Unlock the full potential of your STEM programs with our cutting-edge web-based tools, designed to enhance your tracking and reporting capabilities. Our suite of tools enables your team to effortlessly gather, manage, and analyze essential metrics including departmental and student impacts, alumni outcomes, and peer-reviewed publications. These insights are vital for securing and maintaining grant funding, as well as fulfilling annual reporting requirements. Choose to include any of these tools in your comprehensive evaluation plan or opt for a standalone software subscription for a specific tool that meets your data needs.

Figure 1:Sample Screenshot of Postdoc Career Areas Able to be Tracked

iBioSketch

iBioSketch is a Software as a Service (SaaS), subscription-based tool that assists us in tracking, sharing, and comparing career progress for our IRACDA scholars. Across the past 10 years, we have continually worked with our evaluator and three other IRACDAs (Penn, Rutgers, Tufts) to shape this tool to meet our postdoc tracking needs. The tool is primarily used by our scholars and us as leaders.

Existing Features for IRACDA Postdocs

• Username and Password-Protected Access - The tool requires every registered postdoc to enter their username and password for access to the system.
• Customizable User Interface – The tool allows for the storing and editing of career progress across up to 20 different categories aligned with postdoc training. The specific categories the tool tracks are customizable for each IRACDA. We currently prioritize the tracking of X
• Value Beyond a Web-Based Survey – Unlike a web-based survey which often requires users to re-enter prior submitted progress data, our postdocs never have to re-enter any data they have already provided, but can continually edit and update existing data. Progress data are collaboratively entered and edited, sharing the burden across us as leaders and them as postdocs.

Figure 2: Project Leaders’ Rates of Progress Report

Sample of Reporting Features for IRACDA Program Leaders

• Data Editing/Verification Capabilities - The tool allows us to access progress data stored by each postdoc in the program. As leaders, we are able to verify, edit, delete, and/or add to postdocs’ records to ensure the data are accurate prior to downloading them for progress reports. This edit/verification feature further strengthens the data set by helping to ensure that the data submitted by postdocs are accurately reported.
• Pre-Designed Reports of Trainees’ Progress - The tool includes pre-designed reports for us to review postdocs’ progress. The reports can be filtered to show only the postdocs who are currently active in the program or the aggregate across the history of the program.
• Summary of Demographics - The tool includes a summary of the demographics of all postdocs who have ever been part of the program. Storing these variables in the same system as longitudinal career progress data enables us to better monitor the progress of postdocs, by key demographics variables, including those who are considered “underrepresented” or “disadvantaged”.
• Downloadable Data - Every report is downloadable directly to a comma-separated values (CSV) file for further analysis. Each record transfers with the postdoc’s name as well as the date the record was last modified. Once these data are in CSV format, we can import them into our statistical software packages for more rigorous analyses, e.g, R or SPSS.
• Additional Project-Level Tracking – The tool allows us as leaders to track a variety of program activities at the coordinator-level that are also key to our success. These include data categories such as recruitment activities, collaborations, and dissemination and institutionalization efforts.

Figure 1:Leader Password-Protected Login Screen

PubKeeper

A Software as a Service (SaaS), subscription-based tool that assists us in documenting scientific research publications for the IRACDA Scholars and facilitates retrieval of citations for subsets of non-IRACDA scholars for comparison purposes. The tool is primarily used by our Program Director.

Existing Features for IRACDA Postdocs

• The tool allows our Program Director through a password protected account to structure and save a custom-made search comprised of three variables for each postdoc: their name, their mentor’s name, and their institutional affiliations. Using API scripting the tool accesses the PubMed library and automatically returns a list of all citations that include the combination of all three variables.
• Search results are presented for our Director to review and confirm. Confirmed citations are then saved in a consistent format for annual progress reports.
• The tool’s dashboard allows us to access figures based on the citations stored. These figures visually display the number of publications for IRACDA scholars and mentors, as well as total publications over time. Figures include the top publishing IRACDA scholars and mentors.
• Downloadable Data – All reports, including full citations and PubMed ID numbers are able to be directly to a comma-separated values (CSV) file for further analysis.
• Auto-creation of NIH Required Publication Tables (5A/5B) – The tool also enables us as IRACDA leaders to save time by automatically creating a draft of the required publication table submitted as part of our annual progress reports.

Figure 2: Sample Screenshot of Saved Citations

Figure 3: Sample Figures from PubKeeper’s Dashboard

Figure 1: Screenshot of ImpactKeeper’s Partner Liaison Interface

ImpactKeeper

A Software as a Service (SaaS), subscription-based tool that assists us in tracking, sharing, and comparing impacts made at our partner institutions. Through a supplemental grant submitted by the Tufts IRACDA, we have worked collaboratively this past project year with our evaluator and five other IRACDAs (Penn, Rutgers, Tufts, UMich, UNM) to shape this tool to meet our partner impact tracking needs. The tool is primarily used by our partner liaisons and us as leaders.

Features For Partner Liaisons

• Username and Password-Protected Access - The tool requires every registered partner liaison and IRACDA leaders to enter their email address and password for access to the system.
• Categories Collaboratively Defined by 6 IRACDAs – The  tool tracks partner impact data across up to 16 different categories, 8 focused on department-level impacts and 8 focused on student-level impacts.
• Value Beyond a Web-Based Survey – Unlike a web-based survey which often requires users to re-enter data they may have submitted in previous years, partner liaisons never have to re-enter any data they have already provided. Instead the tool enables them to review and can continually build upon their existing impact data. In addition, because progress data are collaboratively entered and edited, the burden that sits on one specific partner liaison or leader is substantially lower.
  

Sample of Reporting Features For IRACDA Program Leaders

• Data Editing/Verification Capabilities - The tool allows us to access campus impact data stored by each partner liaison. We and our postdocs are able to verify, edit, delete, and/or add to partner impact records to ensure the data are accurate prior to downloading them for progress reports. This edit/verification feature further strengthens the data set by helping to ensure that the data submitted by partners are accurately reported.
• Pre-Designed Reports of Partner Impacts - The tool includes pre-designed reports for us to review partner impacts. The reports can be filtered to show impacts for a specific partner and/or range of years.
• Downloadable Data - Every report is downloadable directly to a comma-separated values (CSV) file for further analysis.

Figure 2: Screenshot from ImpactKeeper’s Dashboard