Pre-Conference Workshops Wednesday, October 24
Five optional pre-conference workshops will be held on Wednesday, October 24. Advance registration and a fee are required for all attendees.
Workshop A – Getting Started for New Grantees
1 – 5 p.m.
Registration Fee: $50.00
This workshop is recommended for all principal investigators, co-principal investigators, and other team members involved in newly awarded projects and centers in FY18. Others who may find the workshop useful include new awardees in FY17 and other project personnel from prior years who have recently become involved in ATE projects and centers. The goal of this workshop is to make new grantees aware of the reporting and financial requirements of their ATE grant and to connect them with other ATE projects and centers that can help them successfully manage, evaluate, and report on their projects. Participants will have the opportunity to interact with individuals from Mentor Connect, ATE Central, Evalu-ATE and the National Science Foundation and to learn about the various resources they provide. Each participant will be provided with a resource packet. Participants are encouraged to bring questions about the management of their project as there will be ample time for questions and answers. Participants should also bring a copy of their award letter and a laptop computer or tablet with them to the session.
Workshop B – ATE PI Survival Guide: Surviving and Thriving in the ATE Program
1 – 4 p.m.
Registration Fee: $50.00
This workshop is designed for ATE PIs and Co-PIs entering the second or third year of their grants who could use assistance and guidance in elements of grants award management in order to “Survive and Thrive” in the ATE program. Come talk with experienced ATE PIs to learn successful tips and hear lessons learned in troubleshooting common challenges such as implementing budget and personnel changes; engaging administrators in support of your efforts; navigating grant guidelines and documents such as the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG); preparing annual reports; and understanding NSF expectations for ATE awards. There will also be time set aside for small group discussion for participants to bring their own challenges to the table for discussion, feedback, and guidance. Session facilitators will also introduce some initial steps to consider in preparing for future NSF grant funding opportunities.
Workshop C – Lessons from Big Duck, NY: How Branding & Marketing Strategies Can Strengthen Your ATE Work
1 – 4 p.m.
Registration Fee: $50.00
Ever been curious about what it would be like to work with a communications firm and learn more about branding and marketing from a pro? In this four-hour workshop you will learn from Farra Trompeter, Vice President of Big Duck, a communications firm based in Brooklyn (https://bigducknyc.com/), whose clients include a variety of nonprofit organizations and foundations, like Math for America, the American Wind Energy Association, Center for Community Change, Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, and many more. Big Duck works exclusively with nonprofits to help strengthen their branding, marketing, and communications, and have a host of practical lessons to share about this process. Join us and learn how to utilize strategies from branding and marketing to inform and strengthen the work your project or center is doing in critical areas like recruiting, outreach, communications, and sustainability.
Workshop D – Using Social Media as a Recruitment and Retention Tool
1 – 4 p.m.
Registration Fee: $50.00
Increasingly, schools, businesses, community organizations and government agencies are turning to social media as a tool for recruiting and retaining students, clients and customers. Simply posting information about programs on websites and college catalogs have not been shown to be effective and general program promotions have shown very limited success. In the first half of this workshop, three industry professionals will describe how they worked directly with community colleges to develop and implement social media campaigns aimed at student recruitment and retention. Topics for discussion include identifying target audiences; selecting social media platforms; posting frequency; crafting content for social media messaging; and monitoring messaging effectiveness. In the second half of the workshop, participants will work in small groups with session leaders to lay the groundwork for developing personalized recruitment and retention strategies and learn how to build upon their current efforts.
Workshop E – Survey Fundamentals: Good Data Starts with Good Questions*
1 – 4 p.m.
Registration Fee: $50.00
Surveys are a valuable source for project and evaluation data. However, obtaining quality data relies heavily on well-crafted survey items. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn how to be strategic and purposeful in their survey creation, considering constructs measured, types of data desired, and analysis required. ATE principal investigators, project and center staff, and evaluators who attend this workshop will learn (1) essential strategies for crafting good survey questions, (2) how to consider data analysis in survey construction, and (3) how to align survey questions with the overall evaluation plan. Participants are encouraged to bring draft surveys from their own projects to review and discuss.
*ATE Evaluation Fellowship
EvaluATE will award ATE Evaluation Fellowships to four ATE evaluators to enable them to attend the 2018 ATE Principal Investigators Conference, including the preconference workshop, “Survey Fundamentals: Good Data Starts with Good Questions.” To learn more and apply for the fellowship, please opens in a new windowclick here.