Maryland Business Roundtable for Education’s STEM Net
The Challenge
Maryland Business Roundtable for Education (MBRT) is a coalition of more than 100 leading employers that support education reform and improve student achievement in Maryland. The organization works to influence policies and practices affecting education, leverage public and private expertise and resources, and impact educational outcomes and college and workplace readiness. MBRT’s funding comes from state and federal grants, and corporate and foundation support.
With grants from state and federal government agencies and help from industry, MBRT built a technology platform for delivering STEM curriculum to students and teachers. The platform, called STEM Innovation Network, or STEMnet, now serves approximately two schools in every school district. To scale it to serve every student and teacher in Maryland, a more robust business and funding model would be necessary. The challenge was to outline a path forward for the platform congruent with MBRT’s mission and supportable by its current capabilities.
The Approach
MBRT chartered a STEMNet Advisory Board that consisted of senior leaders from industry and academia. This Board was asked to provide input into STEMNet strategy development. Profile Partners worked with MBRT to facilitate a strategic planning process that allowed MBRT and its STEMNet Advisory Board to compare and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future of STEMnet. As part of the scenario building, Profile Partners helped map out potential financial models, technology approaches, and staffing models.
The Result
The strategy sessions resulted in a clear picture of the requirements of each scenario and the impact on the organizations. With the clear picture, the Advisory Board could deliver a set of recommendations for STEMNet’s growth to MBRT’s Board of Directors. STEMNet continues to grow and serve thousands of students and teachers across the state.
