A staple since COSSAās 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.Ā
Events Calendar
Building Strength in Numbers: How Do Early Interventions in Math Instruction Add Up?Ā Washington, DC, September 25, 2015 Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Denver, CO, October 15-18, 2015 Evaluation 2015, Chicago, IL, November 7-15, 2015 North American Regional Science Council Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, November 11-14, 2015 Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Fall Research Conference, Miami, FL, November 12-14, 2015 Social Science History Association Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, November 12-15, 2015 Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Convention, Chicago, IL, November 13-15, 2015 American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, November 18-22, 2015 American Society…
White House SBS Team Issues Inaugural Report; President Signs Executive Order
On September 15, President Obama signed an Executive Order calling on federal agencies and departments to use ābehavioral science insightsā to ādesign government policies to better serve the American people.ā The order comes as the Social and Behavioral Sciences Team (SBST), a team of about a dozen behavioral scientists within the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), issued its first annual report. SBST was established in 2014 as a mechanism for testing and applying social and behavioral science interventions to make government programs more efficient and more accessible. The team is chaired by the White House Office of Science and…
Advocates Call for Budget Deal as End of Fiscal Year Nears
One week out from the start of fiscal year (FY) 2016 and Congress has yet to decide on a path forward for funding the government that will not result in a government shutdown come October 1. A continuing resolution (CR) must be enacted in the next week to allow Congress the time it needs to complete the 12 outstanding FY 2016 appropriations bills. Language of a short term CR could surface in the Senate as early as today. Even still, with the arrival of Pope Francis in the nationās capital this week and a short Congressional break to observe Yom…
Senior Leadership Changes Occurring at NIH
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have been experiencing a turnover in the leadership over the past month as several long-term directors have decided to retire and/or move on to new endeavors. Ā In August, Alan Guttmacher, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), announced his plans to retire at the end of September. The Friends of NICHD paid tribute to Guttmacher on September 15 with a farewell breakfast in recognition of his dedication and leadership in advancing science and improving human health and well-being. COSSA serves on the Friends Executive Committee. As director of one…
NIH Releases Precision Medicine Initiative Framework for Cohort of One Million
On September 17, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) presented its recommended design framework for building a national research participant group, or ācohort,ā of one million or more Americans, that would be part of the President’s proposed Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) (see Update, April 21, 2015 and June 15,2015). In a statement accepting the ACD’s recommendations, NIH Director Francis Collins pointed to the need to remain nimble and adaptable as the Initiative progresses. The agency intends to move quickly to build the necessary infrastructure so that participants can begin enrolling in the cohort in…
Perez-Stable Joins NIMHD Participates in First Advisory Council Meeting
Just two weeks into his new position, newly appointed National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) director Eliseo Perez-Stable presided over his first meeting of the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NACMHD) on September 17. Perez-Stable was appointed by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis S. Collins in April (See Update, May 4, 2015). Perez-Stable shared his excitement to be at the NIH and his appreciation for the opportunity to work on a topic that he is passionate about. As a resident, he was interested in Latino health care, particularly patient-doctor communication styles,…
Funding Opportunity Announcements
NIH Opportunities: NIA/NINR: Research on Informal and Formal Caregiving for Alzheimer’s Disease (R01) (PAR-15-348) NIA: Health Disparities and Alzheimer’s Disease (R01) (PAR-15-349) NIA: Emerging Directions for Addressing Health Disparities in Alzheimer’s Disease (R03) (PAR-15-350) NIA/NINR: Research on Informal and Formal Caregiving for Alzheimer’s Disease (R21) (PAR-15-351) NIAAA: Integrative Neuroscience Initiative on Alcoholism (INIA) Consortia (Collaborative U01) (RFA-AA-16-004) NIAAA: Integrative Neuroscience Initiative on Alcoholism (INIA) Consortia Research Resource Core (U24) (RFA-AA-16-005) NIAAA: Integrative Neuroscience Initiative on Alcoholism (INIA) Consortia Administrative Resource Core (U24)Ā (RFA-AA-16-006) NIA: Aging Research on Stress and Resilience to Address Health Disparities in the United States (R01) (RFA-AG-16-022) NCI:…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 16
Featured News Congress Returns for a Busy Fall COSSA in Action COSSA Comments on NSF Reauthorization; Senate Seeks Input on STEM Workforce Federal Agency & Administration News HHS Releases Proposed Updates to the Common Rule White House Chief Data Scientist Seeks Input NIH Plans for Redirection of National Childrenās Study Funds OAR Outlines Overarching AIDS Research Priorities; Studies of Behavior and Social Conditions with Multiple Negative Outcomes Deemed Low Priority NIH Issues Guidelines for HIV/AIDS Research Priorities Publications & Community Events AAAS Seeks Stories on the Importance of Scientific Conferences Funding Opportunity Announcements Events Calendar
Congress Returns for a Busy Fall
Following a month-long August recess, Congress returns to work this week to a full agenda of must-pass items. At the top of the list will be passing a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded and avert a shutdown come October 1. However, unrelated controversies dealing with Planned Parenthood and the Confederate flag will likely make the road to a CR difficult in the coming weeks. Assuming we get to October 1 without the government shutting down, the next big issue on the agenda is brokering some sort of deal to reverse or at least mitigate the impacts of…
AAAS Seeks Stories on the Importance of Scientific Conferences
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is soliciting stories about the value scientific conferences bring to collaboration and the progress of science. As you may know, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued government-wide regulations in 2012 that put hard caps on the amounts federal agencies can spend on conference participation and travel. Congress put further restrictions in place, specifically for international conferences. All of this has resulted in the proliferation of onerous and timely approval processes for travel requests by federal employees and ultimately a major decline in attendance by scientists who work for…
Events Calendar
Economic History Association Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN, September 11-13, 2015 Innovations in Research: Collaborations & Transformations, Cleveland, OH, September 16, 2015 NIH Priority Setting: How Peer Review Assists NIH in Selecting the Best Science, Washington, DC, September 22, 2015 Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Denver, CO, October 15-18, 2015 Evaluation 2015, Chicago, IL, November 7-15, 2015 North American Regional Science Council Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, November 11-14, 2015 Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Fall Research Conference, Miami, FL, November 12-14, 2015 Social Science History Association Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, November 12-15, 2015 Association for Behavioral…
COSSA Comments on NSF Reauthorization; Senate Seeks Input on STEM Workforce
As previously reported, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee spent the summer engaging with scientific stakeholders to inform possible reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act, or legislation authorizing the National Science Foundation (NSF). In July, the Committee put out a request for input on the topic of āMaximizing the Impact of Basic Research.ā COSSA submitted detailed comments to the Committee on August 14. The Committee is now seeking input on the topic of āBuilding a STEM Workforce.ā Interested parties are invited to comment on any/all of the following questions: How does the availability of STEM graduates affect corporate decision-making…
Funding Opportunity Announcements
NIJ: Graduate Research Fellowship Program in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (NIJ-2016-4321) NSF: Resource Implementations for Data Intensive Research in the Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences (RIDIR) (NSF 15-602) NIH opportunities: NCI: Sustained Support for Informatics Resources for Cancer Research and Management (U24) (PAR-15-333) NCI: Advanced Development of Informatics Technologies for Cancer Research and Management (U24) (PAR-15-331) NCI: Early-Stage Development of Informatics Technologies for Cancer Research and Management (U01) (PAR-15-332) NCI: Development of Innovative Informatics Methods and Algorithms for Cancer Research and Management (R21) (PAR-15-334) NCI: NCI Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (NCI Omnibus R21) (PAR-15-340) NIAID/NIMH: Ethical, Legal and Policy…
White House Chief Data Scientist Seeks Input
Embracing the use of data to improve government function and its interaction with people, the Obama Administration established the position of Chief Data Scientist (CDS) in February.Ā DJ Patil joined the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in February as Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Data Policy and Chief Data Scientist. Patil is credited with helping to coin the term ādata scientist.ā The former Vice President of Product at RelateIQ, Patil has also held positions at LinkedIn, Greylock Partners, Skype, PayPal, and eBay. Ā Prior to his stint in the private sector, he worked at the Department of…
NIH Issues Guidelines for HIV/AIDS Research Priorities
In August, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a Notice, NIH HIV/AIDS Research Priorities and Guidelines for Determining AIDS Funding (NOT-OD-15-137), outlining its overarching HIV/AIDS research priorities along with the guidelines the agency will use to determine AIDS funding for the next three to five years beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2016 (see related story).Ā NIHās Office of AIDS Research (OAR) is legislatively mandated to coordinate, plan, evaluate, and budget for the agencyās AIDS research program (see Update, June 16, 2014). The notice highlights NIHās overarching HIV/AIDS research priorities: Research to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS, including the development…
OAR Outlines Overarching AIDS Research Priorities; Studies of Behavior and Social Conditions with Multiple Negative Outcomes Deemed Low Priority
At the September 1 meeting of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic InitiativesĀ (DPCPSI) Council of Councils, Acting Associate Director for AIDS Research and Acting Director for the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) Robert Eisinger provided the Council with an update on OARās activities, including the recent release of NIHās high-priority areas of HIV/AIDS research and accompanying guidelines for determining funding for this research (see related story). Eisinger highlighted NIH director Francis Collinsā August 12 statement extolling the āextraordinary progress that has been made in HIV/AIDS research over the past 34 years, transforming what…
HHS Releases Proposed Updates to the Common Rule
The Department of Health and Human Services has released its proposal to update the regulations that govern research involving human subjects (the Common Rule). The long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) explains the proposed changes and poses a number of questions for which the department is seeking public comment, to be submitted within 90 days of the NPRMās publication. The Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) plans to hold several webinars in the coming weeks to explain the changes as well as an in-person town hall meeting in Washington, DC in October. The Common Rule has not been updated since…
NIH Plans for Redirection of National Childrenās Study Funds
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak provided an update on the āredirectionā of National Childrenās Study (NCS) appropriated funding at the September 1 meeting of the NIH Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic InitiativesĀ (DPCPSI) Council of Councils. Despite the NIHās discontinuation of the NCS, in FY 2015, Congress provided $165 million for the study with direction to the agency to continue to support the mission and goals of the study, along with flexibility on how to carry this task out. Tabak announced that the awards associated with this funding will be made in September. As…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 15
Featured News Congress is Home for Summer Break. Tell them #WhySocialScience COSSA in Action COSSAās State Funding Fact Sheets Now Updated with FY 2013 Data Congressional News Evidence-Based Policymaking Bill Advances through House Federal Agency & Administration News William T. Riley Appointed NIH OBSSR Director NIH Office of Extramural Research Releases 2013-2014 Report NIH Releases Alzheimerās Disease Bypass Budget Proposal for FY 2017 Publications & Community Events AAAS Calls for Nominations for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award DBASSE Seeks Science Education Program Officer AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellows to Host Live Chat Funding Opportunity Announcements COSSA Member Spotlight Congressional…