Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Bethesda, Maryland.
J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2019 Dec;28(12):1698-1704. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2018.7642. Epub 2019 Jun 28.
Early funding can have significant impact on a researcher's career. However, funding is not equal for men and women. Not only do female researchers apply for fewer grants than men, but they also experience a lower success rate when they do. The Zucker Grant Program (ZGP) was established in 2000 to promote the early success of women researchers. The purpose of this evaluation is to support other institutions hoping to grow the research careers of women scientists. This program evaluation reviewed the first 16 years of the program's history. Our mixed-methods, outcomes-based evaluation had four phases: (I) interviews with key stakeholders, (II) development and distribution of a survey to ZGP recipients, (III) focus groups and interviews with ZGP recipients, (IV) document analysis from the ZGP Center and the Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) Development Office. This article reports on the qualitative data collection and analysis. Between 2000 and 2016, US$377,050 was awarded for 142 recipients. Qualitative data revealed how grant funding was critical to support pilot data in awardees' research to inform extramural grant applications. However, the program evaluation also identified effects on awardees' confidence as researchers and connection to a community. Outcomes are interpreted through the framework of Bourdieu's three forms of capital, including economic, social, and cultural capital. Viewed through this framework, they provide a critical infrastructure to the development and success of early career female investigators. This work offers other institutions a framework to consider when establishing intramural funding and support programs for their early career investigators.
早期资金对研究人员的职业发展有重大影响。然而，资金在男女之间并不平等。不仅女性研究人员申请的资助比男性少，而且当她们申请时，成功率也较低。Zucker 资助计划（ZGP）成立于 2000 年，旨在促进女性研究人员的早期成功。本评估的目的是为其他希望培养女性科学家研究事业的机构提供支持。该计划评估回顾了该计划历史的头 16 年。我们采用混合方法、基于结果的评估有四个阶段：（I）与关键利益相关者的访谈，（II）向 ZGP 受助人分发调查，（III）与 ZGP 受助人的焦点小组和访谈，（IV）来自 ZGP 中心和塔夫茨大学医学院（TUSM）发展办公室的文件分析。本文报告了定性数据的收集和分析。在 2000 年至 2016 年期间，为 142 名受助人提供了 377050 美元的赠款。定性数据揭示了资助资金对于支持受助人研究中的初步数据以告知外部赠款申请的重要性。然而，该计划评估还确定了对受助人作为研究人员的信心和与社区的联系的影响。结果通过 Bourdieu 的三种资本形式的框架进行解释，包括经济、社会和文化资本。从这个框架来看，它们为早期职业女性研究人员的发展和成功提供了关键的基础设施。这项工作为其他机构提供了一个框架，用于为其早期职业研究人员建立内部资助和支持计划。
