Executive Branch News
Congressman Mick Mulvaney Nominated for OMB Director
On December 16, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Congressman Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) to serve as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Trump Administration. Mulvaney made a name for himself during his three terms in the House as an outspoken opponent of government spending. OMB serves as the implementation and enforcement arm of Presidential policy through budget development, oversight of agency performance, legislative coordination, and oversight of executive orders. If confirmed by the Senate, Mulvaney will have broad responsibilities implementing President-elect Trumpâs agenda, including a central role in health care and tax policy changes, as well…
Census Bureau Establishes 2020 Advisory Committee, Calls for Nominations
The Census Bureau announced the establishment of a Census Bureau 2020 Advisory Committee, which will provide expertise and advice to Bureau leadership on matters related to the planning and implementation of the 2020 decennial census. The Bureau is seeking nominations to fill the 25-member Committee, particularly candidates with expertise related to âdiverse populations; national, state, local and tribal interest; hard-to-count populations; research; community-based organizations; academia; business interests; marketing and media industries; and professional associations.â More information is available in the Federal Register notice. Nominations must be submitted by January 19, 2017. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
Federal Agencies Clarify Programmatic Goals and Specific Interests for Multiscale Modeling Initiative
In December 2016, seven federal agencies–National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Army Research Office (ARO), Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR)–released a notice (NOT-EB-16-011) clarifying the programmatic goals and specific interests of the interagency funding opportunity announcement Predictive Multiscale Models for Biomedical, Biological, Behavioral, Environmental and Clinical Research (PAR-15-085). See the notice for full details. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
Healthier Lives Through Behavioral and Social Sciences Research: NIH OBSSR Releases Strategic Plan for 2017-2021
On November 23, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) officially released its Strategic Plan 2017-2021. The plan focuses on the scientific priorities and fundamental research challenges that âOBSSR is uniquely positioned to address,â according to OBSSR Director William Riley. The overarching theme of the three âequally important scientific priorities identified in the plan ⊠is to encourage a more cumulative and integrated behavioral and social science research enterprise that extends from basic science through the adoption of approaches to improve the nation’s health.â Specifically, the three priorities are: Improve the synergy of…
U.S. Surgeon General Releases Landmark Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health
On November 17, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy released the first-ever Surgeon Generalâs report on the substance abuse health afflicting communities. The comprehensive report, Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon Generalâs Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health, reviews the science of substance use, misuse, and disorders, providing an in-depth look with chapters covering neurobiology, prevention, treatment, recovery, health systems integration, as well as recommendations for the future. It also calls for a âcultural shift in the way Americans talk about the issue,â and recommends actions that can be taken to prevent and treat these conditions, as well as promote recovery….
Interagency Working Group on Language and Communication Seeks Input on R&D Report
The Interagency Working Group on Language and Communication (IWGLC) is seeking public input on its recently released report, which establishes a taxonomy to classify current federal research and development activities related to language and communication. Housed within the National Science and Technology Council, the IWGLC (charter) is made up of representatives from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, National Science Foundation, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, Department of Justice, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Department of Commerce, National Endowment for the Humanities,…
Federal Interagency Policy Group Targets Bias to Increase Diversity in STEM
On November 30, the Interagency Policy Group (IPG) established by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a report, Reducing the Impact of Bias in the STEM Workforce: Strengthening Excellence and Innovation and a companion digest. The report includes recommendations of actions and strategies the federal government can take to increase diversity in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce âby mitigating the impact of implicit, institutional, or explicit bias that may exist in both the Federal Government and in federally funded institutions of higher education.â Created in…
NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Holds Inaugural Research Festival
On December 2, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) held its inaugural NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival. The new annual event is designed to highlight the contributions of recently funded behavioral and social science projects to health research via presentations by extramural and NIH scientists from across the spectrum of disciplines. Panel discussions highlighted new directions for health-related behavioral and social science âaddressing the synergy of basic and applied research, innovations in methodology and measurement, and the adoption of research findings into practice.â Welcoming festival participants, OBSSR Director William Riley…
HHS Office of Minority Health Releases Compendium of Publicly Available Datasets
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) recently announced the release of a new resource, the Compendium of Publicly Available Datasets and Other Data-Related Resources, to aid researchers, public health practitioners, and policymakers with data on health and health care disparities and social determinants of health. A free resource, the Compendium provides âdescriptions of and links to 132 public datasets and resources that include information about health conditions and other factors that impact the health of minority populations.â The new resource was created by the Federal Interagency Health Equity Team of the National…
President-Elect Trump Begins Transition; Many Questions Remain for Science
Following a surprising victory on Nov. 8, businessman Donald Trumpâs campaign will now focus on transitioning to the White House. More details have emerged about Trumpâs goals for his presidency through a transition website, goals for his first 100 days in office, and a job posting for administration appointees. Notably, President-elect Trumpâs plan for his first 100 days includes a hiring freeze on federal employees and âa requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated.â Many uncertainties remain, including key administration appointments and more detailed policy proposals for the administration. Before the election, President-elect Trump…
Cancer Moonshot Task Force Report Released
On October 17, the Cancer Moonshot Task Force released a report laying out its implementation plans for accelerating progress in cancer research and care. The plan includes actions launched under the Cancer Moonshot this year as well as longer-term strategies for the initiative. Established by President Barack Obama, the Task Force consists of 20 federal departments, agencies, and White House offices, with leadership provided by Vice President Joe Biden. The Task Forceâs efforts are not intended to supplant existing cancer programs, initiatives, and polices, but to coordinate these efforts in an attempt to quicken the progress associated with them. The…
EPA Seeks Research on âBehavioral Driversâ of Significant Carbon Reduction
The Environmental Protection Agencyâs (EPA) Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Program is soliciting applications for research projects on âAnticipating the Environmental Impacts and Behavioral Drivers of Deep Decarbonization.â The term âDeep Decarbonizationâ refers to the changes necessary to significantly reduce carbon emissions and meet climate policy goals. EPA is interested in proposals that address at least one of the following questions: âHow might the deep decarbonization of the U.S. economy by 2050 change the geographic, socioeconomic, and demographic distribution of public health and ecosystem risks associated with energy production and consumption?â âWhat factors drive decisions at the individual, firm, and…
IRS Statistical Agency Accepting Research Proposals
The Statistics of Income program (SOI) within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is accepting proposals for its Joint Statistical Research Program. The program, which is generally offered every two years, matches researchers outside the federal government with IRS researchers to work on projects that will deepen our understanding of taxpayer behavior and of how tax policies affect individuals, businesses, and the economy. The IRS hopes that such projects will also lead to the development of new datasets to enhance future tax research. SOI is particularly interested in proposals addressing the following topics: âTax administration in a global economy; taxpayer needs…
National Library of Medicine Seeks Input into Strategic Plan
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking the scientific and stakeholder communityâs input into the goals and priorities for NLMâs next ten-year strategic plan. Specifically, NLM is seeking comments around four themes: (1) data science, open science, and biomedical informatics; (2) biomedical discovery and translational science; (3) public health (clinical systems, public health systems and services, and personal health); and (4) collections to support discovery and health in the 21st century. For more information and/or to comment, see the Request for Information (NOT-LM-17-002). Comments are due January 9, 2017. Back to this…
NIGMS Analyzes RFI Response on Modernizing Biomedical Graduate Education
On November 2, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shared its analysis of the input it received from the scientific community in response to a June 2016 request for information (RFI) (NOT-GM-16-109) on how to âcatalyze the modernization of biomedical graduate education through NIGMSâs institutional predoctoral training program.â According to NIGMS, the comments received addressed 28 themes and fell into five categories: institutional and training-related issues, skills development, systemic issues within the research enterprise, careers, and administrative and review issues. The feedback around the issue of diversity and the role of…
2016 Presidential Candidatesâ Science Policy Platforms
Over the last year and a half, presidential candidates have provided hints as to what their science policy priorities would be if they were to win. Democratic nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released details of her âInitiative on Technology and Innovationâ, which includes commitments to grow the budget of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the research budgets at the Department of Energy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). While Secretary Clintonâs published positions related to science primarily focus on computer science and technology, in response to a questionnaire from the Scientific American, Secretary Clinton…
Inaugural NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival â December 2, 2016
On December 2, 2016, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) will hold an inaugural NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival. Intended to become an annual event, the festival âwill highlight recently funded contributions of behavioral and social science to health research.â It will also âexplore new directions for health-related behavioral and social science research.â The event is tailored to build the âunderstanding and capacity to implement transformative behavioral and system interventions that lead to sustainable improvements in health and well-being.â The festival agenda and additional information is available on OBSSRâs website….
IES Seeks Comments on NCER-NPSAS Grants
The National Center for Education Research (NCER) within the Department of Educationâs Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is proposing a new information collection as part of an ongoing collaboration between NCER and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)âalso located within IESâand is seeking comments. The NCER supports research projects using subsamples of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), a nationally-representative sample of postsecondary institutions and students fielded every three to four years. The goal for the proposed new collection is to facilitate âone-offâ research projects. The Department is specifically interested in comments addressing the following questions: â(1) Is…
NASS Advisory Committee Accepting Nominations
The Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics, which is the advisory body to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), is accepting nominations. The Committee advises the Secretary of Agriculture and NASS leadership on issues that may affect NASSâ agriculture surveys and products. Members represent a broad range of disciplines and stakeholder communities including âproducers, representatives of national farm organizations, agricultural economists, rural sociologists, farm policy analysts, educators, State agriculture representatives, and agriculture-related business and marketing experts.â Nominations are due by November 30. More information is available in the Federal Register notice. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program Renamed âAll of Usâ Research Program
On October 12, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Cohort Program has been renamed the All of Us Research Program. The name change, according to the announcement, reflects the studyâs core values, which include âparticipation is open to all; participants reflect the rich diversity of the U.S.; participants are partners; participants have access to their information; data will be accessed broadly for research purposes; security and privacy will be of highest priority; and the program will be a catalyst for positive change in research.â The programâs name change also incorporates the feedback NIH…