Executive Branch News
GAO Releases Review of Federal Agency Policies on Foreign Interference in Research
On December 17, 2020, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report reviewing the policies at five major federal research agencies intended to secure federally funded research from foreign interference. The five agencies under review, the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy (DOE), National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and National Science Foundation (NSF), were evaluated on their existing policies requiring researchers to disclose foreign conflicts of interest â including non-financial conflicts of interest such as honorary appointments â and their procedures for addressing failures to disclose these conflicts of interest. Findings from…
NIMHD Funding Research on Vaccine Hesitancy and Health Disparities
The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released a Notice of Special Interest announcing a new funding opportunity for research on hesitancy to participate in vaccines among populations that experience health disparities. The notice seeks submissions on a variety of social and behavioral research questions including evaluating strategies to increase vaccination rates among target communities and methods to address barriers of receiving vaccines among health disparate communities, especially those with a higher risk of experiencing vaccine hesitancy. The first available due date for applications is February 5, 2021, with…
Nominations Open for 2021 Matilda White Riley Honors
The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is accepting nominations for a social or behavioral scientist to deliver the keynote address at the Matilda White Riley Behavioral and Social Science Honors on May 5, 2021. The Matilda White Riley Honors are an annual event recognizing transformative work in the fields of social and behavioral science along with early-career researchers. This year is the second time the event will be hosted virtually. Nominees should have a research career that has âadvanced behavioral and social scientific knowledge in areas within NIHâs mission and…
Trump Names New NIFA Director
In December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the appointment of Dr. Carrie Castille as the director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Departmentâs extramural research agency. Dr. Castille has worked on Farm Production and Conservation as well as Rural Development within USDA and previously served as an Assistant Professor of Agriculture at Louisiana State University. Dr. Castilleâs six-year term began on January 4, 2021. She succeeds Acting Director Parag Chitnis, who led the agency following J. Scott Angleâs departure in July 2020, two years into his six-year term.
HHS Seeking Nominations for Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections
The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is soliciting nominations for the Secretaryâs Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections (SACHRP), the advisory body to the HHS Secretary on policies protecting the safety of human participants in research. OHRP is seeking nominations for four positions on the Committee that will be opening during the 2021 and 2022 calendar years. More information and nomination instructions are available in the Federal Register.
NIH Releases Report on COVID-19 Vaccine Communication
A panel of social and behavioral scientists coordinated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released a report titled âCOVID-19 Vaccination Communication: Applying Behavioral and Social Science to Address Vaccine Hesitancy and Foster Vaccine Confidence.â The report, led by the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), outlines research-based strategies to communicate the importance of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine while addressing the challenges of vaccine hesitancy and misinformation. The strategies laid out in this report are largely based on the fundamentals of communication research while including specific considerations for individuals at…
Evidence Building Advisory Committee Seeks Input
The Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building, which was established by the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (âEvidence Act,â see previous coverage) has issued a general solicitation of comments from the public to inform its work. The request includes a set of ten questions that cover core issues like: âCapacity needs for secure data access and record linkage Areas for research and development on state-of-the-art data access and data protection methods How to protect privacy when using personally identifiable information or confidential business information in support of evidence building How to promote transparency and facilitate public engagement…
NSF Seeking Interdisciplinary Project Ideas on Understanding the Brain
On December 14, the National Science Foundation (NSF) released a Dear Colleague Letter requesting suggestions for potential interdisciplinary projects on brain research. In the letter, NSF states that these submissions should shed light on untapped research areas that may depend on collaboration between neuroscience and other fields such as behavioral science which may lead to future funding opportunities. The letter asks for input on recent scientific advances in the brain sciences that impact multiple disciplines as well as the perspectives needed to pursue research opportunities more effectively. A survey collecting submissions is available on the NSF website.
NIMH Seeking Guidance for Research on Preventing Black Youth Suicide
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released a request for information (RFI) seeking input from stakeholders on the prevention of suicide among Black children and adolescents. The RFI seeks information on approaches to understanding suicide risk among Black youth, research needed to expand evidence-based prevention programs and services, and input on additional topics that may be relevant to preventing Black youth suicide. This request follows up on the recommendations included in a 2019 report from the Congressional Black Caucus examining ways to address Black youth suicide and mental health. Comments will…
White House Announces Final Appointments for National Science Board
On November 24, the White House announced nominations and appointments for several key federal positions including the final two appointments filling out the National Science Board (NSB), the advisory body for the National Science Foundation (NSF). These appointments mark the first time since May that the NSB has had all seats filled and will be the last opportunity for the Trump White House to submit appointments to the NSB before the Presidential transition. The two NSB appointees are: Matthew Malkan, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles Scott Stanley, Vice President of Technology and Co-Founder…
NSF Invites Proposals for New SBE-Led Initiatives on Strengthening Infrastructure, Broadening Participation in Entrepreneurship, and Enhancing Social Science Capacity at Minority-Serving Institutions
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a pair of Dear Colleague Letters (DCL) soliciting applications from the research community on two new crosscutting initiatives led by the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE). The first letter, Strengthening American Infrastructure (SAI), signed by the Assistant Directors of all seven research directorates and the head of the Office of Integrative Activities, seeks Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) proposals that âincorporate scientific insights about human behavior and social dynamics to better develop, design, build, rehabilitate, and maintain strong and effective American infrastructureâ (which can include cyber, economic, educational, physical,…
NIH to Hold Webinar on Basic Experimental Studies with Humans
On December 7, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be holding a public webinar on the Basic Experimental Studies with Humans (BESH) classification of NIH-funded research. The webinar, which will be led by Acting Director of ClinicalTrials.gov Rebecca Williams and NIH Technical Specialist at ICF International Elisa Golfinopoulos, will discuss an analysis from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) on the challenges of reporting and registering results information of BESH on ClinicalTrials.gov and the broader implications of the NLMâs findings. The webinar will be streamed live on the NIH website.
NSF Accepting Career-Life Balance Supplemental Funding Requests
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced that it is accepting supplemental funding requests for current NSF grantees and research fellows under its Career-Life Balance (CLB) initiative. This initiative, which began in 2012, gives financial support to early-career researchers with the goal of preventing leaving the STEM workforce due to sudden increases in family care responsibilities and costs. The award requests may be for funding for up to six months of salary or up to a $30,000 stipend plus indirect costs. More information about the CLB initiative and instructions on submitting supplemental funding requests are available on the NSF website.
NIH Releases Final Policy for Data Management and Sharing
On October 29, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released its final agency policy for data management and sharing (DMS) of scientific data generated from NIH-funded or conducted research. The NIHâs DMS policy takes stakeholder feedback into account to ensure that data from scientific research is accessible, sharable, and managed properly. More information about the policy is available on the NIH website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NIH Seeking Comments on Agency-Wide Strategic Plan for COVID-19 Research
On October 28, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a request for information (RFI) to gather public input on the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for COVID-19 Research released in July (see previous COSSA coverage for more details). As the coronavirus pandemic persists, NIH acknowledges that the framework in the Strategic Plan should be updated periodically to meet the needs of the research community in addressing the pandemic. NIH is seeking comments related to the following topics: Significant research gaps or barriers not currently identified in the Strategic Plan; Resources required or lacking that could advance the priorities in the Strategic…
Supreme Court Ends Census Count Early; Congress Could Still Act to Protect Accuracy
On October 13, the Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing the Department of Commerce to end its 2020 Census field operations early (see COSSAâs previous coverage for the complete back-and-forth on the end date). However, while the enumeration efforts have ended, the Census Bureau now moves to critical data processing and quality-checking work to ensure that the final counts submitted for redistricting and reapportionment purposes are accurate. The timeline for this essential work is significantly compressed compared to both the Bureauâs original 2020 Census operating plan and the Administrationâs COVID-19-adjusted plan. Congress can act to move statutory deadlines and instruct…
White House to Weaken Protections for Civil Servants through âSchedule Fâ Classification
On October 21, President Trump issued an Executive Order on Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service, a move that elicited wide criticisms from federal employee organizations. The executive order would create a new classification of federal employee, Schedule F, and defines this class of employee as those in âpositions of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character that are not normally subject to change as a result of a Presidential transition.â Furthermore, heads of executive agencies would be given the power to determine which Federal positions are covered by Schedule F upon approval by the White House Office of…
NSF Seeks Input on Future Convergence Accelerator Topics, Midscale STEM Education Infrastructure
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a request for information (RFI) on future topics for the NSF Convergence Accelerator. The Convergence Accelerator is a capability within NSF to accelerate use-inspired convergence research in areas of national importance via partnerships between academic and non-academic stakeholders. The Convergence Accelerator is entering its third funding cycle and has previously featured tracks related to NSFâs Industries of the Future (IotF) initiative and Big Ideas related to Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier (FW-HTF), Harnessing the Data Revolution (HDR), Quantum Leap (QL). The RFI is seeking ideas for new topics that build upon…
COSSA and NIH Minority Health Institute Discuss COVID-19 Response
On September 23 as a member of the steering committee of the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, COSSA Executive Director Wendy Naus participated in a webinar (video recording) for Congressional staff featuring a discussion with Dr. Eliseo Perez-Stable, Director of the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The webinar is the first in a series organized by the Ad Hoc Group and the Coalition for Health Funding aimed at raising the visibility of NIHâs individual institutes and centers on Capitol Hill, specifically as their work relates to COVID-19 response….
Fight for Accurate Census Continues Even as Counting Wraps Up
The 2020 Census has been sent to the Supreme Court yet again, this time over the Administrationâs plans to end field enumeration and non-response follow-up efforts early and to rush the timeline for producing Constitutionally-mandated redistricting and reapportionment data. As previously reported, a federal judge required counting efforts for the 2020 Census to continue until the end of October. The Administration has appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court to allow it to end enumeration activities as soon as possible in order to shift the operation to producing data by the end-of-year statutory deadline. Many Census expertsâincluding the Census Bureau…