Volume 35 (2016)
OMB Seeks Comments on Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity
On September 30, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a Federal Register Notice soliciting comments regarding “Review and Possible Limited Revision of OMB’s Statistical Policy Directive on Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity.” These standards were last revised in 1997. The Notice observes that since the revisions were implemented, “much has been learned about how these standards have improved the quality of Federal information collected and presented on race and ethnicity.” Accordingly, the Notice identifies areas that may “benefit from further refinement” (see the Notice for full details). Specifically, OMB is seeking…
National Academies, Director of National Intelligence, Host Summit on Social and Behavioral Sciences for National Security
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a Summit on Social and Behavioral Science for National Security on October 4 and 5. The Summit marked the beginning of a decadal survey, sponsored by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences, to identify potential contributions by the social and behavioral science to national security. The sponsors are seeking input on what research is relevant to the topic of the study and suggestions regarding town halls and conferences as the study begins. More information and updates about the decadal study…
Committee on National Statistics Releases Report on Reducing Burden in the American Community Survey
The Committee on National Statistics of the Division of Behavioral and Social Science and Education (DBASSE) at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has published a report on their March workshop dedicated to improving the American Community Survey (ACS). The workshop examined different approaches to reducing the burden on respondents, including reducing the number of questions asked to individual respondents though matrix sampling, eliminating the need for some questions by using administrative records, increasing cooperation with the survey, reducing the length of the survey. The full report is available here. Back to this issueâs table of contents.Â
Nominations open for the 2017 SAGE-CASBS Award
Nominations are open for the 2017 SAGE-CASBS Award to recognize achievement in the social and behavioral sciences that “advance our understanding of pressing social issues.”The Award, supported by SAGE Publishing and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University, a COSSA member, was established in 2013 and seeks nominees who “represent the best in contemporary social science” and whose work has had significant impact in social, political, and economic life. Nominations are due by November 30. Back to this issueâs table of contents.Â
Funding Opportunity Announcements
NSF: Dear Colleague Letter on Robust and Reliable Research in the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (NSF 16-137) AHRQ: Large Health Services Research Demonstration and Dissemination Projects for Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections (R18) (PA-17-007) AHRQ: Large Research Projects for Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections (R01) (PA-17-008) Back to this issueâs table of contents.Â
Events Calendar
Thirteenth Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research, American Educational Research Association, Washington, DC, October 20, 2016 Evaluation 2016, American Evaluation Association, Atlanta, GA, October 22-30, 2016 The Middle East and Regional Transition, Terrorism, and Countering Violent Extremism: What the Next President Will Face, American Academy of Political and Social Science, Washington, DC, October 24, 2016 Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Convention, New York, NY, October 27-30, 2016 A list of COSSA membersâ annual meetings and other events can be found on the COSSA webpage. COSSA members who have an upcoming event they would like to see listed in the Events Calendar and on our website should send an…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 35, Issue 19
Featured News Congress Passes Stopgap Funding Bill, Returns to Campaign Trail COSSA in Action COSSA Releases Third Issue of âSetting the Record Straight on âWasteful Researchââ Congressional News Congressional Supporters of 21st Century Cures Bill Hope for Passage by End of 114th Congress House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Academic Research Regulatory Relief Federal Agency & Administration News ABCD Study Begins Enrollment; Congressional Briefing Highlights Studyâs Potential GAO: Agencies Involved in the Indirect Cost Rate-Setting Process Need to Improve Controls NIA Council Approves Continued Support of Health and Retirement Study and Other Research Programs NIH Launches ECHO Program NIGMS/NRMN Announces New…
Congress Passes Stopgap Funding Bill, Returns to Campaign Trail
Congress successfully passed a stopgap funding bill on September 28 to keep the government operating into fiscal year (FY) 2017, which began October 1. The bill will fund the government until December 9 and includes a number of policy and funding provisions that have been hotly debated in recent months, including funding to combat the Zika virus and the opioid epidemic, as well as aid in response to the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan and flooding in Louisiana. The text of the Continuing Resolution is available here. Congress will reconvene following the elections in November and what happens next…
COSSA Releases Third Issue of âSetting the Record Straight on âWasteful Researchââ
COSSA has released the third issue of Setting the Record Straight on “Wasteful Research” (PDF available here). This series features interviews with researchers whose work has been called out in Congressional wastebooks or other attacks. Through this series, researchers are given the chance to set the record straight about the value and potential of their work–and confront misconceptions about social science research funded by the federal government. This edition features Kimberley Phillips (Trinity University), whose grant to study the effect of exercise on neurodegenerative diseases was caricatured in Sen. Jeff Flake’s 2015 “The Farce Awakens” wastebook. Back to this issueâs table…
Congressional Supporters of 21st Century Cures Bill Hope for Passage by End of 114th Congress
Supporters of the 21st Century Cures legislation have not given up on seeing the legislation become law in the 114th Congress. On September 28, the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), respectively, released the following statement: âWe continue our work on bipartisan legislation to spur cures and treatments and better health for Americans. Weâve been working for a year and a half on behalf of patients and scientists, and we are committed to getting a result this year that will lead to lifesaving medical breakthroughs…
House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Academic Research Regulatory Relief
The Subcommittee on Research and Technology of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing on September 29 to review recommendations related to regulatory relief for academic research. Rep. Barbra Comstock (R-VA), the Subcommittee Chair, and Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), the Ranking Member, have both introduced legislation to help ease the administrative burden on federally-funded researchers. The hearing highlighted a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that provides recommendations to the Department of Energy, NASA, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Science Foundation on how to streamline administrative requirements. Witnesses included John…
ABCD Study Begins Enrollment; Congressional Briefing Highlights Studyâs Potential
On September 16, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the beginning of participant recruitment for the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. The project is the largest long-term study of brain development in the United States, with 19 research sites positioned around the country to examine âhow childhood experiences affect brain, social, emotional, and cognitive development, including those that directly affect classroom behavior and academic success.â In addition to looking at brain development, the study will allow researchers to examine health outcomes, such as weight, growth, sleep quality, mental health, substance use, and injury. It will also let them examine…
GAO: Agencies Involved in the Indirect Cost Rate-Setting Process Need to Improve Controls
A September 7 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, NIH Biomedical Research: Agencies Involved in the Indirect Cost Rate-Setting Process Need to Improve Controls (GAO-16-616), includes 12 recommendations for the Department of Health and Human Serviceâs Cost Allocation Services, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Division of Financial Advisory Services, and the Department of Defenseâs Office of Naval Research. According to GAO, the recommendations are designed to improve controls over the agencyâs indirect cost rate process. GAO was asked to âreview the internal controls for overseeing the validity of indirect cost rates for NIHâs research organization.â The study was initiated by…
NIA Council Approves Continued Support of Health and Retirement Study and Other Research Programs
On September 28, the National Advisory Council on Aging of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) approved a concept clearance allowing the Institute to move forward with the next Health and Retirement Study (HRS) funding opportunity announcement. HRS, a longitudinal study, is the âleading source for information on the health and economic well-being of adults age 50 and older in the United States.â The Council also approved four other concept clearances related to behavioral and social research: development of socially assistive robots, pragmatic trials for dementia care, delirium and Alzheimerâs and Related Dementia, and multi-morbidity in Alzheimerâs impacts choice of ancillary treatments. Back…
NIH Launches ECHO Program
On September 21, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the launch of the seven-year Environmental Influences on Children Health Outcomes (ECHO) program designed to âinvestigate how exposure to a range of environmental factors in early development–from conception through early childhood–influences the health of children and adolescents.â The agency planned to allocate $157 million in funding in fiscal year (FY) 2016 for ECHO. Presenting at the September 21 National Advisory Child Health and Human Development (NACHHD) Council, ECHO Director Matthew Gillman outlined the goals of the study. Gillman noted that the aims for ECHO are consistent with the agencyâs goals for the…
NIGMS/NRMN Announces New Web-Based Platform for Mentoring; Highlights Special Journal Issue on Broadening Participation
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced the launch of MyNRMN, part of the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN). NIGMS manages NRMN for the NIHâs Common Fund Diversity Program Consortium, which in addition to the NRMN includes the Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) initiative and the Coordination and Evaluation Center (CEC). In a recent NIGMS Feedback Loop blog post announcing MyNRMN, NIGMS staff explained that the new web-based platform is intended to help researchers and students connect professionally and is âdesigned for scientists at every level.â Additionally, it can be…
NIGMS Director Updates Council on Second Phase of MIRA Pilot
During the September 16 meeting of the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Director Jon Lorsch provided an update on the second phase of a two-part pilot program for funding research supported by the Institute. The goal of the Maximizing Investigatorâs Research Award (MIRA) for New and Early Stage Investigators (R35) pilot is to âincrease the efficiency and efficacy of NIGMS funding.â Lorsch defined new investigators as individuals who have not had a major NIH grant, and early stage investigators (ESI) as individuals within 10 years of their terminal degree, research, or medical…
Funding Opportunity Announcements
AHRQ: AHRQ Conference Grant Programs (R13) (PA-16-453) NIH: NIH Peer Review Online Briefings for Fellowship and R01 Grant Applicants, and Basic Research Grant Applicants and Reviewers (NOT-OD-16-152) FIC: International Bioethics Research Training Program (D43) (PAR-16-454) NIDA/NCI/NIAAA: Multi-Site Studies for System-Level Implementation of Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Services (R01) (PAR-16-455) NIDA/NIAAA: Multi-Site Pilot and Feasibility Studies for System-Level Implementation of Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Services (R34) (PAR-16-456) Back to this issueâs table of contents.Â
Members of Congress, Scientific Community Celebrate Golden Goose Award Recipients
The fifth annual Golden Goose Award Ceremony was held on September 22 in Washington, DC to honor seemingly obscure federally-funded research that has resulted in âtremendous human and economic benefitâ. Many members of Congress joined the honorees in recognizing the importance of federally-funded scientific research, including Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), the visionary behind the Golden Goose award, Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL), Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL), Rep. Bob Dold (R-IL), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL). The honorees included the social and behavioral scientists that conducted the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). More…
âStatisticians Share Insights for Applicants and Reviewersâ with NIH Center for Scientific Review
In its September 2016 edition of Peer Review Notes, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center for Scientific Review (CSR) shared a recent discussion the Center had with members and staff of the American Statistical Association (ASA). According to CSR, the discussion âcovered many important topics and insights… including how statisticians can (1) help improve rigor and reproducibility, (2) be key members of a research team, (3) identify common statistical issues, and (4) play valuable roles in peer review meetings.â The American Statistical Association is a COSSA Governing member. Back to this issueâs table of contents.Â