Search Results: AI
Senate LHHS Subcommittee Holds NIH FY 2025 Budget Hearing
On May 23, the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee held a budget hearing on the National institutes of Health (NIH) fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget request. Witnesses included NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli as well as directors of the following NIH institutes and centers: National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute on Aging (NIA), and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The hearing focused on advancements in medical research and treatment on topics such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health,…
NIH Releases Strategic Plan on Research on Health of Women
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), in partnership with the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) housed within the agency, has released a NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for the Research on the Health of Women. The strategic plan outlines five goals, including: Further, the report underscores the importance of utilizing behavioral and social sciences research (BSSR) when addressing women’s health by affirming that “continued and expanded support for BSSR can enhance understanding of factors that influence the health of women and can facilitate the development of actionable interventions that address health disparities and advance equity for women.” More information about the…
Senate HELP Ranking Member Cassidy Releases White Paper on Recommendations to Improve the NIH
On May 9, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, released a white paper titled NIH in the 21 Century: Ensuring Transparency and American Biomedical Leadership. The white paper was released following the collection of comments from a request for information (RFI) from Cassidy’s office on reforming the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (see previous COSSA coverage). In the white paper, Cassidy underscored the importance of NIH-funded research, citing that “every dollar NIH spends on research generates $2.46 in economic activity” and the “FY 23 investments provided support for over 400,000 jobs and generated…
Introducing SRCD’s Child Policy Hub
On May 10, the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) announced the launch of their Child Policy Hub. Child Policy Hub was designed with leading policy and academic experts with the goal to transform SRCD’s policy programs. The Hub, exclusive to SRCD members, includes a suite of policy trainings and programs that will give members new ways to improve evidence-based policymaking. Members will be able to answer policymakers’ research questions, access new trainings, network with policymakers, hear from esteemed scholars, submit ideas for policy briefs, and more. To learn more, visit here. SRCD is a COSSA member organization.
Congress to Review Key Agency Budget Requests Amid More Supplemental Funding Discussions
Over the past few weeks, Congress has been holding budget oversight hearings on various agencies, working through the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget process. On May 16, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee is scheduled to review the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) priorities in the hearing, Oversight and Examination of the National Science Foundation’s Priorities for 2025 and Beyond. COSSA will continue to update on the budget hearings of key agencies as they are held. Following emergency supplemental funding passed in late April, Congress is still in discussions regarding foreign aid supplemental packages, with attention split between these…
NSF Seeks Nominations for Advisory Committees
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued its annual call for recommendations for membership to its various advisory committees and technical boards. These committees advise NSF’s offices and directorates on program management, research direction, and policies impacting the agency. Committees of particular interest to the COSSA community include the Advisory Committee for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) and the Advisory Committee for STEM Education (EDU). Guidelines for recommendations and committee contact information can be found here. Recommendations for membership are maintained for 12 months.
DBASSE Announces Hauser 2024 Spring Webinar Series
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) has announced their Hauser 2024 Spring Webinar Series titled, “Navigating the Era of Artificial Intelligence: Achieving Human-AI Harmony“. The two-part webinar series will explore DBASSE’s expertise in artificial intelligence and highlight the value of social and behavioral science perspectives. This first webinar will expand on insights from the 2022 report, Human-AI Teaming: State-of-the-Art and Research Needs, to focus on how the presence of artificial intelligence systems affects the ways people work in teams. The session will explore the efficiencies and inefficiencies created by integrated…
REGISTER NOW: May 22 Webinar to Feature Census Director – Register Now!
COSSA’s 2024 Headlines Webinar series will continue to feature discussions with leaders of federal science agencies, providing opportunities for the social and behavioral science community to learn about agency research programs, funding opportunities, and priorities. The next webinar will be taking place on May 22, featuring a discussion with the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, Robert L. Santos. RSVP here. Did you miss April’s webinar? You can watch the recording now to catch up on our discussion about the behavioral and social science priorities at the National Institutes of Health with Dr. Jane M. Simoni. Headlines is a webinar series available to COSSA member organizations.
Congress Approves Emergency Supplemental Funding with FY 2025 Appropriations Underway
As previously reported, Congress has begun working on the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget process with hearings for federal agencies underway. In preparation for drafting appropriations legislation, the House Appropriations Committee released guidance on submitting programmatic and report language requests for members with a deadline of May 1. However, with Congress looking towards the upcoming elections in November, it’s unclear whether they will complete any of the bills prior to the October 1 deadline. On April 24, emergency funding was signed into law by President Biden to provide supplemental funding to the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy science programs, the National Nuclear Security…
House Oversight Committee Holds Hearing on Government Influence Over Scientific Journals
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability’s Select Committee on the Coronavirus held a hearing on Academic Malpractice: Examining the Relationship Between Scientific Journals, the Government, and Peer Review with Dr. Holden Thorp, the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Science. Thorp was one of several individuals invited to testify but the only one to attend. During the opening remarks for the hearing, Chair Dr. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) described the relationship between scientific journals and the government during the coronavirus pandemic as a negative source of government and political influence on scientific research. However, Dr. Thorp reiterated the in-depth process of developing scientific journals, including the…
Request for Information on Advancing Mental Health Services Research
The Division of Services and Intervention Research (DSIR) at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) titled “Regarding Strategies to Advance the Relevance and Impact of Mental Health Services Research.” This RFI seeks to gather input on how DSIR-supported research has impacted mental health practice and policy, specifically in the following areas: The deadline for submissions is September 1 to the RFI submission website. A full listing of the RFI can be found here which also includes background on mental health services research as a discipline.
Registration is Open for the 17th Matilda White Riley Honors
Registration is officially open for the 17th Matilda White Riley Behavioral and Social Sciences Honors. The event recognizes both emerging scientists and leaders in the field whose research reflects Dr. Matilda White Riley’s vision of research excellence in health-related behavioral and social sciences. Matilda White Riley was a celebrated scientist and member of the National Academy of Sciences whose work and leadership left a lasting impact on behavioral and social sciences across the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and beyond. Registration for the event is required and the Distinguished Lecturer will be Dr. Bernice Pescosolido, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Indiana University….
May 2024 Headlines: Recent Developments at the U.S. Census Bureau
The 2024 Headlines series continues with a discussion about recent developments and research activities within the U.S. Census Bureau. Presenter Director Robert L. Santos, the U.S. Census Bureau. Robert L. Santos is the 26th director of the U.S. Census Bureau. He was sworn in on January 5, 2022. His career spans more than 40 years in survey research, statistical design and analysis and executive-level management. Before coming to the Census Bureau, he spent 15 years as vice president and chief methodologist at the Urban Institute and directed its Statistical Methods Group – and served as executive vice president and partner…
REGISTER NOW: Headlines Webinars continue April 23
COSSA’s 2024 Headlines Webinar series will continue to feature discussions with leaders of federal science agencies, providing opportunities for the social and behavioral science community to learn about agency research programs, funding opportunities, and priorities. Upcoming Webinars: Did you miss March’s webinar? You can watch the recording now to catch up on our discussion about the research and education programs and priorities of the STEM Education Directorate at the National Science Foundation with Dr. James L. Moore III. Headlines is a webinar series available to COSSA member organizations.
OSTP Seeks Input for Safe STEM Environments
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is inviting feedback to help the Interagency Working Group on Safe and Inclusive STEM Environments (IWG-SISE) develop policies aimed at reducing sex-based and sexual harassment in federally funded STEM research. This initiative, in response to the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (see previous COSSA coverage), focuses on improving safety for principal investigators, research staff, and students. The OSTP and IWG-SISE are looking for contributions from students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, researchers, and administrators—anyone impacted by harassment in STEM spaces. The aim is to inform guidelines that address and mitigate harassment issues effectively….
Analyzing the Cost of Open Access for Federally Funded Research
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is facing demands from Congress to provide a detailed cost estimate for its open access plan for federally funded research. Initiated by OSTP in August 2022, the plan requires that research funded by science agencies be freely accessible to the public upon publication. It mandates OSTP to complete a thorough financial analysis by June. Failure to meet this deadline will require OSTP to delay its plans until the report is submitted to Congress. OSTP has already explored the financial aspects of open access in two reports. The first report, released in…
SBE Releases Dear Colleague Letter Encouraging EPSCoR Submissions
The Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) housed within the National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a Dear Colleague Letter encouraging submissions to already established NSF funding opportunities from the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). EPSCoR was developed to target specific areas in the U.S. with increased opportunity to study and join the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce to improve geographic and institutional diversity. As directed by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, NSF is in the process of dedicating more funding towards the EPSCoR jurisdictions. The letter reaffirms SBE’s commitment to support research in the social and…
Upcoming AAPSS Webinar: “Media Policy for an Informed Citizenry”
On April 17, The American Academy of Political & Social Science (AAPSS) will be hosting an open webinar titled “Media Policy for an Informed Citizenry: Revisiting the Information Needs of Communities for Democracy in Crisis”. AAPSS is a COSSA member institution. The topic of this webinar is based on the May 2023 edition of The Annals, a scholarly periodical produced by AAPSS. The webinar will discuss how people obtain news and information and how changes in technology have influenced the availability and reliability of such information. The webinar will be moderated by Molly Laas of the Social Science Research Council and will feature experts from…
COSSA’s Analysis of the President’s FY 2025 Budget Request for Social and Behavioral Science
On March 11, the Biden Administration transmitted its fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget request to Congress. The FY 2025 budget was released while Congress was still working to finalize its annual appropriations bills for FY 2024 (the fiscal year that began October 1, 2023). The FY 2024 appropriations process was completed on March 22 with the passage of a second omnibus package (see related article). The first package was passed on March 8. As COSSA has been reporting over the last several months, the FY 2024 appropriations bills were bound by strict budget caps that were agreed to in January (although the same deal was floated much earlier…
REGISTER NOW: Headlines Webinars continue April 23
COSSA’s 2024 Headlines Webinar series will continue to feature discussions with leaders of federal science agencies, providing opportunities for the social and behavioral science community to learn about agency research programs, funding opportunities, and priorities. Upcoming Webinars: Did you miss March’s webinar? You can watch the recording now to catch up on our discussion about the research and education programs and priorities of the STEM Education Directorate at the National Science Foundation with Dr. James L. Moore III. Headlines is a webinar series available to COSSA member organizations.