Executive Branch News
OMB Releases Evidence Act-Mandated Guidance on Program Evaluation Standards and Practices
As part of its ongoing work to implement the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act) (see COSSA’s previous coverage), the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released guidance on evaluation standards to guide agencies in developing and implementing evaluation activities, evaluation policies, and in hiring and retaining qualified staff, as well as examples of best practices for agencies to emulate. OMB plans to release further guidance on how agencies should use evidence to more effectively deliver on their missions. The standards for evidence-building identified and elaborated on in the guidance are relevance and utility, rigor,…
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 and the Advisory Committee for Education and Human Resources. Guidelines for recommendations and committee contact information can be found in the federal register. Recommendations for membership are maintained for 12 months. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NOAA Seeking Nominations for Science Advisory Board
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced it is soliciting nominations for the NOAA Science Advisory Board. Members of the Science Advisory Board are appointed for up to two three-year terms and convene three times a year to advise NOAA on strategy for research and science applications. Nominees are welcome from social science fields such as geography, sociology, and behavioral science. Nominations will be accepted through April 23, 2020. More information can be found on the NOAA website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
OSTP Requests Information on Open Access in Peer-Reviewed Publications
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a request for information on the implications of open access to peer-reviewed publications and data resulting from federally funded research. The request is intended to follow up on a 2013 memorandum from OSTP titled Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research and a 2019 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) providing recommendations for increasing public access of unclassified published research. OSTP is most interested in hearing perspectives on the following topics: The existing limitations of communicating research outputs and how to improve communications; The role of…
NSF Announces New Collaboration between SBE and Minority-Serving Institutions
On February 24, the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate at the National Science Foundation (NSF) released a Dear Colleague Letter announcing the new Build and Broaden initiative, a collaborative effort between the SBE Directorate and Minority-Serving Institutions. The initiative invites proposals for research conferences intended to promote ideas and partnerships in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences at Minority-Serving Institutions. Conference proposals for Build and Broaden are due May 1, 2020. The Dear Colleague Letter and more information are found on the NSF website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NSF Releases Responses to JASON Research Security Report
On March 2, the National Science Foundation (NSF) released the agency’s response to a December 2019 report providing recommendations and best practices for NSF and NSF’s awardee organizations to address research security concerns while maintaining openness and collaboration in research environments. The report, conducted by the independent scientific advisory group JASON, was commissioned by NSF in 2019 in the wake of concerns about foreign governments interfering with or stealing intellectual property and research findings from U.S. research institutions. The most notable NSF response is the announcement of the appointment of Dr. Rebecca Spyke Keiser to the newly-created position of Chief…
Administration Plans to Eliminate DOD Social Science Research Program
While the majority of the details of the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2021 budget request were made public the week of February 10 (read COSSA’s analysis), full details for some agencies and departments—including the Department of Defense (DoD)—were delayed until the following week. The DoD budget request reflects over $5 billion in cuts made as a result of the FY 2021 Defense-Wide Review. The FY 2021 Defense-Wide Review is a major DoD initiative led by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper “to improve alignment of time, money, and people to [National Defense Strategy] priorities,” including finding budget cuts at DoD. The…
Administration Releases FY 2021 Budget Request; Read COSSA’s Analysis
On February 10, the Trump Administration released its fiscal year (FY) 2021 budget request to Congress. In a significant departure from last year’s budget rollout, the FY 2021 budget is not delivered on the heels of a major government shutdown, like we saw in early 2019. Given that Congress passed its FY 2020 appropriations bills in December 2019—albeit nearly 3 months late—the President’s FY 2021 budget can be compared to FY 2020 enacted levels, providing a clearer look at the potential implications of the Administration’s proposals. However, the positive news largely ends there with respect to the Trump Administration’s budget…
NSF Celebrates 70 Years
On February 6-7, the National Science Foundation (NSF) hosted a symposium celebrating the 70th anniversary of the agency’s creation. The first day looked back at NSF’s history and featured discussions highlighting some the greatest scientific breakthroughs over the last seven decades as well as a discussion on the evolution of the agency itself featuring six previous NSF Directors alongside current Director France Córdova. The second day brought the discussion back to the present with a session about NSF’s 10 Big Ideas, a panel on “Industries of the Future” featuring representatives from Google, IBM, and others within the private sector, and…
NIH Requesting Comments on Strategic Plan
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a request for information (RFI) asking for stakeholder comments on the proposed framework for the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years (FYs) 2021-2025 slated for a December 2020 release. Rather than focus on specific research opportunities or institute initiatives, NIH releases a strategic plan every five years to highlight the achievements of the agency and set broader priorities. The proposed framework for the new strategic plan highlights several cross-cutting themes for NIH including increasing diversity, reducing health disparities, optimizing data science, promoting collaborative science, and addressing public health challenges across the lifespan. These…
NSF Invites Proposal Submissions on 2026 Idea Machine Finalist Themes
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is requesting proposals for the NSF 2026 Idea Machine themes and activities for finalist applicants. The NSF 2026 Idea Machine is a prize competition for emerging science, engineering, or learning research challenge. Thirty-three finalists were selected from over 800 applicants. NSF is now seeking project proposals to enrich the activities the Idea Machine finalists will participate in, specifically in conference activities and in Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) projects testing the ideas and concepts coming from the finalists. EAGER project outlines are due March 1, 2020 and conference proposals are due March 15, 2020….
COSSA Responds to JCORE RFI
In response to a request for information (RFI) from the Joint Committee on the Research Environment (JCORE) (see previous coverage), COSSA submitted a collection of resources produced by its member associations relevant to JCORE’s four primary areas of interest: (1) Research Rigor and Integrity; (2) Coordinating Administrative Requirements for Research; (3) Research Security; and (4) Safe and Inclusive Research Environments. As COSSA’s letter states, “Given [the social sciences’] focus on the human condition across multiple scales, it is not surprising that our sciences have a lot to say about the topics of interest to JCORE.” The document is intended to…
NSF Hosting Symposium to Celebrate 70th Anniversary
The National Science Foundation (NSF) will host a symposium on February 6 and 7 to begin a year-long commemoration of NSF’s 70th anniversary. The symposium will take place at NSF’s Alexandria, Virginia headquarters and will also be webcast. The two-day event will feature past and present NSF Directors, Waterman award winners, and leaders from academia and industry. More information, the event agenda, and details about how to attend are available on NSF’s website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NCHS Releases First Estimate of Maternal Mortality in 13 Years
NCHS recently released its final 2018 mortality data, which includes the first official estimate of maternal mortality since 2007. NCHS suspended annual estimates of the maternal mortality rate (defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of pregnancy) due to inconsistencies and errors in state death records. To create the new estimates, NCHS performed an analysis of the use of checkboxes indicating current or recent pregnancy that had been added to the standard death certificate and revised its coding procedures to ensure that it was sufficiently accounting for potential errors. Thanks to this work, NCHS…
NIMHD Names Psychologist Monica Webb Hooper Deputy Director
The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced the selection of Dr. Monica Webb Hooper as its new Deputy Director. Dr. Webb Hooper comes from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, where she is a professor of oncology, family medicine, and psychological sciences. She has also served as Associate Director for Cancer Disparities Research and Director of the Office of Cancer Disparities Research at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. She comes to NIMHD with years of expertise in minority health and cancer-related health disparities spanning multiple disadvantaged populations….
Defense Health Program Releases Anticipated Funding Opportunities for Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program
On January 10, the Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) of the Defense Health Program at the Department of Defense released a pre-announcement of its fiscal year (FY) 2020 anticipated funding opportunities and topic areas. Topic areas include eating disorders, resilience training, and sleep disorders, among others. PRMRP supports research projects to improve the health, care, and well-being of all military service members, veterans, and beneficiaries and grant proposals must address at least one of the pre-determined topic areas. More information can be found on the Defense Health Program website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
OSTP Requests Feedback on Data Repositories and Data Sharing
The While House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a Request for Public Comment on January 17 on Draft Desirable Characteristics of Repositories for Managing and Sharing Data Resulting from Federally Funded Research. The request, published in the Federal Register, was issued on behalf of the multi-agency Subcommittee on Open Science of the National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on Science. The proposed set of desirable characteristics are intended to improve the consistency of information that federal agencies provide to the scientific community about the long-term preservation of data resulting from federally funded research. The Subcommittee on Open…
2020 Census Count Begins in Rural Alaska
The U.S. Census Bureau starts counting the population of rural Alaska for the 2020 Census on January 21 in the remote Alaskan village of Toksook Bay. The decennial Census traditionally begins counting the populations in remote Alaskan villages much earlier than the official Census Day due to the hard-to-count nature of the region. The count of the rest of the U.S. population will officially start on Census Day, April 1. More information about the timeline of the 2020 Census can be found on the 2020 Census website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Sethuraman Panchanathan Nominated to Lead National Science Foundation
The White House announced on December 19 that President Trump intends to nominate Sethuraman Panchanathan to a six-year term as Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Current NSF Director France Córdova’s term ends in March. Panchanathan has been a member of the National Science Board since 2014 and leads “knowledge enterprise development” at Arizona State University (ASU). Panchanathan holds his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering and was central in founding the School of Computing and Informatics and the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing at ASU. Following Córdova’s retirement in March, Panchanathan’s nomination will require approval by the Senate….
White House Finalizes 2020 Data Strategy Action Plan
The White House has released its final 2020 Action Plan for the Federal Data Strategy (see COSSA’s previous coverage). The Federal Data Strategy, which is being coordinated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is a “ten-year vision for how the Federal government will accelerate the use of data to support the foundations of democracy, deliver on mission, serve the public, and steward resources while protecting security, privacy and confidentiality.” The Strategy consists of 10 principles and 40 best practices to guide federal agencies on how to leverage the value of their data. The next phase in the Strategy’s implementation is its…