Search Results: AI
Aging and Mental Health Institutes Seek Comments on Draft Strategic Plans
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are seeking public comment on the development of the Institutesâ strategic plans. The plans will guide the Institutesâ research priorities. National Institute on Aging The NIA recently released a request for information (RFI) seeking guidance on its strategic plan, Aging Well in the 21st Century: Strategic Directions for Research on Aging. The draft plan outlines NIAâs broad strategic directions for the Institute and âprovides a point of reference for setting priorities and a framework for systematically analyzing the Instituteâs…
Policy Roundtable Seminar Focuses on Stimulating Innovation in Government
The National Academiesâ Policy Roundtable of the Behavioral and Social Sciences held a seminar on October 30 focused on âStimulating Effective Innovation in Government.â The Roundtable is chaired by David T. Ellwood of the Harvard Kennedy School and, beginning in 2015, will be directed by Arlene Lee, Director of the Committee on Law and Justice. For more on the Roundtable, see COSSAâs coverage of its last meeting. Roundtable members are government users and producers of social and behavioral science research and behavioral social and scientists who have spent time in the government (the list of members is available on the…
IOM Recommends Including Social/Behavioral Determinants in Electronic Health Records
On November 13, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released Capturing Social and Behavioral Domains and Measures in Electronic Health Records: Phase 2, which recommends a âconcrete approach to including social and behavioral determinants in the clinical context to increase clinical awareness of the patientâs state, broadly considered, and to connect clinical, public health, and community resources for work in concert.” The reportâs recommendations takes into consideration the âsubstantial empirical evidence of the contribution of social and behavioral factors to functional status and the onset, progression, and effective treatment of disease [that] has accumulated over the past four decades.â
APSA Releases Report on Improving Perception of Political Science
The American Political Science Association (APSA), a COSSA governing member, has published a report entitled Improving Public Perceptions of Political Scienceâs Value. The report was written by a task force chaired by Arthur Lupia, University of Michigan (a member of COSSAâs Board of Directors), charged with identifying ways APSA and its members can better explain to the public, policymakers, and the media the contributions political science makes to society. This project comes in the wake of several high-profile attacks by policymakers on the discipline, notably Sen. Tom Coburnâs successful attempt to restrict funding of political science projects at the National…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 33 Issue 20
In this issue… Featured News Outcome of Midterm Elections May Not Offer Clarity over FY 2015 Endgame COSSA in Action COSSA Weighs in on National Childrenâs Study Framework Keep up on COSSA in the news here. Federal Agency & Administration News NSFâs SBE Directorate Seeks to Fill Numerous Leadership Posts Census Bureau Seeks Comment on Proposed Elimination of ACS Questions NIH Makes Awards to Enhance Diversity of the Scientific Workforce OHRP Solicits Comments on Draft Guidance on Risk Disclosure in Research Evaluating Standards of Care CDC Requests Nominations for Board of Scientific Counselors, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response…
COSSA Weighs in on National Childrenâs Study Framework
On October 26, COSSA sent a letter to the National Childrenâs Study (NCS) Working Group, a subgroup of the National Institutes of Health Advisory Council to the Director, outlining concerns with the NCS framework and raising other issues for consideration as the working group progresses with its review the program. As the letter states, âthe NCS has the potential to become an invaluable resource, yielding new insights into the complex linkages between social, genetic, and environmental factors and how these factors interact to influence health, growth and development across the life course. To ensure the study produces meaningful data, the…
NSFâs SBE Directorate Seeks to Fill Numerous Leadership Posts
The Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate of the National Science Foundation (NSF) is seeking interested applicants for several leadership posts, including directors for two SBE divisions. The open positions include: Division Director, Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (BCS), closes December 12 Division Director, Social and Economic Sciences (SES), closes December 12 Program Director in the Economics Program (SES), closes December 29 In addition, NSF recently announced that Joanne Tornow, SBE Deputy Assistant Director, will leave SBE in December to lead the NSF Office of Information and Resource Management (OIRM). A search will commence for a new SBE Deputy Assistant…
Census Bureau Seeks Comment on Proposed Elimination of ACS Questions
On October 31, the U.S. Census Bureau within the Department of Commerce issued a request for public comment related to the 2014 Content Review of the American Community Survey (ACS). According to the Federal Register Notice, the 2014 review âis the most comprehensive effort ever undertaken by the Census Bureau to review content on the survey, seeking to understand which federal programs use the information collected by each question, the justification for each question, and assess how the Census Bureau might reduce respondent burden.â The review looked at the ACSâs 72 questions and proposed removal of seven from the annual…
Outcome of Midterm Elections May Not Offer Clarity over FY 2015 Endgame
The remaining weeks of 2014 could see an effort to pass a sweeping omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2015, should the Republicans gain control of the Senate after the midterm Congressional elections tomorrow. Even though the Democrats would still control the Senate until January, Republican leaders have stated that under such a scenario they would work during the lame duck session to pass an omnibus, allowing the 114th Congress to start in January with a clean slate. However, such a feat has proven impossible in recent history. For example, the FY 2014 appropriations process was not completed until…
CDC Requests Nominations for Board of Scientific Counselors, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response
The Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) for the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionâs (CDC) Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR) is seeking nominations for new members for terms beginning in October 2015. The Board provides guidance to CDC and OPHPR leadership, conducts peer review of scientific programs, and monitors the overall strategic direction and focus of the Office. According to the notice in the Federal Register, âNominees will be selected based on expertise in the fields relevant to the issues addressed by the divisions within the coordinating office, including: business, crisis leadership, emergency response and management, engineering,…
NIH: 2015 NIH Directorâs Early Independence Awards
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund recently released its FY 2015 NIH Directorâs Early Independence Awards (EIA) funding opportunity announcement (RFA-RM-14-004). The NIH Common Fund supports cross-cutting programs that are expected to have exceptionally high impact. These initiatives invite investigators to develop bold, innovative, and often risky approaches to address problems that may seem intractable or to seize new opportunities that offer the potential for rapid progress. The EIA initiative is designed to allow exceptional junior scientists to accelerate their transition to an independent research career by âskippingâ the traditional postdoctoral training. Candidates must be within one year…
Events Calendar
The City: 2014 Behavioral and Social Science Summit, Stanford University, November 8, 2014 Webinar: Producing Government Data with Statistical Confidentiality Controls, American Statistical Association Privacy and Confidentiality Committee, December 17, 2014 A list of COSSA membersâ annual meetings can be found on the COSSA website. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
SACHRP Considers Consent in Low-Risk Online Studies
At its meeting on October 30, the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections (SACHRP) heard a presentation from B.R. Simon Rosser, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, on âThe Evolution of Consent in Low-Risk Studies: Lessons from Online Survey Research.â He suggested that SACHRP rethink how researchers handle informed consent for low-risk studies conducted over the internet.
OHRP Solicits Comments on Draft Guidance on Risk Disclosure in Research Evaluating Standards of Care
The Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) has issued draft guidance on âDisclosing Reasonably Foreseeable Risks in Research Evaluating Standards of Care.â As more and more comparative effectiveness research is conducted to evaluate different treatments commonly used by medical practitioners (âstandards of careâ), the guidance is an attempt to assist researchers in determining how to disclose potential risks of the different treatments they are studying.
NIH Makes Awards to Enhance Diversity of the Scientific Workforce
On October 22, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the awarding nearly $31 million in FY 2014 to enhance diversity in the biomedical research workforce. The awards are part of a five-year program and will âsupport more than 50 awardees and partnering institutions in establishing a national consortium to develop, implement, and evaluate approaches to encourage individuals to start and stay in biomedical research careers.â Twelve of the awards will be supported by the NIH Common Fund and all of the NIH 27 institutes and centers and will be part of three initiatives that form the Enhancing the Diversity…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 33 Issue 19
In this issue… Federal Agency & Administration News Social Scientist among National Medal of Science Winners SMRB Continues Discussion of Pre-College Engagement in Biomedical Science NCHS Brief Looks at Depression and Obesity Public Comment Period for Healthy People 2020 Open through November 7 Publications & Community Events National Academies SBS Policy Roundtable Seminar, âStimulating Effective Innovation in Governmentâ — October 30 2015 MCAT Includes New Social and Behavioral Sciences Section Funding Opportunities NSF: RAPID Proposals Sought to Address Ebola Crisis DOD: 2015 Minerva Deadline Extended COSSA Member Spotlight SPSSI Seminar Explores the Psychology of Human Rights Events Calendar View the…
National Academies SBS Policy Roundtable Meeting, âStimulating Effective Innovation in Governmentâ — October 30
The National Academies Policy Roundtable of the Behavioral and Social Sciences will conduct at its next meeting a seminar and discussion on stimulating effective innovation in government. The seminar will be held from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 30, 2014, in Room 120 of the National Academy of Sciences building at 21st and Constitution Avenue, N.W. The Policy Roundtable is chaired by David Ellwood, Dean of the Harvard Kennedy School.
DOD: 2015 Minerva Deadline Extended
As previously reported, the Office of the Secretary of Defense within the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has issued the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the 2015 Minerva Research Initiative, DODâs signature social science research program. DOD recently extended the deadline for the 2015 competition. White papers are now due November 10 and full proposals are due February 10. See the BAA for full details. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
SMRB Continues Discussion of Pre-College Engagement in Biomedical Science
During its October 14 meeting, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB) continued its examination of the NIH grant review, award, and management process and its discussion of the evidence base for successful approaches for pre-college biomedical science programs designed to strengthen the biomedical workforce pipeline.
2015 MCAT Includes New Social and Behavioral Sciences Section
Starting in spring 2015, the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) will test prospective medical studentsâ knowledge of the social and behavioral sciences. The MCAT2015, the first update to the MCAT since 1992, includes a new section on âPsychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior.â The section is weighted equally to the two other subject-knowledge sections, âBiological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systemsâ and âChemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems,â in terms of length and number of questions (a fourth section on critical analysis is shorter).