During the 2025 High Impact Technology Exchange Conference (HI-TEC), our CEO + President Lana Rucks, Ph.D., and Research Associate Brianna Crumly-Goodwin presented their work on developing a cohesive framework of participant recruitment. The identified challenge that sparked this project was observing that across promising programs aimed at increasing the number of individuals pursuing STEM professions, there are often struggles with achieving recruitment goals despite the implementation of “best practices.” In the session, the presenters provided preliminary findings that support an overall theory of recruitment for skilled technical programs. This theory highlights why certain recruiting tactics work or don’t work within a given context. Theory development is still underway; this presentation serves as a resource for project teams to learn about the value and process of taking a theory-driven approach to recruitment, minimizing recruitment tactics, and implementing a more effective overall recruiting strategy.
