LIGO IDEA Projects
The LIGO IDEA Committee’s goal is to help increase the diversity of skills, thoughts, backgrounds, and perspectives represented throughout the LIGO community.
Current projects related to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access include:
- Buddy program. LIGO partners new employees and science fellows with a volunteer buddy outside of their department, that is there to help the individual navigate their new surroundings, and encourage a sense of inclusion.
- Hiring guide. Hiring practices guide to ensure our hiring practices value skillsets and not connections.
- Internships.
- LIGO is partnering with community colleges to give college students internship opportunities.
- LIGO is working with Hiring our Heroes project to give internship opportunities to military veterans.
- Monthly Ripple Effect training series. Each month we present a workshop with guest speakers focusing on a broad range of themes centered around inclusion, diversity, equity and access.
- STEM outreach representation.
- LIGO Livingston partners with Southern University of Baton Rouge (SUBR) as part of a separate NSF grant to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. This partnership trains SUBR STEM and Education majors as docents at LIGO-SEC and provides for STEM outreach efforts targeting students from underrepresented areas.
- LIGO Hanford provides STEM outreach efforts targeting students from underrepresented areas, and partners with Columbia Basin College and Washington State University Tri-Cities to train interns at LExC.
- Work environment surveys. LIGO conducts surveys to help measure workplace satisfaction and belonging.
The IDEA committee acts to advise the LIGO Directorate of actions that can be taken to make hiring, recruitment, and retention practices more inclusive. In the interest of increasing diversity across all management levels across LIGO, the IDEA Committee aims to improve staff retention by advocating for inclusive succession planning, cross-training, and professional development opportunities.
