Working at the Speed of Innovation: Impedance Mismatch in Rapid and Innovation Projects

In this paper we report on the results of an ethnographic study of a rapid design innovation (RDI) experiment in NASA Aeronautics. This work is based on the study of the Aeronautics Autonomy Testbed Capability (AATC) team in the Convergent Aeronautics Solutions (CAS) project. This paper focuses on and summarizes one of the key over-arching findings from the study: there is a significant mismatch in the organizational culture in the rest of the organization compared with that required for RDI. And, if this organizational cultural mismatch is not addressed, the likelihood of any organization being able to advance a new and different type of work (such as RDI) will be jeopardized. We delineate several aspects of the two different cultures identified in order to enable leaders and practitioners to better understand what contributes to the cultural dissonance and the implications of the differences in the cultures. As well, we identify ways in which those differences can be addressed. Research from organization and other social sciences are incorporated to highlight the differences. The implications of the research suggest that the significant cultural differences trigger a strong and resistive response from the dominant culture that may negate leaderships strategy to build the new capacity for RDI. While the research results noted the pervasive nature of innovation throughout the workplace, the type of innovation envisioned in RDI is a rare type of innovation that requires significantly new methods, work processes, tools, and skills such that approaches used in the dominate culture cannot be adopted by expediting the existing approaches. Examples include: innovation teaming and leadership; the need for adaptive leadership that changes the relationship of a research leader to the other researchers; and, an interdisciplinary teaming approach which shapes team relationships and activities. Each of these aspects requires new teaming, tools, and skills in order to succeed. Thus, when introducing RDI activities where there is a different dominant culture, teams need to be: well trained; protected; recognized and rewarded. And, team leaders must also be trained in the unique types of teaming and innovation tools used in RDI. Both RDI teaming and team leadership must be sanctioned, supported, and rewarded by leadership. Because of the cultural mismatch, in some organizations looking to add RDI to their existing and established organizations, sep to avoid or mitigate the negative impact of the culture mismatch

Building Health Equity One Institution at a Time: The Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions Project

Developing a well-trained workforce interested in, and prepared for, conducting health equity research is an important national priority. Scientists from Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) bring unique perspectives and experiences with racial, ethnic and social inequities in health and health status but often lack access to training and mentoring opportunities, which is crucial for increasing the diverse pool of investigators who are adequately prepared to conduct health disparities research and to compete for National Institutes of Health research funding. The focus of the California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions (RIMI) Project was to: (a) enhance CSULB’s infrastructure and research capacity, (b) conduct applied community health research on health conditions disproportionately affecting disadvantaged populations, and (c) support faculty to embark on careers in reducing health disparities. Faculty received training, mentorship, and release time support to participate in research-related activities. Select faculty also received funding to conduct a two-year health disparities research project. Within a relatively short period of time, the RIMI Project made important strides toward strengthening the research infrastructure at CSULB by enhancing faculty capacity, improving research utilization to address health disparities, and strengthening campus and community collaborations. MSIs are encouraged to apply for opportunities to build their institution’s research capacity. The lessons learned from this project may be used as a guide for other teaching institutions that have the goal to develop minority faculty researchers

Why We Can't Wait -- A Case for Philanthropic Action: Opportunities for Improving Life Outcomes for African American Males

This report examines programs and initiatives that impact the life outcomes of African-American males, gathers reflections from the field, and assesses needs and opportunities according to scholars, policy makers, advocates, and organizational leaders. The report documents its findings and recommendations in three categories: academia/research, practitioners/civil society, and public policy/advocacy

Solving Colorado's Shortage of Health Professionals: Final Evaluation Findings and Recommendations

This report shares evaluation findings from The Trust's Health Professions initiative, and recommends strategies to increase and sustain Colorado's health professions workforce. For example, creating awareness and readiness for health professions training; providing flexible training options and reaching out to students in rural areas; supporting faculty development and clinical training opportunities; expanding the reach and content of training programs; and strengthening community partnerships for recruitment and retention of health professionals

Effective Systems Engineering Training

The need for systems engineering training is steadily increasing, as both the defense and commercial markets take on more complex "systems of systems" work. A variety of universities and commercial training vendors have assembled courses of various lengths, format, and content to meet this need. This presentation looks at the requirements for systems engineering training, and discusses techniques for increasing its effectiveness. Several format and content options for meeting these requirements are compared and contrasted, and an experience-based curriculum is shown

Application of Systems Engineering Principles in the Design of Acquisition Workforce Curricula

The Navy M&S Office in conjunction with the Defense Acquisition Modeling and Simulation Working Group presented the Naval Postgraduate School with an enormous challenge in 2006: design and deliver an educational program by 2008, for 20,000 or more acquisition professionals, focusing on the effective use of modeling and simulation in acquisition. The acquisition workforce is central to force transformation, and education is the key to transforming that workforce. This paper describes the processes, lessons learned to date, and assessment plan for this project. We applied a systems engineering approach to the problem of curricular design. The resulting solution consists of four spirals. The first spiral focused on defining the problem. We developed our analysis based on factors such as our market segmentation of the acquisition workforce, the current resources available, the state of the modeling and simulation body of knowledge, the desired educational outcomes for each market segment, and the gaps that existed between those outcomes and the existing resources. At each step in the process, we involved key stakeholders from the acquisition, test and evaluation and training communities. We describe the results of this process. In the second spiral, our goal was to construct a learning architecture to cover the gaps identified in the first spiral. We describe the course content, scope, and delivery methods that we determined based on those needs from the first spiral. The results of the first and second spirals, and subsequent lessons learned, will be the focus of our discussion herein. We will also briefly summarize the third and fourth spirals, which are currently underway, that involve course design and testing in the case of spiral three, and delivery and assessment of the curriculum for spiral four

Supporting Minority Serving Institution Faculty to Enhance Biomedical Research: The CSULB Center for Health Equity Research Institute

Scientists from Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) bring unique perspectives and experiences that enhance the potential for understanding factors that are associated with racial, ethnic, and social inequities in health and health status. However, inadequate research infrastructure and mentoring opportunities within MSIs limit faculty engagement in the research enterprise. Additionally, structural inequities embedded in the NIH grant funding process disproportionately disadvantage underrepresented minority (URM) faculty and faculty at MSIs. The foci of the intensive Center for Health Equity Research (CHER) Institute were to 1) increase the number of early career faculty members (with an emphasis on MSI faculty) who are better prepared to become NIH principal investigators in the field of community-based biomedical research, and 2) increase the quantity and quality of health equity research prioritizing vulnerable ethnic minority populations. Lessons learned support previous research that MSI faculty experience unique and pervasive barriers to achieving successful research careers, such as excessive demands on time, limited capacity to advance research, and a paucity of senior scientists available to serve as research mentors. After five years of CHER Institute programming, we conclude that extended mentorship beyond the intensive institute training experience would be ideal to support MSI faculty in meeting their research-related goals

Identifying Gaps and Setting Priorities for Employment and Training Research

The report summarizes recent workforce and employment related research, to identify current gaps in employment and training research and makes recommendations for future research processes and priorities that could better inform policy makers, practitioners, job seekers and employers. The report reviews workforce and related research funded by several federal agencies, including the US Departments of Labor, Education, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development, the National Science Foundation and other federal entities, as well as research undertaken by regional, state and local workforce agencies and philanthrophic organizations

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Experiential Learning in Cyberbiosecurity and Agriculture Through Workforce Development

Cyberbiosecurity and workforce development in agriculture and the life sciences (ALS) is a growing area of need in the curriculum in higher education. Students that pursue majors related to ALS often do not include training in cyber-related concepts or expose the ‘hidden curriculum’ of seeking internships and jobs. Exposing students through workforce development training and hands-on engagement with industry professionals can provide learning opportunities to bridge the two and is an area of growth and demand as the workforce evolves. The objectives of this work were 1) to learn key concepts in cybersecurity, including data security, visualization, and analysis, to name a few, through class activities and engagement with professional partners and 2) to understand what knowledge students gained from participating in the course could transfer over for when they enter the workforce. Three themes emerged from the study where students, through direct engagement with industry partners, gained more insight about the industry applicable to their studies; they established work environment expectations for entering internships and official job placements and established ways in which the workforce development training informed their future careers