Executive Branch News
Administration Considering Controversial Pick for Census Deputy Director
The Trump Administration is reportedly considering naming Thomas Brunell, a political science professor at the University of Texas, Dallas, as the next Deputy Director of the Census Bureau. The pick has raised concerns for Census stakeholder groups both because Brunell has no prior government experience and would be the top operations official overseeing the decennial census, the government’s biggest non-wartime operation, and because his selection would appear to politicize what has historically been a non-political position. Brunell has testified on behalf of Republican redistricting efforts and is the author of a 2008 book called Redistricting and Representation: Why Competitive Elections…
Jeffrey H. Anderson Appointed BJS Director
The Trump Administration has announced that it intends to appoint Jeffrey H. Anderson as director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the principal statistical agency housed within the Department of Justice. Anderson most recently served as Director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Health Reform, after his appointment was announced in May 2017. He is a former Hudson Institute Senior Fellow and co-founder of the 2017 Project, a conservative policy organization. Anderson hold a Ph.D. in political science from Claremont Graduate University. The position of BJS Director does not require Senate confirmation, so Anderson can…
National Endowment for the Humanities Releases 2018 Summer Programs for Teachers
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has released information about its 2018 tuition-free summer programs, which it offers each year to provide an opportunity for K-12, college, and university educators to study a variety of humanities topics. These programs focus on specific topic, texts, and questions in the humanities and promote connections between teaching and research in the humanities. Additionally, the NEH offers stipends to help cover the cost of travel and living expenses for these one- to four-week programs. The applications for summer 2018 programs are due March 1, 2018. More information and a list of topics is…
Alex Azar, Former Pharmaceutical Executive, Nominated to Lead HHS
President Trump has nominated Alex Azar to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which would include oversight of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), among other federal agencies. Azar served as general counsel and deputy secretary to the Department under the George W. Bush administration and served as the president of Lilly Co., part of the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co., until earlier this year. Azar’s nomination comes following former HHS Secretary Tom Price’s resignation after news surfaced of improper use of private jets for government…
Linda Capuano Nominated as Head of Energy Information Administration
Linda Capuano, energy technology fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Center for Energy Studies at Rice University, has been nominated to lead the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the principal statistical agency located within the U.S. Department of Energy. Prior to joining the Baker Institute, Capuano worked at Marathon Oil Corporation and Solectron Flextronics. She holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University. EIA’s most recent Administrator, Adam Sieminski, left the agency in January. John Conti, EIA’s Deputy Administrator is currently serving as Acting Administrator. Capuano’s nomination next goes to the Senate for a confirmation hearing…
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 “NIH Behavioral and Social Science Research Festival: Connecting People to Advance Health” 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…
COSSA Joins Societies in Requesting Changes to NIH Clinical Trial Policy
In a letter sent to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins on October 27, COSSA and 21 other scientific societies and associations requested that NIH revisit a new policy that alters the definition of “clinical trials” funded by the agency and institutes new reporting requirements for such research (see COSSA’s coverage of this issue). While the letter is supportive of the goal of enhancing transparency of NIH-funded research, including introducing registration and reporting requirements, the signatories express concern that “basic science research is being redefined as a clinical trial at NIH and that “basic science investigators will be…
William Beach, Former Budget Committee Economist, Nominated as BLS Commissioner
The White House has nominated William Beach for a four-year term as Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), succeeding Erica Groshen, whose term expired in January, and William J. Wiatrowski, the Acting Commissioner since Groshen’s departure. Currently Vice President for Policy Research at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, Beach holds a Ph.D. in economics from the UK’s Buckingham University. Prior to joining the Mercatus Center, Beach served as the Chief Economist for the Senate Budget Committee’s Republican staff and the Lazof Family Fellow in Economics director of the Center for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation. BLS Commissioners…
GAO to Study Potential Federal Interference in Science
According the Washington Post, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) will undertake a study of federal agencies’ 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 agencies’ public information related to climate change, and the cancellation of a study that might be damaging to the fossil fuel industry, Nelson asked…
NSF’s 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), NSF’s principal statistical agency housed within the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE). The NCSES Division Director “assesses 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.” 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 “there is relatively little research on safe firearm storage,” and that “lack of funding and data” is often cited as…
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 COSSA’s analysis of the changes, which were announced in January of this year). The delay would still allow “the use of three burden-reducing provisions during the delay year,” but there is little clarity on what those provisions are…
NIH Provides Guidance on New Human Subjects, Clinical Trials Form
As previously reported, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been working for the last few years to enhance its stewardship of and increase transparency over the clinical trials it funds. COSSA described the planned changes and their impact on the social science research community in a Hot Topic piece earlier this month. All social and behavioral science researchers who have received NIH funding in the past, or who are looking to apply in the future, are strongly encouraged to review this information as your research may now fall under NIH’s revised definition of a “clinical trial.” NIH released a…
HOT TOPIC: New NIH “Clinical Trials” Definition to Impact Basic Social and Behavioral Science Research
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been working for the last few years to enhance its stewardship of and increase transparency over the clinical trials it funds. The agency, which is the largest funder of clinical trials in the U.S., issued a Notice of Revised NIH Definition of “Clinical Trial” (NOT-OD-15-015) in late 2014 laying out a new, expanded definition to govern which research projects are to be categorized as a “clinical trial” from here on out. While this change has been in process for the last few years, it wasn’t until more recently that the biomedical and behavioral…
GAO Recommends Changes to NSF Indirect Cost Guidance
A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Actions Needed to Improve Oversight of Indirect Costs for Research, finds that the National Science Foundation (NSF) “does not consistently take steps to ensure it pays no more than its fair share of indirect costs.” Indirect costs, also referred to as facilities and administrative (F&A) costs, represent the portion of NSF awards that cover operational costs, such as maintenance, rent, and utilities. The report notes that while NSF has produced guidance for setting indirect cost rates, it is not implemented consistently. The report makes recommendations to ensure NSF staff follow its…
HHS Requests Comments on Draft Strategic Plan
The Department of Health and Human Services has invited comments on its draft strategic plan for fiscal years (FY) 2018-2022. The plan describes how the Department plans to advance its mission according to five strategic goals: “(1) Reform, Strengthen, and Modernize the Nation’s Health Care System; (2) Protect the Health of Americans Where They Live, Learn, Work, and Play; (3) Strengthen the Economic and Social Well-Being of Americans across the Lifespan; (4) Foster Sound, Sustained Advances in Sciences; and (5) Promote Effective and Efficient Management and Stewardship.” HHS is accepting comments through October 26, 2017. More information is available in…
NSF Releases Video on Social Science Research’s Importance to Disaster Preparedness
The National Science Foundation (NSF) released a video on September 15 highlighting the contributions of the social sciences in disaster preparedness and response. The video explains that together with improvements in the science of forecasting, social science has helped more effectively communicate the potential risk of natural disasters and more effectively respond after disasters hit. The video is among a suite of new resource posted to the NSF website highlighting the many contributions of basic science to everyday life. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NSF Releases Dear Colleague Letters on Research Methodologies for STEM Education and Broadening Participation in Science
The Education and Human Resources Directorate (EHR) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) released a Dear Colleague Letter on September 19 announcing their intention to support fundamental research on methodologies that support valid inferences in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The letter also includes invitations to submit proposals on a variety of aspects of research methodology for a variety of grant types, including conference proposals or early-stage research. More information can be found here. EHR also released a Dear Colleague Letter on September 26 in partnership with the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE) to announce their…
NSF Extends Application Deadline for Director of Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences Position
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is seeking candidates for the Director of the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (BCS) within the Directorate of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE). The BCS Director is responsible for providing leadership and direction to the Division and implementing overall strategic planning. The BCS Division provides funding for research that helps advance scientific knowledge about the brain, human cognition, language, social behavior, and culture. Applications must be submitted by October 29, 2017. The position requirements can be found on USAJobs. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking Releases Final Report
On September 7, the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking (CEP) released its final report, The Promise of Evidence-Based Policymaking. The Commission was established by the bipartisan Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission Act of 2016, which had been introduced by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) in the House and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) in the Senate. The Commission consisted of 15 members appointed by the President, Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, and Senate Minority Leader, with five members being selected for their privacy expertise. Katharine G. Abraham, University of Maryland, chaired the Commission, with Ron Haskins, Brookings Institution, as her…