ARIS Engagement Awards

Overview

The Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS) supports capacity building, advancement of scholarship, partnership growth, and resource curation for higher education researchers and practitioners working to advance the translation of research to the public good. ARIS Awards recognize:

• Engaged Knowledge Generation – accomplishing societal impacts through the research activity itself, engaging the public in the research process, as participants in knowledge generation.

and/or

• Engaged Knowledge Translation – accomplishing societal impacts through activities that are supported by but are complementary to the research itself. Knowledge translation activities could include research communications, science communications, or educational outreach.

ARIS Awards provide recognition for research that aligns with the goals of NSF's broader impacts criterion or with other definitions/frameworks for societal impact of research. The ARIS Awards recognize researchers and practitioners undertaking exemplary work in the societal impact of research and higher education. The ARIS Awards recognize:

• individual researchers and practitioners
• collaborations among individuals
• a particular research project or program
• research and education institutions
• other organizations

Categories

Awards will be presented in the following categories. Multiple awards may be presented in some categories, while no award may be presented in others -- pending the number and quality of nominations received in each category. Broader Impacts Champion Award This ARIS award honors an individual or organization that has contributed significantly to establishing and advancing the NSF broader impacts criterion or contributed significantly to the realization of the vision of broader impacts of scientific research. Broader impacts champions have played a role in defining and implementing the consideration of broader impacts as a part of research, and/or have contributed to building a professional community around this consideration. Impact Goals Award Awards in this category are for advancing the types of research impacts goals identified by the National Science Foundation and described in the National Alliance for Broader Impacts (NABI) Guiding Principles (PDF)(opens in new window). In establishing the broader impacts criterion, NSF noted nine potential types of impact outcomes, summarized within NABI’s Guiding Principles: inclusion, STEM education, science literacy, well-being, STEM workforce development, partnerships, national security, economic competitiveness, and infrastructure. Of course, other impact outcomes are possible. ARIS award winners in this category will be recognized for significantly advancing engagement in and translation of research to public benefit in one or more of these particular areas (or other areas identified by the nominator). Impact Innovations Award This award recognizes recipients for developing new approaches to and strategies for engagement in and translation of research. Working toward ensuring the societal impact of research and higher education means adopting and developing new research methods and approaches to public service, outreach, and engagement by institutions and organizations. ARIS award winners in this category are recognized for demonstrated leadership in the development and scaling of new policies, processes, and tactics for achieving societal impact, including innovative approaches to engagement, translation, measurement, and other strategic areas. Enduring Achievement Award This ARIS Award honors a body of achievements over time. Individual researchers or practitioners, collaborations, or organizations may have worked over a period of time on undertaking research engagement and translation for impact. Award recipients in this category will be individuals or organizations that have demonstrated such long-term achievement or established a body of work.

Benefits/Recognition

ARIS Awardees will be honored at an annual ARIS Broader Impacts Summit Awards Ceremony, and their work will be highlighted. Travel expenses for ARIS awards winners will be covered by ARIS. In addition to a plaque presented at the ceremony, ARIS will work with the awardees throughout the subsequent year to provide opportunities to feature their work and share their perspectives in their areas of research impacts. This could include press releases, webinars, presentations at professional organizations, website highlights, and home institution/organization and national communications coverage. For more information: https://www.researchinsociety.org/scholarship/awards