NSF Convergence Accelerator PI Workshop Survey, February 2020

C-Accel February 18-21, 2020 Post-Training Survey
Participation in this survey is voluntary. Your identity and responses are not linked to your Phase I
award. Your participation and responses are not linked to any current or future funding award
decisions made by NSF. Results of this survey will be used in aggregate to inform future program and
curriculum planning.
OMB No.: 3145-0215. A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless
it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

1. For which track did your team receive a C-Accel Phase I award?
A1: OPEN KNOWLEDGE NETWORK
B1: AI AND FUTURE JOBS
B2: NATIONAL TALENT ECOSYSTEM

2. What is your role on the C-Accel Phase I award team?
Principal Investigator (PI)
Co-Principal Investigator (co-PI)
Senior Personnel (non-PI)
Other (please specify)

3. What type of institution do you represent on the C-Accel Phase I award team?
Educational institution
Business/Industry
Nonprofit organization (including private foundation)
State or local government (other than educational institution)
Federal government
Other (please specify)

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C-Accel February 18-21, 2020 Post-Training Survey
Elements of the "Pitch" (February 18-19, 2020)
This session (delivered by IDEO) introduced methods for transforming your human-centered design
work into a "pitch" and utilizing visual design principles to develop effective pitch slides.
4. Content Delivery (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

The objectives of the
sessions were clearly
defined.
Participation and
interaction were
encouraged.
The topics covered were
relevant to me.
The content was
organized and easy to
follow.
The materials distributed
were helpful.
The
presenters/facilitators
were knowledgeable
about the training topics.
The training objectives
were met.

2

5. Relevance of Sessions (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

I learned about practices
or resources that are
relevant to my C-Accel
project.
I see myself using what I
learned in my C-Accel
project.
I identified goals or
action steps for using
what I learned in my CAccel project.
I plan to share what I
learned from the
sessions with my CAccel project team.
My expectations were
met.

6. Outcomes of Sessions (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
After the workshop…
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

I have more confidence
in my ability to articulate
the differentiators
(who/benefits) central to
my pitch.
I believe feedback from
people who don't
understand my content
has no value in refining
my pitch.
I don't see the value of
using an iterative
process to develop my
pitch.
I am uncertain of what to
do with information
about projects from my
track that are working in
complementary areas.
I am more likely to shape
how I communicate my
pitch using human
centered design
principles.

3

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

My team has
strengthened the
differentiators for our CAccel project pitch.
I value the visual impact
graphic design elements
can bring to my pitch
presentation.
I have more confidence
in my ability to use visual
impact strategies to
create a presentation
that evokes the
emotional response I
want from the audience.
I don't know enough
about the connection
between human
centered design and
visual communication to
strengthen the visual
impact of my pitch on my
own.
I will improve the visual
impact of my pitch
presentation.
I have access to
additional resources
(e.g. training, expertise,
information), if
needed, to refine the
visual impact of my pitch
presentation.

4

C-Accel February 18-21, 2020 Post-Training Survey
Field trip: Analogous storytelling experience (February 19, 2020)
During this session, you attended one of several analogous storytelling experiences around San
Francisco.
7. Content Delivery (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

The objectives of the
session were clearly
defined.
Participation and
interaction were
encouraged.
The topics covered were
relevant to me.
The content was
organized and easy to
follow.
The
presenters/facilitators
were knowledgeable
about the training topics.
The training objectives
were met.

8. Relevance of Sessions (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

I learned about practices
or resources that are
relevant to my C-Accel
project.
I see myself using what I
learned in my C-Accel
project.
I identified goals or
action steps for using
what I learned in my CAccel project.
I plan to share what I
learned from the
sessions with my CAccel project team.
My expectations were
met.

5

9. Outcomes of Sessions (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
After the workshop…
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

I have a better
understanding of how
analogous inspiration
can bring insights about
audience experience to
my CA pitch.
I see little value in the
role of storytelling in my
pitch presentation.
I have more confidence
in my ability to develop a
story around things my
audience(s) are
interested in.
I have already used a
compelling story to
describe my C-Accel
project to potential
partners.
I am more likely to
develop a compelling
story to use as part of
my C-Accel project pitch.

6

C-Accel February 18-21, 2020 Post-Training Survey
Improvisational Storytelling with Speechless (February 20, 2020)
In these sessions (delivered by Speechless) you learned improvisational techniques that are useful
when delivering an effective story/pitch.
10. Content Delivery (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

The objectives of the
session were clearly
defined.
Participation and
interaction were
encouraged.
The topics covered were
relevant to me.
The content was
organized and easy to
follow.
The materials distributed
were helpful.
The presenters were
knowledgeable about the
training topics.
The training objectives
were met.

7

11. Relevance of Sessions (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

I learned about practices
or resources that are
relevant to my C-Accel
project.
I see myself using what I
learned in my C-Accel
project.
I identified goals or
action steps for using
what I learned in my CAccel project.
I plan to share what I
learned from the
sessions with my CAccel project team.
My expectations were
met.

12. Outcomes of Sessions (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
After the workshop…
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

I better understand the
role of the story spine in
delivering my pitch.
I struggle to see the
value of the
improvisational mindset
to the success of my
pitch.
I have built a story that is
designed to connect the
audience to my solution.
I am likely to practice
using improvisational
techniques to more
effectively deliver my
pitch.
I need more confidence
in my ability to deliver a
compelling pitch
presentation.

8

C-Accel February 18-21, 2020 Post-Training Survey
KnowInnovation: Understanding Team Personalities (February 21, 2020)
In these sessions (delivered by KnowInnovation) you learned about different team personality profiles
and how to leverage these to perform more effectively as a team.
13. Content Delivery (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

The objectives of the
session were clearly
defined.
Participation and
interaction were
encouraged.
The topics covered were
relevant to me.
The content was
organized and easy to
follow.
The materials distributed
were helpful.
The presenters were
knowledgeable about the
training topics.
The training objectives
were met.

9

14. Relevance of Sessions (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

I learned about practices
or resources that are
relevant to my C-Accel
project.
I see myself using what I
learned in my C-Accel
project.
I identified goals or
action steps for using
what I learned in my CAccel project.
I plan to share what I
learned from the
sessions with my CAccel project team.
My expectations were
met.

10

15. Outcomes of Sessions (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
After the workshop…
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

I have a better
understanding of how
the different people on
my team approach the
process of problemsolving.
I believe it is important to
leverage how individuals
approach problem
solving to strengthen our
team performance.
I am able to use the
information about our
individual problemsolving profiles to
strengthen the
effectiveness of my CAccel team.
I am likely to follow-up
with my team to further
explore the information
provided in our team
profiles.
I identified at least one
area in the pitch
development process
where my C-Accel team
could make better use of
team assets.

11

C-Accel February 18-21, 2020 Post-Training Survey
Partnership Panels (February 21, 2020)
These sessions introduced you to potential partners from outside of academia.
16. Content Delivery (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

The objectives of the
session were clearly
defined.
Participation and
interaction were
encouraged.
The topics covered were
relevant to me.
The content was
organized and easy to
follow.
The materials distributed
were helpful.
The presenters were
knowledgeable about the
training topics.
The training objectives
were met.

12

17. Relevance of Sessions (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

I learned about practices
or resources that are
relevant to my C-Accel
project.
I see myself using what I
learned in my C-Accel
project.
I identified goals or
action steps for using
what I learned in my CAccel project.
I plan to share what I
learned from the
sessions with my CAccel project team.
My expectations were
met.

13

18. Outcomes of Sessions (Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.)
After the workshop...
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

I am not convinced that
having different types of
non-academic partners
would strengthen my
capacity to conduct the
research central to my
pitch.
I am more likely to seek
out non-academic
partners to pursue their
potential involvement in
my C-Accel project.
I am unsure of how to
successfully pitch my CAccel project to potential
non-academic partners.
I have identified at least
one potential resource
partner that could
support my C-Accel
effort.
I have a better
understanding of the
types of non-academic
partners that may be
interested in my work.
I have a better
understanding of which
type of non-academic
partners would be best
to pursue a partnership
with to make my project
successful.

14

C-Accel February 18-21, 2020 Post-Training Survey
We’d like to know more about your experiences during the February 18-21 training sessions. Your
feedback will help us customize remaining training experiences and improve upon the training for the
second iteration of the C-Accel program. Please share your thoughts to the following questions:

19. Please rank the training sessions from Most Useful to Least Useful:
´

IDEO: Elements of a Pitch

´

Field Trips: Analogous Storytelling

´

Speechless: Improvisational Storytelling

´

KnowInnovation: Team Personalities

´

Partnerships Panel

20. For the training session you found most useful, what aspects made it the most useful.

21. For the training session you found most useful, what aspects could be improved.

22. For the training session you found least useful, why was this training session ranked last?

15

23. Could the least useful training session be changed to be more helpful to your project? If so, how?

24. Has your C-Accel project changed as a result of the 4-day training workshop? If so, how?

16