Cultural Transformation in the Geoscience Community (CTGC)

Our future sustainability and prosperity will require a transdisciplinary geoscience workforce that reflects the nation’s diversity and has the capacity to develop innovative solutions necessary to meet future environmental and societal challenges. The Geosciences Directorate (GEO) proposes a novel approach to simultaneously address two major challenges that require immediate action, (1) foster a just, equitable and inclusive geoscience research community that reflects the diversity of the United States and (2) develop a workforce with the skills required to understand how the Earth system can continue to sustain society. Cultural Transformation in the Geoscience Community (CTGC) responds to the desire of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds to make a difference in their world and supports the creative power of truly diverse groups to make major strides in Earth System Science in service of humanity. CTGC aims at engaging institutions that support Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), persons with disabilities, LGBTQIA+, and other individuals from marginalized/ minoritized groups, to help promote career advancement, and advance Earth system science.  CTGC builds on tenets of NSF programs like GOLD (Geoscience Opportunities for Leadership in Diversity), ADVANCE and NSF INCLUDES that lead to environments that foster inclusion and belonging. The program will support projects that are based on geoscience education scholarship, mentorship, allyship, equity, anti-racist and anti-harassment practices, and increasing accessibility.  CTGC projects will establish sustainable and long-term STEM learning and research ecosystems that connect individuals’ academic training with informal and work-based training opportunities through strong collaborative relationships and career-pathway mapping among schools, informal learning environments, local communities, private sector partners, and university and research partners. The program will support planning grants and implementation projects. Planning grants are intended to build capacity in the geoscience community to undertake the activities necessary to establish place-based and community-driven Earth system research projects. Implementation projects will build cohorts of individuals at specific career stages that will design inclusive research programs, conduct community engagement to identify research needs, or participate in community-driven research projects. CTGC projects will promote innovative approaches to Earth system sciences and will foster authentic and equitable collaborations between scientists and community members with the goal of addressing issues that contribute to the sustainability of the community.