Reports
National Science Board Releases Anticipated Merit Review Report
As previously reported, the National Science Board (NSB), which is the policy-making body of the National Science Foundation (NSF), created a Commission on Merit Review in 2023 to take a fresh look at NSF’s current merit review criteria and make recommendations for potential improvement or modernization. After several delays, the Commission released its report on December 17. The report, Merit Review for a Changing Landscape, contains an in-depth evaluation of NSF’s longstanding review process and makes several recommendations, including: The release of the NSB report comes on the heels of new Merit Review rules that took effect December 15, 2025. Among the changes announced…
ASA Releases “The Nation’s Data at Risk” Report for 2025
The American Statistical Association’s (ASA) “Federal Statistics Health” project team announced the release of “The Nation’s Data at Risk: 2025 Report”. The report updates the team’s assessment of the health of the federal statistical agencies since the July 2024 release of the inaugural report. The report will go live at 7am EST on December 10 on the project website. ASA will also be hosting a webinar on December 10 at 10am EST. Register here. ASA is a COSSA governing member.
AAPOR Releases Report Evaluating 2024 Election Polling
The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), a COSSA governing member, has released a new report titled “Task Force on 2024 Pre-Election Polling: An Evaluation of the 2024 General Election Polls.” This report analyzes the effectiveness of pre-election polling for the 2024 elections. The task force found that polls were more accurate compared to previous election years, and that – consistent with recent trends – polls underestimated Republican votes compared to Democrats’. The report was discussed in-depth at a recent AAPOR webinar, details can be found here. This article was contributed by COSSA Intern Anne Tighe.
AAPOR To Host Pre-Election Polling Webinar on November 19
On November 19, the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), a COSSA governing member, will host the next installment of their analysis of general election polls during presidential elections, Performance of Pre-Election Polling in 2024. The webinar will examine AAPOR’s newly released report, Pre-Election Polling Task Force Report, which evaluates the accuracy of general election polls during the 2024 election cycle. Registration for the webinar can be found here. This article was contributed by COSSA Intern Anne Tighe.
NASEM Releases Report on Simplifying Research Regulations and Policies
The Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has released a report, Simplifying Research Regulations and Policies: Optimizing American Science. The report praises the success of the U.S. scientific research enterprise while acknowledging that, as science has become more applicable and useful across varying disciplines, there has been a dramatic increase in federal oversight. It cites estimates that U.S. academic researchers today spend more than 40 percent of their research time on administrative and regulatory compliance. While federal regulations on scientific work can ensure research excellence, the current regulatory system can hinder…
COSSA Releases 2024 Annual Report
COSSA’s 2024 Annual Report is now available. Check it out to learn more about COSSA’s activities and successes over the past year. Find out how your organization can become a member of COSSA on our website.
Science is US Report Shows How STEMM Workers Power U.S. Industries
On April 3, Science is US released the Science at Work report, an analysis the STEMM workforce’s impact on the U.S. economy. The findings reveal that in 2025, 34.1 percent of the U.S. workforce was engaged with STEMM-related roles, contributing $10.87 trillion – or 39.2 percent – of the nation’s GDP. The report defines the STEMM workforce broadly, encompassing individuals whose primary job functions involve science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine, regardless of the economic sector they may reside in. Acknowledging gaps in STEMM opportunities, the report highlights the need for coordinated efforts among educators, policymakers, and industry leaders to reinforce STEMM’s…
Cross-Sector Leaders Issue Vision for American Science and Technology
On February 25, a task force comprising more than 70 leaders representing science, industry, academia, philanthropy, and the public sector released the Vision for American Science and Technology (VAST). A launch event hosted by Axios was held in Washington, DC (video). COSSA Executive Director Wendy Naus served on the VAST task force. The VAST report contains a set of policy recommendations aimed at recalibrating and optimizing the U.S. science and technology (S&T) enterprise with an eye toward enabling American long-term economic prosperity, addressing societal challenges, and maintaining global leadership. The vision identifies three “avenues for action,” each containing recommendations for policy makers,…
OSTP Issues Anti-Harassment Guidelines for Federal Agencies
In the final days of the Biden Administration, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released Guidelines for Federal Research Agencies to Reduce Sex-Based and Sexual Harassment Involving Award Personnel in response to the Chips and Science Act of 2022 (see previous COSSA coverage). These guidelines include identifying and removing gaps in current sexual harassment policies, improving consistency of policies across federal agencies, and promoting data transparency to support evidence-based policies. In addition to the guidelines presented, the report recommends that legislation be passed to support anti-harassment objectives, including authority for federal agencies to develop a consistent definition of harassment, a…
OSTP’s CoSTEM Releases Five-Year Federal Strategic Plan Advancing STEM Education and Cultivating STEM Talent
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s (OSTP) National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (CoSTEM) has released the Federal Strategic Plan Advancing STEM Education and Cultivating STEM Talent. The five-year plan is intended to promote STEM education and careers, particularly in coordination with multi-sector collaborators throughout the STEM ecosystem and has identified three principles to achieve this goal, including expanding opportunity, developing partnerships and the ecosystem, and fostering transparency and accountability. Within these principles, OSTP has identified five pillars including STEM engagement; STEM teaching and learning; STEM workforce; STEM research and innovation capacity; and…
CNSTAT Releases Eighth Edition of Principles & Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency
The Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has released the eighth edition of Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency, a report released every four years to coincide with presidential terms. The consensus study report provides an explanation of the federal statistical system and offers guiding principles and best practices for federal statistical agencies. While the practices and principles remain largely the same as past versions (see previous COSSA coverage), the most recent report includes updated information on the changes made to the federal statistical system in the past four years. The…
Friends of BLS Urge Congress to Provide Appropriations for Modernizing CPS
On September 24, the Friends of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), of which COSSA is a member, urged the House and Senate Appropriations Committees through a sign-on letter to modernize the Current Population Survey (CPS) with additional funding in fiscal year (FY) 2025. Jointly sponsored by BLS and the Census Bureau, CPS collects labor force statistics data to help inform the status of the social and economic welfare of the country. Two years of flat funding have required CPS to decrease the sample size of the population survey, creating a detrimental impact on important federal data collection. With 120 signatures, the letter details…
Currently Listening: The Nation’s Data at Risk, with Connie Citro
In a new episode of the Cross Tabs podcast, a senior scholar at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Connie Citro discusses the findings from the recent report, “The Nation’s Data at Risk,” which assesses the health of federal statistical agencies. Citro explains the historical development of these agencies, their importance in providing reliable data for both public and private sectors, and the potential consequences of underfunding and political interference. The report is a product of the American Statistical Association, a COSSA governing association. Listen here.
COSSA Releases 2023 Annual Report
COSSA’s 2023 Annual Report is now available. Check it out to learn more about COSSA’s activities and successes over the past year. Find out how your organization can become a member of COSSA on our website.
OSTP Provides Update on Estimated Open Access Publishing Costs
In June, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released an update to a November 2023 Report to Congress on Financing Mechanisms for Open Access Publishing of Federally Funded Research (see previous COSSA coverage). The report responds to a directive included in the final fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations bill requiring OSTP to provide additional information with respect to financing mechanisms for open access publishing of federally funded research, as well as potential impacts of federal public access policies on peer review and research integrity. OSTP provided initial cost estimates to Congress in 2022 and late 2023. This latest report provides: additional information on…
American Statistical Association Releases “The Nation’s Data at Risk” Report
On July 9, The American Statistical Association (ASA), in partnership with George Mason University, hosted a webinar and released a report focused on assessing the health of the principal federal statistical agencies. This webinar provided an overview of the most comprehensive and current assessment of the challenges facing the nation’s most vital statistics and the report detailed the findings and recommendations from the project team. The team assessed the health of federal statistical agencies regarding professional autonomy, support from their parent agency, sufficiency of their budget and staffing, challenges and opportunities for data quality and innovation, and engagement with data…
Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group Releases Blueprint on AI Policy
The Bipartisan Senate Artificial Intelligence (AI) Working Group led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Mike Rounds, Senator Martin Heinrich, and Senator Todd Young, recently released a report, Driving U.S. Innovation in Artificial Intelligence: A Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence Policy in the United States Senate. As AI becomes a topical issue in virtually all aspects of life, the Senate working group held a series of forums dedicated to understanding the benefits and detriments of potential uses of AI technology prior to the release of this report (see COSSA’s previous coverage on AI). The report recommends committees continue to collaborate on…
New JASON Report Advocates for Project-by-Project Approach to Sensitive Research Security
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has commissioned a new report from JASON, an independent scientific advisory group, on the implications of imposing broad controls on sensitive research security. The report reaffirms a longstanding policy that fundamental research should remain largely unrestricted unless specific sensitivities require classification. JASON suggests the need for updated research security measures in ways that do not stifle innovation and openness. The report evaluates international collaborations, especially highlighting concerns with the Chinese government’s approach to fundamental research for military needs and restrictions on information flow. The report recommends a nuanced method where the NSF collaborates with Principal Investigators and…
The State of U.S. Science and Engineering 2024 Released
The National Science Board recently released their The State of U.S. Science and Engineering 2024. The Science and Engineering Indicators report summarizes the status of the science and engineering enterprise within the United States, examining the country’s overall position in the global landscape. This is sourced from nine thematic reports, organized into three main sections—talent, discovery, and translation. These three components collectively support U.S. global competitiveness in science, technology, and innovation (STI), in that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) talent contributes to scientific discovery, which in turn is translated to society and the economy through innovation. The report sheds light…
CNSTAT Releases Third Data Infrastructure Report in Series Intended to Modernize Data Collection
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) has released its third and final report in an ongoing series of data infrastructure reports intended to modernize and enhance data collection (previous COSSA coverage). This latest report, Toward a 21st Century National Data Infrastructure: Managing Privacy and Confidentiality Risks with Blended Data, builds off the previous two reports on mobilizing data and blending data from various sources by addressing concerns about mitigating privacy and confidentiality risks within the data infrastructure. The report provides potential policy approaches to protecting data privacy as well as a suggested framework…