SENCER-ISE (Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities-Informal Science Education) is a National Science Foundation and Noyce Foundation funded initiative to support partnerships between informal science and higher education institutions. SENCER-ISE currently includes nine cross-sector partnerships offering a range of civic engagement activities for K-12, undergraduate and graduate students, and the public.
One goal of SENCER-ISE is to gain a better understanding of how such partnerships can provide strategies to improve STEM learning. Another one is to help students and the public appreciate the value of informal science education institutions as credible, accessible sources of high quality life-long, free-choice learning on matters of science, public policy, and both personal and societal well-being.
SENCER-ISE is an initiative of the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement (NCSCE). NCSCE was established in affiliation with Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, and is now an affiliate with the Department of Technology and Society at Stony Brook University.