PLATINUM2024

Science Voices

Improving equity in science education

Gilbert, AZ   |  https://www.sciencevoices.org/

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Mission

We work on improving equity in science education. We are helping overlooked communities improve their ability to teach, learn, and use science through co-development of new digital tools and experiences.

Ruling year info

2019

Founder

Dr. Lev Horodyskyj

Main address

3312 E. Bridgeport Pkwy

Gilbert, AZ 85295 USA

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EIN

83-3540082

NTEE code info

Education N.E.C. (B99)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990-N.

Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

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Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Greenworks

Greenworks is a global environmental stewardship network we are developing to allow teachers and students from all over the world to learn and work together to solve urgent environmental challenges in their communities. Participating schools and universities complete a teacher development program for implementing project-based learning, after which they can deploy the project design curriculum. Students then learn how to develop quality project proposals and select groups are funded to implement their ideas.

Population(s) Served
Young adults
Adolescents
Academics

Agavi is an adaptive learning platform designed for smartphones that enables teachers to build innovative new experiences for their students. Teachers will be able to create non-linear activities, track where their students are and how they’re progressing, and interface with the real world via location and sensors to allow for novel activities.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Academics
Immigrants and migrants
Economically disadvantaged people
At-risk youth

Sustainable States is a role-playing curriculum we are developing for teaching geosciences, governance, and sustainability. Students in this experience role-play as leaders of various nations, learning the constraints under which nations operate while addressing sustainability issues. Additionally, teachers who adopt the curriculum undergo teacher training so that they can implement game-based learning in other courses that they teach.

Population(s) Served
Young adults
Adolescents
Academics
Young adults
Adolescents
Academics

Where we work

Awards

Overall Winner (Agavi Project) 2020

DN Unlimited Hackathon

Affiliations & memberships

Blue Marble Space Institute of Science 2021

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of teachers retained after 12 months

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Teachers

Related Program

Greenworks

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

This metric tracks teachers who have been recruited into the Greenworks program and have remained as partners in the program.

Number of students enrolled

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Students

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

This metric tracks the number of students who have participated in the Sustainable States RPG (Sustainable States was not offered in 2023 as we worked on developing new software)

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

We aim to improve equity in digital science education and improve the utilization of science in decision-making to tackle complex global issues via informed grassroots work.

We are developing global networks and tools that we need to tackle science education inequities and testing them with our partners in a variety of challenging teaching and learning environments.

Greenworks - on-board new teachers and school systems through a teacher development program and start-up grants for environmental stewardship programs. After successfully completing the first year, members are off-boarded through decreasing grants while we build up their capability to self-finance. Finally, they become dues-paying members of the Greenworks network, which opens up opportunities for exchanges and partnerships while providing funding to on-board the next cohort

Agavi - offer Agavi as a subscription model, which funds continued development of Agavi and expansion of other Science Voices programs

Sustainable States - offer Sustainable States as a paid product, which funds continued development of Sustainable States and expansion of other Science Voices programs

Our organization's leaders are globally connected and have physically worked (and are working) in challenging teaching and learning environments to gain first-hand experience in the challenges teachers and students in these environments face. Although we are still small, we are a globally connected group, attracting long-term and dedicated volunteers from around the world with skills in computer programming, interdisciplinary science, and global thinking.

Additionally, we have multi-year partnerships with Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (USA) and Khairun University (Indonesia) which provide us with partnership opportunities and a ready audience for our programs.

As of early 2024, Greenworks has graduated teachers from Brazil, Indonesia, Ukraine and the US. Cohort 1 is currently implementing the Project Design curriculum with their students and developing their environmental stewardship programs with local communities. These projects include beekeeping, river clean-ups, and science-business incubators. Cohort 2 will be on-boarded at the end of 2024 for work in 2025. Additionally, a group of primary/secondary school teachers is adapting Project Design for lower levels to pilot a Greenworks Junior program.

Agavi is progressing toward prototype, with expected testing in mid-2024 and integration into Greenworks projects afterwards.

Sustainable States is progressing toward prototype, with expected testing in mid-2024.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback

Financials

Science Voices
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Science Voices

Board of directors
as of 01/29/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Dr. Lev Horodyskyj

Lev Horodyskyj

University of Campinas

Tara Lennon

Arizona State University

Fabia Battistuzzi

Oakland University

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Not applicable
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Not applicable
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 1/29/2024
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Decline to state
Sexual orientation
Decline to state
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 09/09/2021

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.