The Battelle Center for Science & Technology Policy continues to build on the work of the former Battelle Center for Mathematics & Science Education Policy. The Battelle Center for Science & Technology Policy’s STEM work will continue to focus on three domains:
The role of networks in STEM innovation: Public-private networks are common features of the STEM improvement landscape, and often appear to have significant influence on the launch and sustainment of initiatives. The Battelle Center believes it is important to understand how the structure and processes of such networks affect the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of reform initiatives, and to illuminate which policy, management and leadership practices are conducive to robust and effective networks.
Modeling: Whether modeling the K-12 educational system, or the medical/health sciences workforce, the Battelle Center believes the act of modeling (system dynamics, ABM or otherwise) helps researchers and policymakers understand the interplay between individual choices, institutional policies, and larger social and demographic factors.
Visual analytics: Though the world of education policy sometimes seems awash in data, practitioners in the field are very often starving for information, and have few tools that offer both analytical andcommunicative power. The Battelle Center believes that data visualizations, and visual analytics in general, make it possible to identify the meaningful patterns and information embedded in large bodies of data, and can accelerate comprehension among different stakeholder groups
The common strategic thread that unites these three domains is the belief that STEM education policymakers and innovatorsneed (1) a clearer understanding of the network processes that enable the launch and propagation of innovations and (2) new analytical tools that will allow them to examine system-level dynamics and patterns more rigorously.
