Economic, Cultural, and Social Capital Outcomes of an Institutional Research Grant Program for Women

• In Event: Promoting Professional Development in Diverse Settings — Paper Session

Abstract

Grant funding from the Institutional Grant Program (“IGP”) for Women Scholars was designed to support female clinical researchers and basic scientists in the university community.

This program evaluation explored intended and observed outcomes of the IGP since its inception and interpreted them in the framework of Bourdieu’s concepts of economic, cultural, and social capital. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from documents, surveys, and interviews with key IGP stakeholders and grant recipients.

Data showed that stakeholders and recipients identified outcomes that mapped to definitions of economic and cultural capital, and observed data indicated the IGP missed opportunities for social capital. Results can be used to consider additional infrastructure to support success of recipients.

Authors

• Rebecca D. Blanchard, Baystate Medical Center

• Reva Kleppel, Baystate Health

• Justin Ayala, University of Massachusetts Medical School - Baystate

• Diana Bianchi, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development