reports
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…
APA Releases Report on Countering Misinformation
The American Psychological Association (APA) released a comprehensive report addressing the challenges of misinformation, particularly in the realm of health, well-being, and civic life. Providing eight recommendations for a collaborative effort between scientists, policymakers, media professionals, and the public to combat the spread and impact of misinformation: APA is a COSSA governing member. To read the full report, visit here.
COSSA Releases 2022 Annual Report
COSSA’s 2022 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.
RSVP: The Census Project’s Virtual Briefing on the Latest ACS Report
The Census Project will be hosting a virtual briefing on Monday, July 24 to discuss its newest report: “America’s Essential Economic and Social Data at Risk: A Vision to Preserve and Enhance the American Community Survey”. Dr. Linda Jacobsen, Senior Fellow at the Population Reference Bureau, will summarize findings from the report and present new sections that spotlight how the ACS informs policies and programs serving veterans and the nation’s health care industry. The briefing will also feature former Census Bureau Director Dr. John Thompson. Dr. Thompson will highlight how the ACS fits into broader data collection modernization and dissemination initiatives…
NASEM releases Behavioral Economics: Policy Impact and Future Directions Report
The Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences (BBCSS) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has released a new report titled Behavioral Economics: Policy Impact and Future Directions. As a field developing strongly since the mid-20th century, behavioral economics has produced influential research from its findings between economists and psychologists. In this report, the contributions and impacts of the field are assessed across seven public policy fields: health, retirement benefits, climate change, social safety net benefits, climate change, education, and criminal justice. In addition to discussing the application of behavioral economics into governmental outputs, the report addresses ways to…
JASON Releases Report on NSF’s Pending Research on Research Security Program
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has commissioned a report by JASON, the independent scientific and national security advisory body, on NSF’s proposed “Research on Research Security” program. This program has been in development as part of the push towards securing the U.S. research enterprise over the past few years, and is intended to provide funding to scientifically examine aspects of research security (see previous coverage). The JASON report aims to consider what this program might look like at NSF and how it would impact research security policy throughout the federal government. Notably, the JASON report states that the “social sciences…
Science is US Report Shows Impact of STEM on U.S. Workforce
On March 1, Science is US released the People of Science report, an analysis of the impact of the STEM workforce on the U.S. economy. According to the report, 34.3 percent of the U.S. workforce engaged with STEM in some capacity in 2021, accounting for $9.45 trillion – or 40.5 percent – of U.S. GDP. The report defines the STEM workforce broadly as people who spend the vast majority of their job tasks engaging in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine and includes a list of qualifying occupations that contributed to the STEM workforce. Among the listed occupations are social…
National Academies Release Report on Antiracism in Science Organizations
On February 14, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) held a webinar marking the release of a report on Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations. The report aims to identify structural barriers to participation in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEMM) by minoritized individuals and provides recommendations on how the scientific community can instigate meaningful changes to remove these barriers and instill principles of antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI). The report offers the following recommendations to the scientific community: The report can be read in full on the NASEM website.
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics Releases Biennial Diversity and STEM Report
The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF) recently released the 2023 edition of the report, Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities. This biennial report provides data and insights into the demographics of the STEM workforce, including wage and STEM unemployment among underrepresented groups. With the report, NCSES seeks to understand how representation within STEM continues to change. The report found that women comprise 35 percent of the STEM workforce, underrepresented minorities comprise 24 percent, and persons with disabilities comprise 3 percent. The report also found that the number of…
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics to Release Biennial Diversity and STEM Report
The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), within the National Science Foundation (NSF), will release its biennial report, Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities, on January 30. The report was last released in 2021 under the title, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering (WMPD), and provides statistical information on women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering education and employment. NCSES will host an informational webinar on the results of the Diversity and STEM report on January 31. Register for the event here.
NIH Releases UNITE Progress Report for 2021-2022
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released the inaugural progress report covering fiscal years (FY) 2021-2022 for the UNITE Initiative, the agency-wide program comprised of five committees charged with identifying and addressing structural racism within the NIH research community and the greater biomedical research enterprise (see previous COSSA coverage). This progress report is the first such report on the UNITE Initiative and aims to describe NIH’s actions since the Initiative’s establishment in 2021 in identifying and addressing structural racism as well as areas that still need to be addressed. The report cites actions that have been taken to address…
CNSTAT Releases Report on a 21st Century National Data Infrastructure
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) recently released the report Toward a 21st Century National Data Infrastructure: Mobilizing Information for the Common Good. The report offers an ambitious vision and roadmap for bringing the U.S. data infrastructure in line with the nation’s need for reliable, accessible statistics and social and economic research. During a recent seminar celebrating CNSTAT’s 50th anniversary, CNSTAT Chair Robert Groves of Georgetown University offered additional context for the report, noting the convergence of increasing survey costs, all-time low response rates, and the unprecedented amount of digital data now…