New from COSSA
COSSA Calls for Congress to Complete FY 2017 Appropriations Process
In a letter to House and Senate appropriators on the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Subcommittees, COSSA called for speedy completion of the FY 2017 appropriations process. The letter also urges strong appropriations for the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, and Census Bureau. The letter is available on the COSSA website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Archived Webinar Now Available: “Social Science in the Age of Trump: What We’d Like to See”
The archived video of a February 9 webinar, “Social Science in the Age of Trump: What We’d Like to See,” hosted by SAGE Publishing is now available. The webinar featured COSSA Executive Director Wendy Naus in a conversation with Michael Todd, editor of Social Science Space, and touched on the current state of affairs related to the social and behavioral sciences, areas of concern under the Trump Administration, and how researchers and academics can get involved in advocating on behalf of the social sciences. The complete webinar is available to watch here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
COSSA Conference Agenda Released; Hotel Block Rate Expires Feb. 28
The preliminary agenda for the 2017 COSSA Science Policy Conference & Social Science Advocacy Day on March 29-30 is now available. Featured speakers include University of California, Berkeley sociologist Arlie R. Hochschild and John Sides of the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog. Other sessions will highlight topics including Mobilizing Students as Ambassadors for Social Science, Promoting Your Expertise with National Media Outlets, Social Science in Government Service, and Advocating from Home. Register today! Don’t forget: participants from COSSA member organizations and universities are eligible to receive a discount on registration. Email [email protected] for details. For those planning to travel to…
COSSA 2016 Annual Report Now Available
COSSA has released its 2016 Annual Report, which highlights some of COSSA’s activities and successes over the past year. Click here to read the report and learn how your organization can become a member of COSSA. Annual reports from previous years are available on the COSSA website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
COSSA Joins Scientific Community in Urging Approval of NIH FY 2017 Budget
On February 7, COSSA joined 260 patient, medical, scientific, academic, and research organizations of the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research in sending a joint letter and fact sheet to the President and the House and Senate leadership. The letter urges the enactment of a final FY 2017 spending package that includes $34.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Federal agencies and programs are currently operating under a continuing resolution that expires on April 28. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
COSSA Joins Scientific Community in Call for End to Travel Ban
On January 31, COSSA joined over 170 other leading scientific organizations on a letter to the Trump Administration calling for it to rescind its January 27 executive order that placed a hold on legal travel to the for citizens of seven countries. The letter states that the undersigned organizations “are deeply concerned that this Executive Order will have a negative impact on the ability of scientists and engineers in industry and academia to enter, or leave from and return to, the. This will reduce U.S. science and engineering output to the detriment of America and Americans.” The letter is available…
Early Bird Registration Extended for COSSA Science Policy Conference
COSSA has extended early bird registration for the 2017 Science Policy Conference & Social Science Advocacy Day until January 31! Take advantage of this discount AND your member discount code (below) to get the lowest available registration rate. Register before rates increase on February 1! Confirmed speakers include John Sides of the Washington Post’s popular Monkey Cage blog, who will speak about how to bring social science findings to the masses. Planned sessions also include panels on advocating for social science from home, tips for communicating with the media, and social science student organizing on campus, among other topics. Stay…
From the Executive Director
Happy New Year! I am pleased with all that we were able to accomplish over the last year as we worked to protect and promote social and behavioral science research to policy makers and the public. But heading into this new chapter in Washington, it is important that we do not rest on our laurels. Given all of the unknowns about the year ahead and what the new political context might mean for social science research, now is the time for anyone who cares about our research to engage. COSSA has been busy organizing several activities and events for this…
Early Bird Registration Open for 2017 COSSA Science Policy Conference & Social Science Advocacy Day
Registration is now open for the 2017 COSSA Science Policy Conference and Social Science Advocacy Day, scheduled for March 29-30 in Washington, DC. This event (formerly the COSSA Annual Meeting) brings together COSSA members and other stakeholders for a day of discussion about federal policy impacting our science followed by the only annual, coordinated advocacy day in support of all of the social and behavioral sciences. Come be part of the action. Register before January 15 to receive the early bird rate. Information on discounted student rates and confirmed speakers will be released in the coming weeks. Register today! Back…
COSSA Issues Recommendations to the Incoming Trump Administration
Before the holiday break, COSSA transmitted a report to the Trump transition team, Social and Behavioral Science Research: Ten Recommendations for the 45th President of the United States. The report outlines a number of steps the next Administration can take to support the U.S. research enterprise and use social science research in support of evidence-based policy making. This document can also be helpful in outreach to policy makers in Congress as well. The document is available on the COSSA website at https://cossa.org/press-publications/2017-transition-recommendations/. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
COSSA Releases State Funding Fact Sheets for 2017
COSSA has released the 2017 edition of its state funding fact sheets with a new look. These one-pagers showcase the amount of federal social science research funding that goes to each state, and includes information on the leading recipient institutions and sources of funding. The fact sheets are helpful for articulating to policy makers the local economic impact of social science research funding. The fact sheets are available on the COSSA website at https://cossa.org/resources/state-fact-sheets. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
COSSA Releases 2017 Rankings of Social and Behavioral Science Funding at Colleges and Universities
COSSA recently released its 2017 College and University Rankings for Federal Social and Behavioral Science R&D, which highlights the top university recipients of research dollars in the social and behavioral sciences. Nine of this year’s top 10 recipients of federal funding in the social and behavioral sciences are COSSA members. Based on federally collected data, the COSSA rankings use an inclusive selection of fields to calculate the total federal R&D funding received by universities in the social and behavioral sciences. The 2017 rankings reflect spending from fiscal year 2015, the most current available data. You can find more information on how COSSA…
COSSA Joins Scientific Community in Calling for President-Elect to Name a Science Advisor
In a letter to the presidential transition team, COSSA Executive Director Wendy Naus joined the leadership of 28 other leading science organization in calling for President-Elect Trump to quickly appoint a qualified Assistant to the President for Science and Technology. They urge the President-Elect to name a candidate who is “a nationally respected leader with appropriate engineering, scientific, management and policy skills.” The letter notes, “If we are to maintain America’s global leadership, and respond to the economic and security challenges currently facing the nation, we must build on our strong history of federal support for innovation, entrepreneurship and science…
New Issue of “Setting the Record Straight on ‘Wasteful Research’”
COSSA has released the latest issue of Setting the Record Straight on “Wasteful Research” (PDF available here), a series of interviews with researchers whose work has been called out in Congressional wastebooks or other attacks. This series aims to give these scientists the chance to set the record straight about the value and potential of their work– and confront misconceptions about social science research funded by the federal government. This edition features Megan Tracy (James Madison University), whose National Science Foundation-funded study on regulations in China’s dairy industry was one of the targets of Lamar Smith’s inquiry into NSF grants in 2013 and…
COSSA Letter to Conferees Advocates Funding for NSF, NIJ, BJS, and Census
As Congress returns to complete the business of funding the government for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2017, COSSA is advocating for strong funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and Census Bureau. In a letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS), COSSA highlights the important work of these agencies and asks that conferees support the “highest possible funding levels.” The full letter is available on the COSSA website. COSSA has weighed-in in support of other federal agency budgets through our many…
COSSA and Coalitions Urge Strong Funding for SBS in Final FY 2017 Funding Negotiations
In preparation for Congress’ return to Washington after the election, several of the coalitions COSSA works through have sent letters to appropriators urging them to pass funding bills rather than a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2017 and to encourage them to preserve funding for the agencies that support social and behavioral science (SBS), including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Senate letter, House letter), the National Center for Health Statistics (Senate letter, House letter), the Census Bureau (Senate letter, House letter), and the Institute of Education Sciences. Back to…
COSSA Releases Third Issue of “Setting the Record Straight on ‘Wasteful Research’”
COSSA has released the third issue of Setting the Record Straight on “Wasteful Research” (PDF available here). This series features interviews with researchers whose work has been called out in Congressional wastebooks or other attacks. Through this series, researchers are given the chance to set the record straight about the value and potential of their work–and confront misconceptions about social science research funded by the federal government. This edition features Kimberley Phillips (Trinity University), whose grant to study the effect of exercise on neurodegenerative diseases was caricatured in Sen. Jeff Flake’s 2015 “The Farce Awakens” wastebook. Back to this issue’s table…