other MSIs to lead missions as the primary institution and in turn help the Agency make significant progress in the area of DEIA. Therefore, these investments need to be considered as part of upcoming budget plans notwithstanding final budgetary decisions that may be beyond NASA’s control. Additionally, the committee believes that joint SMD and OSTEM efforts and investments described in the above recommendations could be activities for the newly-constituted DEIA NAC committee to follow, advise, and measure their effectiveness.

Examination of the demographics of the leadership of NASA’s competed missions clearly shows a serious paucity of diversity. Diversifying the full STEM workforce will take a major national effort. In the meantime, there are several actions that NASA could take, from the immediate clarification of the proposal process to training and mentoring students and early- to mid-career space scientists to intentional, longer-term investments in educational experiences that involve college students in space missions. By stepping up to such initiatives, NASA would not just be following the example of other agencies but instead would be leveraging the great excitement of space exploration to lead the way forward in diversifying the U.S. STEM workforce.

Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×
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Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×
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Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×
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Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×
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Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×
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Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×
Page 117
Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×
Page 118
Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×
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Suggested Citation:"7 Paths Forward: Recommendations." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26385.
×
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Fostering diverse and inclusive teams that are highly skilled, innovative, and productive is critical for maintaining U.S. leadership in space exploration. In recent years, NASA has taken steps to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in their workforce by releasing its equity action plan, emphasizing how diverse and inclusive teams help maximize scientific returns, and requiring DEIA plans as part of announcements of opportunities. To further its efforts to advance DEIA, the Agency requested the National Academies undertake a study to evaluate ways NASA can address the lack of diversity in space mission leadership.

Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions outlines near and long-term actions NASA can take to make opportunities for leadership and involvement in competed space missions more accessible, inclusive, and equitable. Report recommendations range from changes to the mission proposal process to investments in STEM education and career pathways. This report makes 15 recommendations for advancing DEIA within NASA's Science Mission Directorate divisions that support competed space mission programs. However, many of the report's recommendations could also be applied broadly to research at NASA and other federal agencies and institutions, leading to a more diverse research workforce.

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