A staple since COSSAâs earliest days, the biweekly COSSA Washington Update newsletter provides members and the public with comprehensive coverage of policy developments impacting social and behavioral science research.Â
Funding Opportunity Announcements
NIFA: Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (USDA-NIFA-ICGP-005517) AHRQ: Increasing Access to Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) in Rural Primary Care Practices (R18) (RFA-HS-16-001) NIJ: Research on Measurement of Teen Dating Violence (NIJ-2016-9001) HRSA: Bridging the Word Gap Challenge NIH: Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program NIH: Notice to Extend PAR-13-055 Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R01) (NOT-CA-16-006) [NCI, NCCIH, NHLBI, NHGRI, NIA, NIAAA, NIAID, NICHD, NIDCD, NIDCR, NIDDK, NIDA, NINDS, NIMH, NIMHD, NINR, and OBSSR] NIH: Notice to Extend PAR-13-054 Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R21)Â (NOT-CA-16-007) [NIMH, NCI, NHGRI, NIA, NIAAA, NIAID, NICHD, NIDCD, NIDCR, NIDA, NINDS,…
NIH Launches Next Phase of ECHO/Childrenâs Study Follow-On
On December 7, National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins announced the next funding phase of the agencyâs Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, which includes seven new funding opportunity announcements (FOAs). ECHO is designed to comport with the goals of the National Childrenâs Study (NCS) (see Update, November 3, 2015) and is being implemented via a series of funding opportunity announcements (FOAs). It is expected that the ECHO program will be supported by and build on recent awards NIH made in September (see Update, September 4, 2015). A nationwide search is underway for an ECHO program manager. In the…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 22
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, this is an abbreviated edition of the COSSA Washington Update. We will be back on Tuesday, December 15 for our last issue of the year. Featured News Deadline for Comments on Common Rule NPRM Extended Federal Agency & Administration News BEA Releases State-Level Consumer Spending Data NIH Issues Notice Clarifying its Health Economics Research Priorities NIH Issues Funding Opportunity to Support the PMI Cohort Program Direct Volunteer Pilot Studies COSSA Member Spotlight COSSA Members Respond to OBSSR Strategic Plan Events Calendar
BEA Releases State-Level Consumer Spending Data
For the first time, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will begin regularly releasing official statistics detailing consumer spending by state. The data will include total consumer spending in each state, breakouts of consumer spending in specific categories and sectors, and per-capita consumer spending from 1997 through 2014. BEA began releasing prototype estimates in 2014; previously, only national consumer-spending data was available. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
Deadline for Comments on Common Rule NPRM Extended
The Department of Health and Human Services has announced that it will extend the period for public comment on the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) for the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (otherwise known as the Common Rule) by 30 days. The new deadline is January 6, 2016. A summary of the major changes to the regulations proposed in the NPRM is available here. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
NIH Issues Notice Clarifying its Health Economics Research Priorities
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a Guide Notice on November 25, to âclarify NIH policy related to funding health economics research,â in an effort to delineate NIHâs âpriority areas of health economics research as well as reach aims that generally fall outside of the NIH mission.â The notice is part of an ongoing issue that dates back to 2012 Congressional language in the Fiscal Year 2013 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill that bans the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from supporting economics research. Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) responded to the language, along with 82…
NIH Issues Funding Opportunity to Support the PMI Cohort Program Direct Volunteer Pilot Studies
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking proposals for pilot studies and âthe needed information technology support for the development of the Direct Volunteer component of the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Cohort Program.â The agency plans to build a ânational research cohort of one million or more volunteers who are engaged as partners in a longitudinal, long-term effort to identify the molecular, environmental and behavioral factors that contribute to diverse diseases, to facilitate the development and testing of novel therapies and prevention approaches, and to pioneer mHealth [mobile health] strategies for improving the efficacy of health care.â To that…
COSSA Members Respond to OBSSR Strategic Plan
Several COSSA member organizations responded to the recent National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) Request for Information (RFI) regarding its 2016-2020 Strategic Plan (see Update, November 3, 2015). In addition to stressing the challenges and opportunities for the behavioral sciences, the groups emphasize the need for continued leadership by OBSSR within NIH and the federal government. Below are highlights from the comments submitted by the American Educational Research Association (AERA), American Psychological Association (APA), the Population Association of America/Association of Population Centers (PAA/APC), and the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM).
Events Calendar
American Economic Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, January 3-5, 2016 Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting, New York, NY, January 6-9, 2016 American Historical Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, January 7-10, 2016 Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, January 7-10, 2016 Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting, San Juan, PR, January 7-9, 2016 Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, Washington, DC, January 13-17, 2016 Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Convention, San Diego, CA, January 28-30, 2016 American Psychosomatic Society Annual Scientific Meeting, Denver, CO, March 9-12, 2016 COSSA Annual Meeting & Social…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 21
Featured News Save the Date: COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, March 15-16 Congressional News Sam Farr, Ranking Member on House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, Announces Retirement Federal Agency & Administration News NIH Seeks Input for Alzheimerâs Disease-Related Dementia 2016 Plan NIDA Announces New Challenge: âAddiction Research: Thereâs an App for thatâ NCATS Issues RFI for Input into Strategic Plan OBSSR Hosts Seminar on Video Games and Neuroscience COSSA Member Spotlight COSSA Members among Worldâs Top 100 Social Science Universities AERA Hold Annual Brown Lecture on âIndigenous Pathways toward Justiceâ Events Calendar
Save the Date: COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, March 15-16
COSSA will hold its 2016 Annual Meeting and Social and Behavioral Science Advocacy Day on March 15 and 16 in Washington, DC. The meeting brings together more than 100 members of the social and behavioral science community and provides a platform for COSSA members to engage with leaders of federal agencies, Congressional staff, and colleagues from across the science and higher education communities. The meeting on March 15 will take place at the George Washington University Marvin Center and will feature updates from leaders at federal science agencies and panels highlighting issues impacting the social and behavioral science community. On…
Sam Farr, Ranking Member on House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, Announces Retirement
Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) announced his retirement from Congress at the end of his term after 22 years in the House. Farr is the Ranking Member on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. As Ranking Member, Farr has been a vocal advocate for agricultural science and statistics, memorably speaking out on the House floor against a proposed amendment to cut funding for the Economic Research Service (ERS) in 2014. It remains to be seen who will fill Farrâs spot. Currently, only three other Democrats serve on the Subcommittee. Back to this…
NIH Seeks Input for Alzheimerâs Disease-Related Dementia 2016 Plan
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institute on Aging (NIA), and the Office of Disease Prevention (ODP) within the National Institutes of Health recently released a time-sensitive requestâfor-information (RFI) (NOT-NS-15-045) seeking the input of the scientific and broader community regarding the âmost important needs and promising opportunities for researchâ on Alzheimerâs Disease-Related Dementia (ADRD). The information received will be used to update the National Plan to Address Alzheimerâs Disease, which is congressionally mandated to be updated annually (see Update, August 10, 2015). Additionally, the RFI announces a March 29-30, 2016 ADRD 2016 Summit sponsored by NINDS…
NIDA Announces New Challenge: âAddiction Research: Thereâs an App for thatâ
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced a new Challenge/Prize Competition, “Addiction Research: There’s an App for that.” The objective for the challenge is to âpromote the development of innovative mobile applications (apps) for future addiction studies.â According to the notice, three prizes may be awarded: $50,000 (first place); $30,000 (second place); and $20,000 (third place). The NIDA Challenge is enabled by the DHHS IDEA Lab program. Challenge partners include U.S. General Services Administration; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Sage Bionetworks;…
NCATS Issues RFI for Input into Strategic Plan
The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking the scientific communityâs input into the development of its five-year strategic plan. This is NCATSâ first strategic plan since its creation in the National Institutes of Health Reform Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-482). Accordingly, NCATS has issued a request for information (RFI), âSoliciting Input for the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) Strategic Planning Processâ (NOT-TR-16-002). NCATS âfocuses on what is common across diseases and the translational processâ emphasizing âinnovation and deliverables, relying on the power of data and new technologies to…
COSSA Members among Worldâs Top 100 Social Science Universities
The London-based magazine Times Higher Education has released its 2015-2016 World University Rankings for the social sciences. The U.S. leads in terms of number of universities represented, with 43 in the top 100, 35 of which are COSSA member universities. COSSA congratulates all the universities and colleges that made the list. In an article accompanying the rankings, James Wilsdon, chair of the UKâs Campaign for Social Science, suggests that the relative dominance of American universities on the list should give pause to those in Congress looking to cut funding for the social and behavioral sciences. âIf I was [looking at…
AERA Hold Annual Brown Lecture on âIndigenous Pathways toward Justiceâ
Teresa L. McCarty, professor of education and anthropology and world-renowned scholar on indigenous language planning, policy, education, and revitalization, presented the 2015 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Brown Lecture in Education Research, âSo That Any Child May SucceedâIndigenous Pathways toward Justice and the Promise of Brown,â in October. McCarty is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles and professor emerita at Arizona State University. McCartyâs lecture considered the legacy of the 1953 Brown v. Board of Education case and the âbroader issues of education equality, in the context of research, policy, and practice in Indigenous education.â She also…
Events Calendar
American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, November 18-22, 2015 American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, November 18-21, 2015 National Communication Association Annual Convention, Las Vegas, NV, November 19-22, 2015 History of Science Society Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, November 19-22, 2015 American Economic Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, January 3-5, 2016 Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting, New York, NY, January 6-9, 2016 American Historical Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, January 7-10, 2016 Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, January 7-10, 2016 Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting, San Juan, PR, January 7-9,…
OBSSR Hosts Seminar on Video Games and Neuroscience
Neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley, University of California, San Francisco, discussed his research and what he described as âthe new frontiersâ in video games and neuroscience. The November 5 presentation was part of the NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Seminar Series, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). Gazzaley noted that humans have longed been consumed with achieving high-level performance, particularly when it comes to physical fitness. However, when it comes to the human brain and improving âthose core functions that are really fundamental to what makes us humansâhigher order cognitive ability, perception,…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 20
Featured News With Budget Deal in the Books, Work Turns to Finalizing 2016 Spending Bills Federal Agency & Administration News NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Seeks Input on 2016-2020 Strategic Plan OBSSR and AHRQ Release Population Health: Behavioral and Social Science Insights NIH Announces Plans for ECHO Program HHS Seeks Comments on New Objectives Proposed For Healthy People 2020 NCHS Releases First National Data on Electronic Cigarette Usage NIH Blog Explains NIH Commons NIA Director Reports on the Progress of Alzheimer’s Research and Funding NIA Releases 10 Funding Opportunity Announcements Focused on Alzheimerâs disease Research Publications &…