Sec. 4. STEM inclusion interagency working group
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The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (referred to in this section as the Director ) shall establish the STEM Inclusion Interagency Working Group (referred to in this Act as the working group ) under the authority of the National Science and Technology Council Committee on Science. The working group shall focus on creating a more diverse and inclusive STEM workforce, and shall be responsible for the following: Collecting and reporting information on Federal funding for STEM.
Reviewing and coordinating training efforts across Federal science agencies to address factors that impede inclusion in STEM of underrepresented groups. Reviewing and coordinating policies across Federal science agencies to address factors that can impede the inclusion of underrepresented groups in STEM. Assessing the effectiveness of the trainings and policies implemented by Federal science agencies in increasing the recruitment, retention, and success of underrepresented groups in STEM across the Federal science agencies.
The working group shall consist of not less than 7 members. Each agency with a representative on the National Science and Technology Council Committee on Science shall nominate a representative to serve on the working group, and the Director shall select not less than 6 of such nominees to serve for not more than 5 years on the working group. One member of the working group shall be nominated by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and approved by the Director and shall be an expert in employee training.
One member of the working group shall be designated by the Director to serve as the Chair of the working group for not more than 2 years. The working group shall meet at such times and places as designated by the Chair. In carrying out the responsibilities under subsection (a), the working group shall take into account input and recommendations from non-Federal stakeholders, including the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, federally funded and nonfederally funded researchers, institutions of higher education, scientific disciplinary societies and associations, nonprofit research institutions, industry (including small businesses), federally funded research and development centers, nongovernmental organizations, the Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education (CoSTEM), the Interagency Title IX Working Group, and others with a stake in reducing barriers for developing a diverse and inclusive Federal STEM workforce.
The working group shall engage in the following activities: Each Federal science agency shall annually collect standardized record-level information on demographics, including gender, race, ethnicity, disability, citizenship status, age, and years since completion of degree, as well as primary field, award type, review rating (as practicable), budget request, funding outcome, and awarded budget for all applications for merit-reviewed research and development grants to institutions of higher education and Federal laboratories supported by such agency.
The working group shall coordinate the collection and reporting of this data gathered by the Federal science agencies with the relevant Federal statistical agencies. The working group, with the approval of the Director, shall establish a policy to ensure uniformity and standardization of the data collection required under subparagraph
(A)and interoperability of data reporting as required under subparagraph (D). Beginning not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, each Federal science agency shall submit to the working group record-level data collected under subparagraph
(A)in the form required by the working group and consistent with the policy established under subparagraph (B). As part of the first submission under clause (i), each Federal science agency, to the extent practicable, shall also submit comparable record data for the 5 years preceding the date of submission. The working group shall work collaboratively with other relevant Federal agencies to gather the information required under clauses
(i)and
(ii)through existing data collection and reporting efforts to the extent possible. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act and every 2 years thereafter, the working group, in collaboration with the relevant Federal statistical agencies, shall provide to the National Science Board all statistical summary data collected under this paragraph. Not later than 6 months after receiving the summary data, the National Science Board shall publish a report that includes statistical summary data, findings, and policy recommendations in a report as required under section 4(j)(2) of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 ( 42 U.S.C. 1863(j)(2) ). All statistical summary data shall be disaggregated and cross-tabulated by race, ethnicity, disability, gender, age, and number of years since receiving doctoral degree, provided that such data does not reveal personally identifiable information about an individual. Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the working group, with the approval of the Director, shall recommend a uniform policy for a minimum frequency of trainings and a set of model training curricula for Federal science agencies to use to educate Federal STEM employees and program managers, senior managers at Federal laboratories, and other federally funded intramural and extramural researchers about methods for addressing the systemic factors that can limit the recruitment, retention, and success of underrepresented groups at all stages of the STEM pipeline. The training policies and curricula shall address the following: Training at least biannually on reducing implicit bias in hiring, promotion, evaluation, the grant review process, and the workplace in general. Methods to reduce the experience of stereotype threat. Prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace. Other evidence-based training on systemic factors that the working group determines can impede the inclusion of underrepresented groups in STEM and in the workplace. The working group shall ensure that training policies and curricula are coordinated across Federal science agencies and jointly supported as appropriate. In developing the policy and training curricula under subparagraph (A), the working group shall utilize guidance and best practices already developed or collected by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Energy, the Department of Education, or from any other appropriate source. The working group shall broadly disseminate the training policies and curricula under subparagraph
(A)to institutions of higher education that receive Federal research funding, scientific disciplinary societies and associations, nonprofit research institutions, industry (including small businesses), and federally funded research and development centers, nongovernmental organizations, and others with a stake in increasing the inclusion of underrepresented groups in STEM. The dissemination process shall include the creation of a public website. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, each Federal science agency shall— adopt training policies and curricula based on the model policies under subparagraph (A); adapt such model training policies and curricula to their agency, as appropriate; and report to the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy on the training policies and curricula and implementation plan of the agency. The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall— ensure the quality of the training policies and curricula described under clause
(i)for each Federal science agency to meet the minimum frequency and requirements under subparagraph (A); require updates, if necessary; and approve such training policies and curricula not later than 15 months after the date of enactment of this Act. The working group shall ensure that training policies and curricula are jointly supported across Federal science agencies, as appropriate. The working group shall gather, develop, and disseminate evidence-based practices and recommend model policies for achieving greater inclusion of underrepresented groups in STEM to all Federal science agencies and provide guidance on reviewing and updating policies and practices that can impede the inclusion of underrepresented groups in STEM within each agency. The model policies and practices shall address the following: Work-life accommodation, including flexibility for caregivers on the timing of research grants. Procedures for handling claims of sexual harassment. Reducing implicit bias in hiring, promotion, evaluation, the grant review process, and the workplace in general. Other policies and practices to address systemic factors that the working group determines can impede the inclusion of underrepresented groups in STEM and the workplace. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, each Federal science agency shall— work with the Office of Personnel Management to adopt the model policies and practices under subparagraph (A); adapt such model policies and practices to their agency, as appropriate; and report to the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy on the policy and practice implementation plan of the agency. The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall— ensure the quality of the policies and practices described under clause
(i)for each Federal science agency meet the minimum requirements under subparagraph (A); require updates, if necessary; and approve such policies and practices not later than 15 months after the date of enactment of this Act. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act and every 2 years thereafter, the working group shall report to Congress on what steps all Federal science agencies have taken to implement policies and practices to address systemic factors that impede inclusion of underrepresented groups in agency workplaces, and how effective those policies and practices have been in increasing participation of underrepresented groups in the agencies.