Issue 18 (September 22)

On September 29, join COSSA for the next Headlines webinar focused on providing an update on some of the most consequential topics impacting science policy and funding. Just in the last few months the social and behavioral science community has been faced with an existential threat to NSF’s SBE Directorate, proposed changes to the Uniform Guidance for grant funding, delays in federal agency award funding, and several other Executive actions that could potentially upend how scientific research is supported and conducted in the U.S.

The COSSA team will discuss the status of these activities and outline what you can do to respond. Register now and join the conversation.

Headlines is a webinar series available to COSSA member organizations. Watch for additional webinar announcements, and previous webinar recordings, on the COSSA website.

On September 14, Senators Dave McCormick (R-PA) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) launched a new Bipartisan Science and Innovation Caucus. According to the press release, “Caucus members will work together with industry leaders and the research community to develop policies that promote U.S. leadership in science.” The group plans to hold briefings, roundtable discussions, and “provide a venue for discourse about new legislation to boost American scientific research and our STEM workforce.” The current list of caucus members is not yet available.

Congressional caucuses are a tool used to bring together Members of Congress with a shared interest. They do not have the power to hold official hearings or advance legislation, but they often engage in activities to raise awareness about an issue, such as press conferences, briefings, community discussions, and crafting reports. 

Trump Administration Actions (all actions available here):

• Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program (9/18/26)
• Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution (7/24/26)
• Implementing Schedule Policy/Career in the Excepted Service (6/3/26) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security (6/2/26)
• Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors (3/26/26) 
• Addressing Addiction through the Great American Recovery Initiative (1/29/26)
• Memorandum: Withdrawing the United States from International Organizations, Conventions, and Treaties that are Contrary to the Interests of the United States (1/7/26)
• Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research (12/18/25)
• Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence (12/11/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• President’s Management Agenda (12/8/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Launching the Genesis Mission (11/24/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Ensuring Continued Accountability in Federal Hiring (10/15/25)
• Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Administration Research and Development Budget Priorities and Cross-Cutting Actions (9/23/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers (9/19/25)
• Memorandum: Use of Appropriated Funds for Illegal Lobbying and Partisan Political Activity by Federal Grantees (8/28/25)
• Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking (MORE INFORMATION) (8/7/25)
• Ensuring Transparency in Higher Education Admissions (MORE INFORMATION) (8/7/25)
• Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government (MORE INFORMATION) (7/23/25)
• Creating Schedule G in the Excepted Service (7/17/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Memorandum: Ensuring Accountability and Prioritizing Public Safety in Federal Hiring (7/7/25)
• Establishing the President’s Make America Beautiful Again Commission (7/3/25)
• Enhancing National Security by Addressing Risks at Harvard University (6/4/25)
• Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats (6/4/25)
• Restoring Gold Standard Science (5/23/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Increasing Efficiency at the Office of the Federal Register (5/9/25)
• Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research (5/5/25)
• Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research (5/5/25)
• Strengthening Probationary Periods in the Federal Service (4/24/25)
• White House Initiative to Promote Excellence and Innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (4/23/25)
• Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education (4/23/25)
• PROPOSED RULE: Improving Performance, Accountability, and the Civil Service (4/23/25)
• Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities (4/23/25)
• Extension of Hiring Freeze (4/17/25) 
• Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History (3/27/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities (3/20/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy (3/14/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Additional Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions (3/14/25)
• Implementing the President’s DOGE Cost Efficiency Initiative (2/26/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s DOGE Deregulatory Initiative (2/19/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Radical Transparency about Wasteful Spending (2/18/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission (2/13/25)
• Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative (2/11/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Advancing United States Interests When Funding Nongovernmental Organizations (2/6/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling (1/29/25)
• President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (1/23/25)
• Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence (1/23/25)
• Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (1/21/24) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing (1/20/25)
• Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Trust to the Federal Government (1/20/25)
• Establishing and Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (1/20/25)
• Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions within the Federal Workforce (1/20/25) – Reinstates Trump Administration’s 2020 EO creating a new Schedule F in the Federal Excepted Service 
• Withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO (1/20/25)
• Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements (1/20/25) – Withdraws the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord, among other actions.
• Hiring Freeze (1/20/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Return to In-Person Work (1/20/25) (MORE INFORMATION)
• Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship (1/20/25)
• Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions (1/20/25) – Rescinds dozens of Biden Administration Executive Orders

Find COSSA’s full list of Trump’s Executive Actions and more information here or on the Social Science Space Tracker.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is continuing to make changes to its longstanding programs and update its policies, largely at the direction of the White House. Despite being without a Senate confirmed director for more than a year, the transformation of NSF just since 2025 has been significant.

‘A New Golden Age’

Acting NSF Director Brian Stone issued a letter to the scientific community on September 10 outlining the agency’s planned research directions. For example, the letter states that NSF plans to announce a number of Grand Research Challenges in the coming weeks and other initiatives aligned with Administration priorities. The agency will also explore new and different funding mechanisms, such as “Golden Tickets” that would allow a single reviewer to champion a proposal without going through panel review.

Lawmakers, especially Democrats, have been critical of NSF’s actions to divert funding away from investigator-initiated research, for which NSF is known, to areas of priority to the President.

The top Democrat on the House Science Committee, Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), issued this statement in response to the letter:

“I do not know why Acting Director Brian Stone and OSTP Director Michael Kratsios believe they possess the authority to impose such radical changes at America’s premier scientific agency without congressional input or authorization. The Trump Administration has profoundly damaged NSF with its repeated attacks against the agency and the scientific community it was created to support. NSF needs to stop, take 10 steps back, and remember the values that made it the envy of the world for 75 years.”

The letter also announces that NSF will create an Office of Metascience to “develop and rigorously evaluate new approaches to funding, merit review, program management, and the adoption of merging tools.” It will be staffed by “metascience experts and data scientists.”

The success of some of NSF’s plans will hinge on the outcome of the November midterm elections; should one or both chambers switch to Democratic control, the agency is certain to face increased oversight and scrutiny of such activities.

Scientific Integrity

NSF released its revised Scientific Integrity Policy on September 1. Last year, federal agencies were directed through the Gold Standard Science Executive Order to update their policies. Among the updates, the EO directed agencies to revert their scientific integrity policies back to what was in place prior to the start of the Biden Administration.

Notably, the revised NSF policy (as well as those of other agencies) removes language from the Biden-era barring “political interference” in federally funded research. Prior to the revision the NSF policy “prohibit[ed] political interference or inappropriate influence on scientific activities and the use of scientific information.” It also stated that NSF “will not suppress, delay, or alter findings and products of scientific activities by NSF employees and other covered individuals for political purposes or influenced by special interests,” and that NSF staff may “communicate their scientific activities objectively” free from political interference. All of this language has been removed from the new policy.

This is the latest step by the Administration to assert authority over the funding decisions of federal science agencies, consistent with the OMB’s proposed rule that seeks to give political appointees review responsibilities over the funding of discretionary awards. 

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have signed an agreement to “support the advanced development of medical countermeasures against pandemic influenza, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats, and emerging infectious diseases.” Under the agreement, NIH will provide funding, scientific expertise, and access to relevant research and products, while DOD will use its contracting and acquisition infrastructure to fund and manage research and development efforts. The agencies will jointly set research priorities and meet at least quarterly. The agreement itself does not commit funding and is set to remain in effect through September 30, 2036, unless extended or terminated earlier.

Critics of the agreement, including Democrats in Congress, worry that it could provide DOD with easier access to NIH funding—especially from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases—that is used to fund research on emerging infectious diseases and biodefense.

On September 24, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) will host a virtual seminar, Adapting the Federal Statistical Workforce for a Changing Environment. The event will examine how federal statistical agencies are responding to changes in data collection, including declining survey response rates, the growing availability of alternative data sources, advances in artificial intelligence, and developments in statistical modeling. The seminar will also address challenges facing the federal statistical workforce, including budget constraints and reductions in staffing.

The seminar will feature discussions on redesigning the federal statistical workforce to support the future of statistical production and building the next federal statistical workforce. Speakers include experts from the U.S. and international statistical systems, academia, and data science. The event is particularly relevant to the social and behavioral science community given the federal statistical system’s role in producing data used for research and evidence-based policymaking.

The seminar will take place virtually on September 24 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET.

Register now on the NASEM website.

This article was contributed by COSSA Intern Ananya Bamidipati.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) is seeking suggestions for experts to participate in the new Standing Committee on Use of AI in Science: Integrity, Trust, and Innovation in the Scientific Enterprise. The committee will examine how artificial intelligence is challenging established norms, standards, and governance mechanisms within scientific research, with particular attention to research trustworthiness, reproducibility, transparency, and alignment with societal values.

The committee will host a series of public sessions addressing issues including research integrity and reproducibility, transparency and trustworthiness, authorship and accountability, and peer review. A small group of experts will also develop issue papers identifying challenges and opportunities for responsible AI use across the scientific enterprise. The work will be intended for decision-makers and stakeholders across academia, industry, publishing, research funding, government, and the broader public.

The National Academies are particularly interested in expertise related to:

• Artificial Intelligence and Science
• Research Integrity and Reproducibility
• Transparency and Trustworthiness
• Authorship and Accountability
• Peer Review
• Open Science
• Scientific Methods and Epistemology
• AI Governance and Research Policy
• Responsible and Ethical Use of AI

The National Academies is accepting suggestions for experts through September 30. Submit experts on the NASEM website.

This article was contributed by COSSA Intern Ananya Bamidipati.

The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University is now accepting applications for residential fellowships for the 2027-28 academic year. Fellows represent the core social and behavioral sciences (anthropology, economics, geography, history, law, political science, psychology, and sociology) but also the humanities, education, linguistics, communications, and the biological, natural, health, and computer sciences. The fellowship program is for scholars working in a diverse range of disciplines that contribute to advancing research and thinking in social science. Applicants should be scholars and thinkers who are tackling big questions with fresh approaches.

Applications for 2027-28 fellowship year will be accepted through October 30, 2026. Applicants will be notified of decisions by mid-February 2027. For more information, guidelines, and application requirements, visit the website. CASBS is a COSSA member organization.