Volume 36 (2017)
AHRQ Advisory Committee Seeking Nominations
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is accepting nominations for potential new members of the National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality, the scientific advisory body for AHRQ. Candidates should have experience with “(1) the conduct of research, demonstration projects, and evaluations with respect to health care; (2) the fields of health care quality research or health care improvement; (3) the practice of medicine; (4) other health professions; (5) representing the private health care sector (including health plans, providers, and purchasers) or administrators of health care delivery systems; (6) the fields of health care economics, information systems,…
Department of Education Issues Request for International Research and Studies Program Applications
The Department of Education issued a request for fiscal year (FY) 2017 applications for the Title VI International Research and Studies Program. The program supports surveys, studies, and development of instructional materials to improve and strengthen instruction in modern foreign languages, area studies, and other international fields. Priorities for funding in FY 2017 include research, surveys, or studies about U.S. school-based dual language immersion programs or about outcomes of international education programs for U.S. postsecondary students. This request for applications marks the first time the International Research and Studies Program has been funded since FY 2011. Applications are due by…
Health and Human Services Solicits Comments on Healthy People 2030
Every decade, the Healthy People Initiative, part of the Office of Disease Prevention and Promotion of the Department of Health and Human Services, develops a new set of science-based national objectives with the goal of improving the health of all Americans. The Department has started to solicit written comments on the development of Healthy People 2030. Comments are sought on the framework, vision, mission, and overarching goals of the initiative. Comments must be submitted by September 29, 2017. The full solicitation can be found here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
National Academies to Host Public Discussion on SBE Report
The Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will host a public discussion on their report The Value of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences to National Priorities on July 19. Members of the committee that authored the report will present key findings followed by questions from the audience and a roundtable discussion with experts. Registration is required. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Nominations Open for AAAS Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is seeking nominations for its annual AAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility. The award recognizes scientists and engineers who have “acted to protect the public’s health, safety, or welfare; or focused public attention on important potential impacts of science and technology on society by their responsible participation in public policy debates; or established important new precedents in carrying out the social responsibilities or in defending the professional freedom of scientists and engineers.” Nominations are due by September 1, 2017. More information is available on the AAAS website. Back to this…
COSSA Welcomes National Council on Family Relations and University of Georgia
COSSA welcomes two new members this month. The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) has joined as an affiliate member. NCFR is the oldest multidisciplinary professional association focused solely on family research, practice, and education. COSSA is also pleased to welcome the University of Georgia (UGA) as a new university member. Located in Athens, Georgia, UGA is a flagship research university, land-grant, Sea Grant, and Space Grant university and is home to the Owens Institute for Behavioral Research. COSSA’s full membership list is available here. Information on how to join can be found on the COSSA website. Back to this issue’s table of…
Events Calendar
How Evidence Can Transform the Fight Against Poverty – The Lunch @ DC with Jim Sullivan, July 20, 2017, Washington, DC Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting, July 27-30, 2017, Columbus, OH Joint Statistical Meetings, July 28-August 3, 2017, Baltimore, MD American Psychological Association Annual Convention, August 3-6, 2017, Washington, DC American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 12-15, 2017, Montreal, Canada American Political Science Association Annual Meeting & Exhibition, August 31-September 3, 2017, San Francisco, CA A list of COSSA members’ annual meetings and other events can be found on the COSSA events page. COSSA members who have an upcoming event they would like to see…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 36 Issue 13
Featured News FY 2018 Funding Bills Off to a Slow Start COSSA in Action The Crime and Justice Research Alliance Answers “Why Social Science?” Congressional News Senate Subcommittee Discusses FY 2018 NIH Budget, Pledges Support Federal Agency & Administration News Agriculture Research Board Seeking Representatives from Social Science Associations National Endowment for the Arts Releases Program Solicitation for Research Labs Publications & Community Events Podcasts Highlight the Impact of Congressional Wastebooks on Researchers COSSA Member Spotlight Society for Research in Child Development Announces Next Executive Director Events Calendar
FY 2018 Funding Bills Off to a Slow Start
The House and Senate are heading down different paths as they attempt to kick-start the fiscal year (FY) 2018 appropriations process before the new fiscal year begins on October 1. As previously reported, the annual appropriations process is significantly delayed this year with the President’s budget request having been transmitted to Congress just last month (it is usually due in early February). Appropriations subcommittees in both chambers have begun holding their annual hearings to discuss the budget requests for agencies under their purview (see related article on the NIH budget hearing). Some subcommittees have begun writing their appropriations bills, even…
Agriculture Research Board Seeking Representatives from Social Science Associations
The National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board is seeking nominations to fill nine vacancies, including a slot reserved for a representative from a national social science association. The NAREEE Advisory Board is comprised of 25 members, each representing a core stakeholder group for agricultural research, extension, education, and economics, and advises the Secretary of Agriculture on policies and priorities related to those domains. In addition to seeking to fill a vacancy for the National Social Science Association category, the Board is seeking nominations for the National Food Science Organization, National Nutritional Science Society, and 1862 Land-Grant…
National Endowment for the Arts Releases Program Solicitation for Research Labs
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has released a program solicitation for its Research Labs program. NEA Research Labs extend the research agenda of the NEA by cultivating transdisciplinary research partnerships, grounded in the social and behavioral sciences, to produce insights about “the arts for the benefits of arts and non-arts sector alike”. The deadline for proposal submissions is July 18, 2017. The complete solicitation and instructions can be found here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Podcasts Highlight the Impact of Congressional Wastebooks on Researchers
A recent episode of the new PRI podcast Undiscovered (from the team behind Science Friday) focuses on how the publication of Congressional “wastebooks” affects the researchers whose grants are ridiculed. The episode, entitled “The Wastebook,” features the 2016 event, “Wasteful” Research? Looking Beyond the Abstract, during which researchers whose grants were singled out by wastebooks had the opportunity to more fully explain their researcher to Members of Congress and their staff. The event was hosted by the Coalition to Promote Research (which COSSA co-leads) and the Coalition for National Science Funding (more information is available here). The podcast episode highlights…
Society for Research in Child Development Announces Next Executive Director
The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), a COSSA Governing Member, has announced the appointment of Laura L. Namy, Ph.D. as its next Executive Director. Namy served for 19 years in the Psychology Department and Linguistics Program at Emory University where she founded and supervised the Language and Learning Laboratory and directed the interdisciplinary Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture. She will begin her tenure at SRCD on September 5, replacing Lonnie Sherrod who has served in the position since 2007. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Senate Subcommittee Discusses FY 2018 NIH Budget, Pledges Support
On June 22, the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss the fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Appearing before the committee were NIH Director Francis Collins and six institute and center directors, including Douglas Lowy of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Gary Gibbons of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Richard Hodes of the National Institute of Aging (NIA), Nora Volkow of the National Institute on Drug…
Events Calendar
Hotspot Policing: Results from Colombia – The Lunch @ DC with Don Green, July 6, 2017, Washington, DC How Evidence Can Transform the Fight Against Poverty – The Lunch @ DC with Jim Sullivan, July 20, 2017, Washington, DC Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting, July 27-30, 2017, Columbus, OH Joint Statistical Meetings, July 28-August 3, 2017, Baltimore, MD American Psychological Association Annual Convention, August 3-6, 2017, Washington, DC American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 12-15, 2017, Montreal, Canada American Political Science Association Annual Meeting & Exhibition, August 31-September 3, 2017, San Francisco, CA A list of COSSA members’ annual meetings and other…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 36 Issue 12
Featured News National Academies Highlights the Value of Social Science COSSA in Action The National Communication Association Answers “Why Social Science?” COSSA Senate Testimony Calls for Funding for NIH, AHRQ, CDC, Education Programs Congressional News House Subcommittee Discusses FY 2018 NSF Budget Federal Agency & Administration News NIH Suspends Recently-Announced Grant Support Index Policy, Launches “Next Generation Researchers Initiative” Collins to Stay on at NIH; Two Other Leadership Positions Announced Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research Care, and Services Seeks Members NIH-Supported Dissemination and Implementation Research Training Institute Seeks Applications Publications & Community Events Coalition to Promote Research Launches Petition Drive:…
National Academies Highlights the Value of Social Science
At the request of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened an expert committee, chaired by Alan Leshner, CEO Emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, to study the contributions of the social, behavioral, and economic (SBE) sciences to the national interest. The committee’s report, The Value of the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences to National Priorities, published last week, is a ringing endorsement of the importance of these fields to addressing “nearly every major challenge the United States faces.” The report draws three conclusions: (1) SBE sciences “produce a…
COSSA Senate Testimony Calls for Funding for NIH, AHRQ, CDC, Education Programs
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.