Oregon Girls Collaborative Project

The Oregon Girls Collaborative Project brings together organizations throughout Oregon that are committed to informing and motivating girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Our Goals

OGCP works to strengthen capacity, increase continuation of girl-serving STEM programs, and create more champions for gender-equality in STEM education and careers. 

1. Establish clear network of girl-serving programs across the state while documenting community & program needs.
2. Establish support system that includes expanding access to shared resources within and across programs, public and private sector organizations and institutions interested in expanding girls’ participation in STEM.
3. Use the leverage of the network of girl-serving STEM programs to increase awareness and promote gender equity in STEM.
4. Strengthen capacity of existing and evolving projects by establishing and sharing exemplary practice research, program models, outcomes, and products.
5. Support program design that intentionally attracts, engages and retains girls and fosters their interest and skills in STEM.
6. Advocate to build more consistent STEM funding opportunities and standards for girl-serving collaborations.

Too often programs that serve girls in STEM are limited in service and impact due to size, location, funding, expertise, and equipment. In other cases, projects compete with each other, duplicating services and seeking the same resources. Oregon Girls STEM Collaborative provides the opportunity for programs to increase their ability to maintain interest and participation of girls in STEM within Oregon through collaboration.

Oregon Girls STEM Collaborative is based upon a model developed by the National Girls Collaborative Project, and replicated through a grant from the National Science Foundation. Project activities are designed to facilitate connections between organizations to maximize access to shared resources. Collaboration, as an interactive process, enables professionals across projects and communities to generate and carry out creative solutions and strategies that maximize benefit beyond what one project or community could accomplish. The model is structured to bring organizations together to leverage resources, share information and exemplary practices, and to plan strategically to expand STEM-related opportunities for girls.

Collaborative activities are facilitated with the support of a Collaborative Leadership Team and Champions Board. Information on the Collaborative Leadership Team and Champions Board members can be found on the following web pages.