Work in progress: Engaging new PIs using an electronic mentoring system

Abstract

Success as a Principal Investigator (PI) of a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded project requires both project management and change leadership skills, disciplinary knowledge, and familiarity with the project itself. Because gaining the skills of management and leadership involves either first-hand or vicarious experience, new PIs might struggle to find the best course of action when facing a difficult situation. While individual mentoring could enable new and prospective PIs to acquire these skills, arranging a mentor for all new PIs is not feasible. In addition, prior work has indicated a preference in faculty for gaining knowledge informally (e.g., using case studies) from mentors who have experienced similar situations rather than in more formally assigned partnerships. Thus, we seek to understand whether a many-to-many electronic mentoring website is an effective method to aid new and prospective PIs in a range of NSF programs in developing project and change management skills.