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Strategic Objective
Advance America's STEM education.
Strategic Objective
Overview
NASA’s education programs work in collaboration with other Federal agencies to improve the quality of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in the United States, which supports both NASA’s strategic plan and the Administration’s STEM policy. To maintain a globally competitive Nation, our education programs develop and deliver activities that support the growth of NASA’s and the Nation’s STEM workforce, help develop STEM educators, engage and establish partnerships with institutions, and inspire and educate the public. NASA’s contribution to STEM education brings immediate benefits to schools and other institutions, while helping to ensure that future generations of Americans will have the technical skills needed to continue NASA’s missions. We will continue to engage and involve the public and other stakeholders in our activities, and work to build an open, transparent and participatory organization.
Through effective use of our assets in our STEM education programs, we are able to share NASA’s inspirational activities with a broader audience. NASA STEM engagement activities provide learners of all ages the chance to engage in science, technology, engineering, and math, and to understand the value of STEM in their lives. Our learners include: primary, secondary, and higher education students; parents and guardians; formal and informal educators and higher education faculty; and the general public at large. The quality of life we enjoy today is the direct result of the inspiration and achievements of scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and technologists of yesterday. We pursue our objective to ensure future generations of STEM professionals are inspired, experienced, and capable of achieving even greater accomplishments in STEM-related fields. We pursue this objective through a portfolio of NASA-unique STEM experiential learning opportunities (e.g. grants, internships, fellowships, scholarships, workshops) and challenges. These creative applications of NASA-related knowledge encourage innovation, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, which are characteristics required of our Nation’s future STEM workforce.
Read Less...Progress Update
NASA, in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget, has highlighted this strategic objective as a focus area for improvement.
Through the Strategic Review and the Agency’s other performance management processes, NASA reviews recent accomplishments and near term plans for the Agency’s strategic objectives and programs. Strategic Objective 2.4 covers NASA’s Office of Education, which performs a critical role in advancing the Nation’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce pipeline by working collaboratively with other agencies to engage students, teachers, and faculty in NASA’s missions and unique assets. During the 2015 Strategic Review, NASA found that the Office of Education has made progress against each of the 5 strategies identified for successfully achieving increased impact on the Nation’s STEM education and workforce pipeline.
The Strategic Review also addresses long-term strategic outcomes, alignment, and key management challenges for each strategic objective, as well as across NASA’s portfolio of activities. Strategic Objective 2.4 is rated as a Focus Area for Improvement, because despite the successes noted above, challenges remain within this portfolio. To address these issues, the Office of Education is taking several steps to improve portfolio management as well as strengthening the capacity of NASA Education to build evidence. A key step for performance improvement is that NASA is introducing a new annual performance indicator in FY 2017 that tracks evaluations conducted on educational activities.
For more information, please see http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/about/index.html. Highlighted achievements during FY 2015 are detailed in the FY 2015 Agency Financial Report. Additional details on the FY 2015 performance for supporting Performance Goals and Annual Performance Indicators are provided in NASA’s FY 2015 Annual Performance Report. Information on the strategies for achieving this strategic objective can be found in the 2014 NASA Strategic Plan.
