New from COSSA

COSSA Praises Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking Report

October 17, 2017 |

On October 11, COSSA issued a statement on the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking’s final report, released in September (see COSSA’s summary of the report’s recommendations). The statement reads: “COSSA applauds the work of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking and commends its open, thorough process in producing its final report, The Promise of Evidence-Based Policymaking. The report represents the beginning of what we hope will be an ongoing, nonpartisan discussion on how the federal government can incentivize decision-making based on sound science while ensuring the careful stewardship of confidential information. The Commission’s recommendations demonstrate that expanding the use of evidence and…

SAGE Answers “Why Social Science?”

October 17, 2017 |

This week’s Why Social Science guest post comes from Sara Miller McCune, Founder and Executive Chair of SAGE Publishing, who writes about how her personal and professional experiences have been shaped by research in the social sciences. Read it here and subscribe. Back to this issue’s table of contents.

Tomorrow: Social Science Solutions for Health, Public Safety, Computing, and Other National Priorities

October 3, 2017 |

COSSA and SAGE Publishing will host a Congressional briefing on Wednesday, October 4 on Social Science Solutions for Health, Public Safety, Computing, and Other National Priorities. The event will feature authors of past Why Social Science? blog posts, including Representative Dan Lipinski (D-IL); Andrew Bernat, Computing Research Association; Nancy La Vigne, The Urban Institute; and William Riley, National Institutes of Health. The briefing will take place at noon in room 2075 of the Rayburn House Office Building. RSVPs are still being accepted here. For those unable to attend in person, the briefing will be livestreamed on COSSA’s Facebook page. Back…

Research!America Answers “Why Social Science?”

October 3, 2017 |

This week’s Why Social Science? guest post comes from Mary Woolley, President and CEO of Research!America, who writes about how research in the social and behavioral sciences has led to life-saving interventions. Read it here and subscribe. Back to this issue’s table of contents.

The Computing Research Association Answers “Why Social Science?”

September 19, 2017 |

This week’s Why Social Science? guest post comes from Andrew Bernat, Executive Director of the Computing Research Association, who writes about how insights from the social and behavioral sciences enhance the work of computer scientists. Read it here and subscribe. Back to this issue’s table of contents.

The American Educational Research Association Answers “Why Social Science?”

September 5, 2017 |

This week’s Why Social Science? guest post comes from Juliane Baron of the American Educational Research Association, who writes about how education research has challenged our assumptions about how we learn and helped us improve the way we teach students. Read it here and subscribe. Back to this issue’s table of contents.

The American Political Science Association Answers “Why Social Science?”

July 25, 2017 |

This week’s Why Social Science guest post comes from Steven Rathgeb Smith, Executive Director of the American Political Science Association, who writes about how political science helps us understand and engage with our political and social systems an d institutions. Read it here and subscribe. Back to this issue’s table of contents.

Why Social Science? Highlights the National Academies’ SBE Report

July 11, 2017 | ,

This week’s Why Social Science? post highlights the recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, The Value of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences to National Priorities. Produced at the request of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the report assesses the contributions of the social, behavioral, and economic (SBE) sciences to issues of national importance. Read it here and subscribe. Back to this issue’s table of contents. 

The Crime and Justice Research Alliance Answers “Why Social Science?”

June 27, 2017 |

This week’s “Why Social Science?” guest post comes from Nancy La Vigne, Chair of the Crime and Justice Research Alliance and Director of the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute, who writes about how findings from criminology help us answer crucial questions about crime and our justice system. Read it here and subscribe. Back to this issue’s table of contents.

The National Communication Association Answers “Why Social Science?”

June 12, 2017 |

This week’s Why Social Science? guest post comes from Paaige Turner, Executive Director of the National Communication Association, who writes about the role Communication research plays in helping shape our understanding of the world around us. Read it here and subscribe. Back to this issue’s table of contents.

COSSA Senate Testimony Calls for Funding for NIH, AHRQ, CDC, Education Programs

June 12, 2017 |

On June 2, COSSA submitted testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies for fiscal year (FY) 2018. The testimony calls for increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Institute for Education Sciences (IES), and International Education and Foreign Language Programs (Title VI and Fulbright-Hays). Back to this issue’s table of contents.

CJRA and COSSA to Host “Ask a Criminologist” Panel on Technology and Policing

June 12, 2017 | ,

The Crime & Justice Research Alliance (CJRA) (a collaborative effort of the Academy of Criminal Justice Science and the American Society of Criminology, both COSSA members) and COSSA will be hosting the second in a series of “Ask a Criminologist” Congressional briefings on Wednesday, June 21. This interactive event will feature criminologist experts who will provide an overview of research on the latest technologies police are using across the country. Experts include CJRA Chair Dr. Nancy La Vigne of The Urban Institute, Dr. Cynthia Lum of George Mason University, Dr. Eric Piza of John Jay College, and Eddie Reyes of…

COSSA Releases Analysis of the Trump Administration’s FY 2018 Budget Request

May 30, 2017 | ,

The Trump Administration released its fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request on May 23. The budget seeks dramatic reductions totaling $3.6 trillion across nearly every department of the federal government, including most science and research agencies. COSSA has prepared an in-depth analysis of the FY 2018 budget request, which includes details on the President’s proposals for the dozens of departments, agencies, and programs of interest to social and behavioral science researchers. The release of the President’s budget request marks the official start of the FY 2018 appropriations process, though some Congressional committees have already begun holding their oversight hearings even…

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences Answers “Why Social Science?”

May 30, 2017 |

This week’s Why Social Science? guest post comes from John Tessitore, Senior Program Advisor at the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, who writes about how findings from the social sciences helped inform the Academy’s recent report, “America’s Languages: Investing in Language Education in the 21st Century.” Read it here and subscribe. Back to this issue’s table of contents.

COSSA Joins Scientific Societies in Raising Concerns with Visa Changes

May 30, 2017 |

COSSA joined 54 scientific societies on a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the Department of State raising concerns about the proposed supplemental questions for visa applicants. The letter discusses the community’s concerns about a possible chilling effect on international travelers to the United States, which would negatively impact U.S. higher education and scientific collaborations. The signatories also raise concerns about the lack of clarity on which visa applicants would be affected, that social media information would be collected, and that the burden of this proposed change would be…

Letters Urge Congressional Leaders to Support Research Agencies

May 30, 2017 | , ,

COSSA joined dozens of scientific societies and research universities on a letter to Congressional leaders, sent on May 24, urging them to reject the Trump Administration’s proposed cuts to science agencies including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, and more. Similarly, in a Dear Colleague letter sent to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee responsible for the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill, 29 Senators expressed their support for the National Science Foundation. The letter calls for the National Science Foundation to receive at least $8 billion in fiscal year…

Why Social Science? Highlights Paul Milgrom’s Auction Research

May 16, 2017 |

The most recent Why Social Science? post highlights a recent opinion piece published in The Hill by Paul Milgrom, a Stanford economist whose groundbreaking research in auction design is used by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to auction electromagnetic spectrum to companies, generating billions in revenue for the federal government. Read it here and subscribe. Back to this issue’s table of contents.

Friends of NIMHD Ask for Increased Funding for Institute

May 16, 2017 | ,

COSSA, a founding member of the Friends of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), joined in sending letters to the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) leadership in support of $302 million ($21 million increase) in funding for fiscal year (FY) 2018 for the NIMHD. While acknowledging the “difficult budget environment,” the letter also highlights the institute’s success in basic research; community-based, participatory research; transdisciplinary and translational research; and training the research workforce. Back to this issue’s table of contents.

Congress Reaches Agreement on FY 2017 Funding

May 2, 2017 | , ,

On May 1, Congress announced that a bipartisan deal had been brokered to fund the federal government through the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2017. The omnibus appropriations bill includes 11 individual appropriations bills and keeps the government operating through September 30, 2017. Should the bill pass this week, the final, much-delayed result for FY 2017 will be mostly positive for social and behavioral science research. Compared to where we have been in recent years and with all of the unknowns surrounding the Trump Administration’s position on science funding, this outcome is about the best we could have hoped for….

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Answers “Why Social Science?”

May 2, 2017 |

The latest Why Social Science? guest post comes from Dr. Courtney Ferrell Aklin and Dr. Eliseo J. PĂ©rez-Stable of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), who write about how the social and behavioral sciences help us understand the social determinants of health and address health disparities. Read it here and subscribe. Back to this issue’s table of contents.

Load More

Subscribe

Past Newsletters

Browse

Archive

Browse 40 years of the COSSA Washington Update.