Issue 20 (October 17)

COSSA’s 2022 Annual Report is now available. Check it out to learn more about COSSA’s activities and successes over the past year.

Find out how your organization can become a member of COSSA on our website.

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As previously reported by COSSA, the Congressional Appropriations deadline has been extended to November 17 with a short-term continuing resolution (CR). Following the conclusion of this deal, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted from his position in a 216-210 vote, leaving the House without leadership and unable to continue legislative business. This was an unprecedented decision made by Congress and a direct result from concessions made by McCarthy while running for the position earlier this year (see previous COSSA coverage).

Following a two-week vacancy, on October 17, the House held a vote to elect a new Speaker. Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) held the GOP nomination but was unable to gain the necessary votes in the first ballot. Without a Speaker, the House remains unable to function as normal. It’s anticipated that Jordan will continue his campaign for Speaker despite the setback as there are no other Republicans officially in the running for the position. It remains to be seen whether the Republican House will be able to advance funding legislation and negotiate final bills with the Democrat-led Senate before the CR’s new November 17 deadline. This is a developing story.

Stay tuned to continued COSSA coverage. 

The National Center for Education Research (NCER), a center within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), released a request for information (RFI) seeking potential topics for the agency’s new program “From Seedlings to Scale” (S2S) within the recently developed Accelerate, Transform, and Scale (ATS) initiative. ATS is intended to produce high-risk, high-reward education research in response to FY 2023 appropriation language. S2S is intended to support research, product development, and sustainability and scaling in the education marketplace. The RFI’s list of questions can be found here.

Comments are due November 13 and should be submitted here. 

On September 29, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) released a request for information (RFI) seeking ways to reform the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Senator Cassidy is the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. According to Cassidy, the RFI is intended to gain insight on ways to increase the pace of science and better organize the NIH, including ways to improve the federal research grant application process and improve collaboration and transparency within both academia and federal agencies. A detailed list of the questions asked can be found here.

Comments are due October 27 and should be sent to NIHModernization@help.senate.gov. 

On October 12, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) featured Dr. Rayvon Fouché, Professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University, as the 2023 Henry and Bryna David Lecturer. The lecture was titled “Embracing the Social in Social Science: Notes for a Technoscientific Future” and addressed contemporary challenges in the scientific community. At the core of the discussion was analyzing the reasons for the reduction of public trust in scientific research, deviations from expert standards, and the feeling that science often excludes or misrepresents certain groups.

Fouché’s research underscores this, finding that 80% of university faculty members hail from only 20% of academic institutions, reflecting systemic imbalances in representation and inclusivity, and could reinforce concentration of thought at universities.

To combat this concentration, Fouché proposed several actionable solutions. One prioritization is to include culturally relevant initiatives. Proposing diversification of thought initiatives such as the DISCO Network. DISCO is dedicated to integrating humanistic, social science, and artistic approaches to digital studies. Through its five research labs, DISCO nurtures new methodologies by asking unconventional, culturally relevant questions, offering scholarly training, and cultivates public programming that pave the way for a more inclusive digital future.

In his concluding remarks, Fouché captured the essence of his work, stating, “Who I am impacts the questions I ask about the world.” Looking ahead, the journey to a harmonious technoscientific future requires more than just dialogue. It calls for genuine commitment to fostering open participation in discussions that transcend pre-existing beliefs, which is pivotal for rebuilding public trust in scientific integrity.

A video recording of the Henry and Bryna David Lecture will typically be available on the National Academies website within a few weeks after the event.

The Association of American Universities (AAU) has launched a new campaign titled, “Fund American Science: Congress Must Act Now to Fund the CHIPS and Science Act” in response to the insufficient funding for the science portion of the CHIPS and Science Act (see previous COSSA coverage).

The AAU stresses that budget constraints and disagreements in Congress pose further threats to catching up to CHIPS and Science’s funding goals. This campaign calls on Congress to fully fund the amounts that CHIPS and Science authorized for the Department of Energy (DOE)’s Office of Science, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) for FY 2023 through FY 2027.

The program emphasized that funding for fundamental scientific research must be a top priority – even in times of fiscal constraint and addressing our federal deficit – if the United States wants to stay ahead in this race pivotal to our national security.

Read more about the campaign here and download the One-Pager here.

The American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS), a COSSA member organization, is accepting nominations for the 2024 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize in Social Science and Public Policy. The Moynihan Prize is an annual honor that recognizes social scientists, public officials, and other leaders who champion the use of informed judgment to improve public policy.

Candidates must be willing to deliver a major public policy address on the topic of their choosing and nominations may be considered over a three-year period. The winner is recognized at a public event and receives a $20,000 cash prize.

Nominations will be accepted through November 3 and can be submitted here.