Search Results: AI
Rep. Lamar Smith, Sen. Jeff Flake Announce Retirement
Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), a prominent fiscal hawk and critic of President Trump, announced on October 24 that he would not be seeking reelection. In a passionate speech on the Senate floor, Flake criticized the disregard for truth and decency in political discourse. Flake has fought the expansion of the federal government during his tenure, which included issuing âwaste books” that critiqued federal spending, including research grants. Flake joined the Senate in 2013 and will serve until January 2019. Less ceremoniously, on November 2, Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, announced his…
GOP Tax Plan Could Hurt Students, NDD Programs
Several provisions contained in the tax plans rolled out by Republican leadership this month have raised concerns for stakeholder groups that do not normally weigh in on tax policy. The Houseâs plan, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) was approved by the Ways and Means Committee on November 9 and is expected to be debated on the House floor later this week. The Senate Finance Committee began its markup of  the Senate plan on Monday and will continue its consideration of the bill today. There are significant differences between the two plans that would need to be worked out during…
NSF Seeking to Fill Two Top Social Science Posts
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has initiated a national search for Assistant Director for the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate. Dr. Fay Lomax Cook has served in this position since September 2014. The Assistant Director for SBE will oversee the directorate, which includes the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, the Division of Social and Economic Sciences, the SBE Office of Multidisciplinary Activities, and the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. The search committee is seeking candidates with outstanding leadership capabilities; a deep sense of scholarship; a grasp of the issues facing the social, behavioral, and economic…
OBSSR to Host Annual Research Festival on December 8
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) is hosting the âNIH Behavioral and Social Science Research Festival: Connecting People to Advance Healthâ on Friday, December 8. The festival will bring together behavioral and social scientists from inside and outside NIH to network, collaborate, and share ideas. The agenda will include a keynote address from Dr. Eliseo Perez-Stable of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities as well as plenary sessions on international research, behavioral neuroscience, and social factors and health. This event will not be webcast. More details and registration information…
National Academies Calls for Better Integration of Social and Behavioral Science into Weather Enterprise
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has released a new consensus report, Integrating Social and Behavioral Sciences Within the Weather Enterprise. Sponsored by the National Weather Service and the Office of Weather and Air Quality within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Highway Administration, the report acknowledges a âgrowing recognition that a host of social and behavioral factors determine how we prepare for, observe, predict, respond to, and are impacted by weather hazardsâ and that research and findings from the social and behavioral sciences must be better incorporated into the systems we use…
National Academies Releases Proactive Policing Report
On November 11, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a report, sponsored by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, entitled Proactive Policing: Effects on Crime and Communities. The report evaluates the impact of proactive policing strategies on crime, communities, and racial disparities in policing. Proactive policing differs from traditional policing in that it targets the underlying causes of crime and disorder rather than reacting to crime after it occurs. The report concludes that sufficient scientific evidence supports the adoption of some proactive policing practices and that proactive policing is particularly…
Events Calendar
A Forum and Reception for the National Center for Education Statistics, November 15, 2017, Washington, DC American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, November 15-18, 2017, Philadelphia, PA National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, November 15-18, 2017, Oralndo, FL National Communication Association Annual Convention, November 16-19, 2017, Dallas, TX Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Convention, November 16-19, 2017, San Diego, CA African Studies Association Annual Meeting, November 16-19, 2017, Chicago, IL American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, November 29-December 3, 2017, Washington, DC Annual NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival, December 8, 2017, Bethesda, MD Association of American…
Rand Paul Introduces Bill to âReformâ Federal Research Grant System
On October 18, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Chair of the Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hosted a hearing entitled âBroken Beakers: Federal Support for Research.â Following the hearing Sen. Paul introduced the BASIC Research Act (S. 1973) to âreformâ the federal research grant system. The bill would alter how grant proposals at all federal research funding agencies are reviewed by adding non-expert members of the public to review panels and requiring all applications for federal research grants to be made public. The bill also proposes the elimination of the Inspector…
Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Indirect Costs of Research
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education held a hearing on October 24 on the role of facilities and administrative costs (also known as indirect costs) in supporting NIH-funded research. The hearing included testimony from Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, Vice President of Research at the University of Oklahoma; Dr. Gary Gilliland, President of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Dr. Bruce Liang, Dean of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine; and Dr. Keith Yamamoto, Vice Chancellor for Science Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Droegemeierâs written testimony included a history…
GAO to Study Potential Federal Interference in Science
According the Washington Post, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) will undertake a study of federal agenciesâ scientific integrity policies and potential federal interference in the scientific process at the request of Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL). Nelson, the Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, made the request in a letter dated September 25, 2017. Citing concerns stemming from reports of possible interference in the scientific process at the Environmental Protection Agency, changes to agenciesâ public information related to climate change, and the cancellation of a study that might be damaging to the fossil fuel industry, Nelson asked…
NSFâs Statistical Division Seeks Director
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is accepting applications for the position of Division Director of the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), NSFâs principal statistical agency housed within the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE). The NCSES Division Director âassesses needs and trends involving the national surveys, implements overall strategic planning and policy setting for the Division, provides leadership and guidance to Division staff members, determines funding requirements, prepares and justifies budget estimates, balances program needs, allocates resources, oversees the evaluation of proposals and recommendations for awards and declinations, and represents NSF to relevant external groups.â More…
GAO Report on Firearm Storage Highlights Lack of Federal Funding for Gun Research
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report entitled Personal Firearms: Programs that Promote Safe Storage and Research on Their Effectiveness that compiles information on public and non-profit programs promoting safe storage of personal firearms and the results of research on the effectiveness of such programs. The report was produced at the request of 19 Democratic senators, including Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the Ranking Member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). The report finds that âthere is relatively little research on safe firearm storage,â and that âlack of funding and dataâ is often cited as…
CNSTAT Issues Report on Federal Statistics, Multiple Data Sources, and Privacy Protection
The Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently issued a consensus report entitled Federal Statistics, Multiple Data Sources, and Privacy Protection: Next Steps. The report was produced by the Panel on Improving Federal Statistics for Policy and Social Science Research Using Multiple Data Sources and State-of-the-Art Estimation Methods, chaired by Robert Groves of Georgetown University. The Panelâs first report, Innovations in Federal Statistics: Combining Data Sources While Protecting Privacy, was published in January 2017, and described some of the challenges currently facing the federal statistical systemâs current paradigm of heavy reliance on…
NDD United Highlights Impacts of Budget Cuts in Faces of Austerity 2.0 Report
On October 25, NDD United, a broad coalition of stakeholders interested in protecting non-defense discretionary (NDD) programs from budget cuts (including COSSA), held a congressional briefing to celebrate the launch of its latest report, Faces of Austerity 2.0: How Budget Cuts Continue to Make Us Sicker, Poorer, and Less Secure. The report explores how sequestration and the Budget Control Act put programs that millions of Americans rely on at risk. NDD United is calling upon Congress to stop NDD funding cuts by treating defense and nondefense programs equally, maintaining the precedent set in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. NDD…
John Holdren Wins 2018 Moynihan Prize
The American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS), a COSSA Member, announced former White House Science Advisor John Holdren as the winner of the 2018 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize. Holdren is a trained plasma physicist who served as President Obamaâs Science Advisor and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and is currently the Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The Moynihan Prize was established in 2007 to ârecognize social scientists, public officials, and civic leaders who champion the use of informed judgement…
Events Calendar
Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences Annual Meeting, November 1-4, 2017, Denver, CO Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Fall Research Conference, November 2-4, 2017, Chicago, IL Social Science History Association Annual Meeting, November 2-5, Montreal, Canada Evaluation 2017 (American Evaluation Association), November 6-11, 2017, Washington, DC North American Regional Science Council Annual Meeting, November 8-12, 2017, Vancouver, Canada History of Science Society Annual Meeting, November 9-12, Toronto, Canada American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, November 15-18, 2017, Philadelphia, PA National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, November 15-18, 2017, Oralndo, FL National Communication Association Annual Convention, November…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 36 Issue 20
Featured News COSSA, SAGE Host Why Social Science? Congressional Briefing COSSA in Action COSSA Praises Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking Report SAGE Answers âWhy Social Science?â Congressional News Senate Continues Working as To-Do List and Uncertainty Grows Federal Agency & Administration News HHS May Delay Common Rule Implementation NIH Provides Guidance on New Human Subjects, Clinical Trials Form Publications & Community Events National Academies Releases Interactive Guide on Opioid Epidemic COSSA Member Spotlight COSSA Welcomes the University of Pittsburgh Events Calendar
HHS May Delay Common Rule Implementation
On October 7, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs issued a notice that it is reviewing a rule that would delay the implementation date for most of the changes to the Common Rule, the set of regulations governing research involving human participants, by one year, pushing the effective date for the changes from January 2018 to January 2019 (see COSSAâs analysis of the changes, which were announced in January of this year). The delay would still allow âthe use of three burden-reducing provisions during the delay year,â but there is little clarity on what those provisions are…