Volume 35 (2016)
Congress Returns for Lame Duck Session, Begins Organizing
Congress returns to Washington this week for the first time since last week’s historic elections. Lawmakers are returning to a new reality that many did not see coming, with the election of Donald Trump as the next President and the Republicans maintaining a stronghold in both chambers of Congress. Following the elections, Republicans maintain a narrowed majority in the House and Senate. The Senate margins sit at 51 Republicans to 48 Democrats, with a run-off race in Louisiana scheduled for December. In addition, and as expected, Republicans held onto control of the House, with 239 Republicans to 193 Democrats, though…
COSSA Letter to Conferees Advocates Funding for NSF, NIJ, BJS, and Census
As Congress returns to complete the business of funding the government for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2017, COSSA is advocating for strong funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and Census Bureau. In a letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS), COSSA highlights the important work of these agencies and asks that conferees support the “highest possible funding levels.” The full letter is available on the COSSA website. COSSA has weighed-in in support of other federal agency budgets through our many…
President-Elect Trump Begins Transition; Many Questions Remain for Science
Following a surprising victory on Nov. 8, businessman Donald Trump’s campaign will now focus on transitioning to the White House. More details have emerged about Trump’s goals for his presidency through a transition website, goals for his first 100 days in office, and a job posting for administration appointees. Notably, President-elect Trump’s plan for his first 100 days includes a hiring freeze on federal employees and “a requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated.” Many uncertainties remain, including key administration appointments and more detailed policy proposals for the administration. Before the election, President-elect Trump…
Cancer Moonshot Task Force Report Released
On October 17, the Cancer Moonshot Task Force released a report laying out its implementation plans for accelerating progress in cancer research and care. The plan includes actions launched under the Cancer Moonshot this year as well as longer-term strategies for the initiative. Established by President Barack Obama, the Task Force consists of 20 federal departments, agencies, and White House offices, with leadership provided by Vice President Joe Biden. The Task Force’s efforts are not intended to supplant existing cancer programs, initiatives, and polices, but to coordinate these efforts in an attempt to quicken the progress associated with them. The…
EPA Seeks Research on “Behavioral Drivers” of Significant Carbon Reduction
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Program is soliciting applications for research projects on “Anticipating the Environmental Impacts and Behavioral Drivers of Deep Decarbonization.” The term “Deep Decarbonization” refers to the changes necessary to significantly reduce carbon emissions and meet climate policy goals. EPA is interested in proposals that address at least one of the following questions: “How might the deep decarbonization of the U.S. economy by 2050 change the geographic, socioeconomic, and demographic distribution of public health and ecosystem risks associated with energy production and consumption?” “What factors drive decisions at the individual, firm, and…
IRS Statistical Agency Accepting Research Proposals
The Statistics of Income program (SOI) within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is accepting proposals for its Joint Statistical Research Program. The program, which is generally offered every two years, matches researchers outside the federal government with IRS researchers to work on projects that will deepen our understanding of taxpayer behavior and of how tax policies affect individuals, businesses, and the economy. The IRS hopes that such projects will also lead to the development of new datasets to enhance future tax research. SOI is particularly interested in proposals addressing the following topics: “Tax administration in a global economy; taxpayer needs…
National Library of Medicine Seeks Input into Strategic Plan
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking the scientific and stakeholder community’s input into the goals and priorities for NLM’s next ten-year strategic plan. Specifically, NLM is seeking comments around four themes: (1) data science, open science, and biomedical informatics; (2) biomedical discovery and translational science; (3) public health (clinical systems, public health systems and services, and personal health); and (4) collections to support discovery and health in the 21st century. For more information and/or to comment, see the Request for Information (NOT-LM-17-002). Comments are due January 9, 2017. Back to this…
NIGMS Analyzes RFI Response on Modernizing Biomedical Graduate Education
On November 2, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shared its analysis of the input it received from the scientific community in response to a June 2016 request for information (RFI) (NOT-GM-16-109) on how to “catalyze the modernization of biomedical graduate education through NIGMS’s institutional predoctoral training program.” According to NIGMS, the comments received addressed 28 themes and fell into five categories: institutional and training-related issues, skills development, systemic issues within the research enterprise, careers, and administrative and review issues. The feedback around the issue of diversity and the role of…
NIH Seeks Input on Data Management, Sharing, and Citation
The National Institute of Health (NIH) is seeking comments on data management and sharing strategies and priorities to assist it in: (1) establishing policy in managing and making publicly available digital scientific data generated by NIH-supported research, and (2) setting standards for citing shared data and software. Topics of interest cited in the Request for Information, Strategies for NIH Data Management, Sharing, and Citation (NOT-OD-17-015), include: “the highest-priority types of data to be shared and value in sharing such data; the length of time the data should be made available for secondary research purposes, the appropriate means of maintaining and…
Lawmakers and Advocates Urge Congress to Complete its Work on Behalf of NIH
On November 2, the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, including COSSA, a member of its Steering Committee, sent a letter to House and Senate leadership thanking lawmakers for their “efforts to ensure that a robust, sustained investment in medical research through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a high priority.” A coalition of more than 200 patient and voluntary health groups, medical and scientific societies, academic and research organizations, and industry committed to enhancing the federal investment in biomedical, behavioral, social, and population-based research supported by NIH, the coalition urged Congress to provide at least $34.1 billion for…
Funding Opportunity Announcements
AHRQ: Utilizing Health Information Technology to Scale and Spread Successful Practice Models Using Patient-Reported Outcomes (R18) (NOT-HS-17-003) EPA: Anticipating the Environmental Impacts and Behavioral Drivers of Deep Decarbonization (EPA-G2017-STAR-B1) EPA: Early Career: Anticipating the Environmental Impacts and Behavioral Drivers of Deep Decarbonization (EPA-G2017-STAR-B2) IRS: Statistics of Income Joint Statistical Research Program NIH opportunities: NIH/CDC: Additional Awardees Eligible for PA-16-288 “Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp)” (NOT-OD-17-012) NIH: Additional Awardees Eligible for PA-16-289 “Research Supplements to Promote Re-Entry into Biomedical and Behavioral Research Careers (Admin Supp)” (NOT-OD-17-013) NIH: Addressing Health Disparities through Effective Interventions Among Immigrant Populations…
Events Calendar
North American Regional Science Council Annual Meeting, November 13-16, 2016, Minneapolis, MN American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, November 16-20, 2016, Minneapolis, MN American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, November 16-19, 2016, New Orleans, LA Social Science History Association Annual Meeting, November 17-20, 2016, Chicago, IL BD2K Open Data Science Symposium, December 1, 2016, Bethesda, MD NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival, December 2, 2016, Bethesda, MD Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting, January 4-7, 2017, San Francisco, CA American Historical Association Annual Meeting, January 5-8, 2017, Denver, CO Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting, January 5-8, 2017, Austin,…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 35 Issue 21
Featured News 2016 Presidential Candidates’ Science Policy Platforms COSSA in Action COSSA and Coalitions Urge Strong Funding for SBS in Final FY 2017 Funding Negotiations Federal Agency & Administration News Inaugural NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival — December 2, 2016 IES Seeks Comments on NCER-NPSAS Grants NASS Advisory Committee Accepting Nominations Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program Renamed All of Us Research Program NIH Releases Five-Year Rehabilitation Research Plan NIH Seeks Information on Research Supplement to Promote Workforce Diversity in Small Business NINDS to Hold Informational Webinars on Diversity Career Development Awards Publications & Community Events O’Connell Named Next…
2016 Presidential Candidates’ Science Policy Platforms
Over the last year and a half, presidential candidates have provided hints as to what their science policy priorities would be if they were to win. Democratic nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released details of her “Initiative on Technology and Innovation”, which includes commitments to grow the budget of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the research budgets at the Department of Energy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). While Secretary Clinton’s published positions related to science primarily focus on computer science and technology, in response to a questionnaire from the Scientific American, Secretary Clinton…
COSSA and Coalitions Urge Strong Funding for SBS in Final FY 2017 Funding Negotiations
In preparation for Congress’ return to Washington after the election, several of the coalitions COSSA works through have sent letters to appropriators urging them to pass funding bills rather than a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2017 and to encourage them to preserve funding for the agencies that support social and behavioral science (SBS), including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Senate letter, House letter), the National Center for Health Statistics (Senate letter, House letter), the Census Bureau (Senate letter, House letter), and the Institute of Education Sciences. Back to…
Inaugural NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival — December 2, 2016
On December 2, 2016, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) will hold an inaugural NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival. Intended to become an annual event, the festival “will highlight recently funded contributions of behavioral and social science to health research.” It will also “explore new directions for health-related behavioral and social science research.” The event is tailored to build the “understanding and capacity to implement transformative behavioral and system interventions that lead to sustainable improvements in health and well-being.” The festival agenda and additional information is available on OBSSR’s website….
IES Seeks Comments on NCER-NPSAS Grants
The National Center for Education Research (NCER) within the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is proposing a new information collection as part of an ongoing collaboration between NCER and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)—also located within IES—and is seeking comments. The NCER supports research projects using subsamples of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), a nationally-representative sample of postsecondary institutions and students fielded every three to four years. The goal for the proposed new collection is to facilitate “one-off” research projects. The Department is specifically interested in comments addressing the following questions: “(1) Is…
NASS Advisory Committee Accepting Nominations
The Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics, which is the advisory body to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), is accepting nominations. The Committee advises the Secretary of Agriculture and NASS leadership on issues that may affect NASS’ agriculture surveys and products. Members represent a broad range of disciplines and stakeholder communities including “producers, representatives of national farm organizations, agricultural economists, rural sociologists, farm policy analysts, educators, State agriculture representatives, and agriculture-related business and marketing experts.” Nominations are due by November 30. More information is available in the Federal Register notice. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program Renamed “All of Us” Research Program
On October 12, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Cohort Program has been renamed the All of Us Research Program. The name change, according to the announcement, reflects the study’s core values, which include “participation is open to all; participants reflect the rich diversity of the U.S.; participants are partners; participants have access to their information; data will be accessed broadly for research purposes; security and privacy will be of highest priority; and the program will be a catalyst for positive change in research.” The program’s name change also incorporates the feedback NIH…
NIH Releases Five-Year Rehabilitation Research Plan
After two years of planning and soliciting public input, the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) within the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released the NIH Research Plan on Rehabilitation. The government-wide plan, coordinated by NCMRR, addresses the need for rehabilitation research; NIH’s investment in rehabilitation research; current medical rehabilitation research activities at NIH; opportunities, needs, and priorities; and NIH’s coordination with other federal agencies. Seventeen NIH institutes and centers support rehabilitation research, and the plan “calls for the continuation of programs to understand the…