ENRICH Mentoring and Individual Development Plans (IDPs)
ENRICH Mentoring
How ENRICH Mentoring Works
ENRICH uses a mentee-driven, non-evaluative model. Mentees identify the goals and issues they want to address, while mentors provide perspective, feedback, connections, and access to a broader professional network. Mentoring is intended to complement, not replace, advisors, supervisors, department mentors, and other institutional resources
1. Establish the Partnership
Mentor and mentee discuss goals, expectations, communication, confidentiality, and meeting cadence and complete the Mentoring Partnership Agreement.
2. Set Goals and Meet
The mentee develops a Mentoring Action Plan and takes the lead in scheduling meetings and identifying discussion topics. Mentors provide perspective, feedback, connections, and guidance.
3. Review and Adjust
Pairs revisit goals during the year, assess what is working, adjust priorities as needed, and determine next steps at the conclusion of the program cycle.
ENRICH Mentoring Toolkit
The ENRICH Mentoring Toolkit provides practical resources to help mentors and mentees establish expectations, identify goals, prepare for meetings, track progress, and make the most of the mentoring relationship. Resources can be downloaded individually or together as the complete toolkit.
Mentoring Best Practices Guide: Guidance for building and maintaining an effective mentoring partnership, including roles, expectations, meeting practices, common challenges, and closing the program year.
Mentee Preparation Checklist: A quick checklist to help mentees prepare for their first mentoring conversation.
Mentor Preparation Checklist : A quick checklist to help mentors prepare for their role and first meeting.
Mentoring Action Plan: A goal-setting and development tool for early-career faculty and researchers, including short- and longer-term goals, requested mentor support, and mid-year and year-end review.
Mentoring Partnership Agreement: A framework for establishing meeting cadence, communication expectations, areas of focus, confidentiality, responsibilities, and review points.
Mentoring Meeting Log: A simple template for recording discussion topics, decisions, action items, resources, introductions, and next steps.
Suggested Discussion Topics: Conversation prompts covering early-career transition, research program development, funding, EARTH engagement, industry partnerships, leadership, career development, and work-life integration.
Postdoctoral Mentoring Plan: EARTH's framework for supporting postdoctoral scholars through mentoring, career development, research and communication skills, teaching, responsible conduct of research, and professional networking.
Download the Complete ENRICH Mentoring Toolkit: All ENRICH mentoring resources in one PDF.
Access mentoring resources through the Toolkit below.
Click resource title to download PDFs.
Toolkit Resources
Individual Development Plans (IDP)
Individual Development Plans (IDPs) complement mentoring by helping EARTH scholars identify goals, assess their development, and create concrete plans for academic, research, and career growth.
EARTH uses IDPs with graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. An IDP is a living, scholar-driven document that can be used to guide conversations with faculty advisors and mentors and revisited as goals, skills, and career interests evolve. EARTH's IDP includes self-assessment, educational and research goals, career exploration and professional development, and regular progress review.
Creating an Individual Development Plan
Work with your faculty mentor to develop your IDP. You may use the EARTH IDP template or follow or advisor may have one they prefer to use. You may adapt the template and add elements as needed to create a plan that best supports your goals and tracks your progress.
FAQs
EARTH strongly encourages IDPs for all trainees and may require them for students supported by specific NSF-funded projects.
In general, your IDP is a scholar-driven document. You choose what you want to share outside of your advising appointments. Some programs may request confirmation that an IDP has been completed without requiring the full document. Check with your advisor for institution specific requirements.
Review and update at least once per year, and ideally each semester. Use the IDP as a starting point for mentoring meetings and annual reviews.
Update your IDP to reflect new interests or opportunities and discuss these changes with your advisor/mentor during regular check-ins.
Yes, although you likely have on primary advisor with whom you create and update your IDP. Many students and scholars benefit from a mentoring “team” that may include a primary research advisor, co-mentors at partner institutions, and professional or industry mentors. You may wish to note these roles in your plan.