Disseminate your work and the work of STEM PUSH.

Strategy 4

Disseminate your work and the work of STEM PUSH.

Highlight STEM PUSH in your ecosystem’s core communications.

Does your ecosystem have a website, newsletter, or social media presence? Use these channels to share information and updates related to STEM PUSH work. In addition, what more unique communications do your ecosystem use, and how could you use them to share about STEM PUSH?

The California STEM Network regularly shares stories about their PCSPs. They provide updates regarding the work of the programs, both in the context of the STEM PUSH Network and more broadly, to members of their ecosystem. They feature PCSP work at key inflection points in their monthly ecosystem newsletters, which they send to key stakeholders, partners, members, and funders. In addition, they incorporate STEM PUSH information into other digital communications, including webinars and discussion forums.

The NYC STEM Education Network regularly uses Google Groups and has a group dedicated to their PCSPs and STEM PUSH topics.

The Pittsburgh Regional STE(A)M Ecosystem’s parent network has a strong following on Twitter, which they leveraged to host a STEM PUSH Twitter chat in 2021. The chat featured their PCSPs and other members of the STEM PUSH Network and the national STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice. The chat disseminated STEM PUSH information both within and beyond the ecosystem, capturing nearly 30,000 impressions from followers nationwide.

Prior to the formation of the STEM PUSH Network, the Pittsburgh ecosystem created a primer that summarized their goals, learnings, and future objectives related to broadening participation in STEM.

Focus on research and relevance.

The STEM PUSH Network uses data from programs, matched controls groups, and the National Student Clearinghouse to determine if PCSPs impact student admissions and persistence in STEM. As this research continues to develop, focus on disseminating the latest results broadly. When sharing any STEM PUSH updates with your ecosystem, focus on the most novel and relevant information. Underscore the why behind the work, share top-level updates, and when possible, connect updates to your ecosystem’s existing priorities. Consider parsing updates into easily digestible formats, like social shareables or written blurbs.

Give STEM PUSH updates at every ecosystem meeting and focus on activation.

Continue to include updates on STEM PUSH at every ecosystem meeting. Your goal is to activate your ecosystem. You want them to both understand and amplify the importance and impact of equity in STEM admissions.

Beyond your regional ecosystem, how could you similarly activate statewide networks or coalitions? How could you disseminate STEM PUSH work via these groups? The STEM PUSH team can work with you to identify opportunities and co-present with you.

The NYC STEM Education Network includes a STEM PUSH update at each of their quarterly meetings. As a result, other programs are now testing some of the change ideas developed by STEM PUSH, organically scaling the network’s model beyond the STEM PUSH cohorts.

The California STEM Network and the Pittsburgh Regional STE(A)M Ecosystem both provide STEM PUSH updates at every ecosystem meeting. Pittsburgh presents STEM PUSH as a signature program of the ecosystem and an example of how the ecosystem can act as a lever for systems-wide change.

In addition, the Pittsburgh ecosystem and the STEM PUSH team presented to both leaders of the Pennsylvania statewide STEM coalition and to the 700 members of their statewide STEM Ecosystem, giving STEM PUSH work statewide visibility and connection to a range of stakeholders and institutions.

Strategy 4