Project Overview

The Equity, Innovation, and STEAM – Strengthening the R&D Connections project was a multi-year working conference designed to advance equity-centered research and practice across the informal STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) learning field. Led by Texas Southern University in partnership with The Innovation Collaborative, the initiative convened a diverse national cohort of researchers and practitioners to explore how informal learning organizations can more effectively integrate equity into STEAM programming, partnerships, and workforce development.

As STEAM continues to expand across museums, community organizations, and educational institutions, the project responded to a clear need: to better connect research and practice while centering equitable access, representation, and design. Hosted on the campus of a Historically Black College and University the working conference created a unique environment for sustained dialogue, inquiry, and collaborative production. Over two years, participants engaged in a structured process of virtual and in-person convenings to identify priority issues, frame key questions, and co-develop actionable strategies for the field. The project also sought to model how working conferences can move beyond discussion to generate tangible outcomes that inform both scholarship and practice.

The Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI) played a central facilitation and documentation role throughout the project. ILI designed and guided the collaborative process to ensure that diverse voices were heard, respected, and meaningfully integrated into the work. Through intentional facilitation strategies, the team supported cross-sector dialogue, deep reflection, and productive exchange among participants representing a broad spectrum of informal learning institutions. Additionally, ILI ensured that ideas generated during the convenings were captured, synthesized, and shared in accessible formats. The organization supported participant cohorts in developing concrete products and resources emerging from their work, helping translate dialogue into outputs that could benefit the wider field. By structuring processes for reflection, knowledge capture, and dissemination, ILI helped transform the working conference into a model for equity-focused collaboration that strengthens connections between research and practice across the informal STEAM ecosystem.