A staple since COSSA’s 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.
COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, March 9-10 – Register Today!
Registration remains open for the 2015 COSSA Annual Meeting and Social and Behavioral Science Advocacy Day scheduled for March 9-10, 2015 in Washington, DC. The meeting is open to the public; however, the advocacy day meetings are reserved for representatives of COSSA member organizations and institutions. The COSSA Annual Meeting brings together representatives from throughout the social and behavioral science community for a day of discussion on federal issues impacting social and behavioral science research. It provides an opportunity for COSSA members and others to engage directly with leaders of federal science agencies, Congressional staff, and colleagues from other associations and institutions.
Congressional Committees Take Shape
Congressional committees with oversight for funding and policy issues impacting social and behavioral science have continued to take shape over the last few weeks. The 114th Congress was sworn in on January 6, though not all of the committees have officially chosen their chairs and ranking members. A number of committee organizational meetings are occurring this week, at which time the membership rolls and leadership appointments will be approved. You can stay apprised of the most current committee leadership appointments here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
President’s FY 2016 Budget Request Expected February 2
Reminder: the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request to Congress will be released on Monday, February 2. The release of the President’s budget serves as the unofficial kick-off to the annual appropriations process. Following its release, the next several weeks and months will see a flurry of Congressional hearings featuring Executive Branch officials on the details of the budget. COSSA will release its analysis of the request as it relates to federal agencies and programs of interest to the social and behavioral science community in the coming weeks. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Rebecca Blank Named 2015 Moynihan Prize Winner
The American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS), a COSSA member, has named Rebecca Blank, Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, winner of the 2015 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize. The prize is awarded annually to individuals “who use sound analysis and social science research to inform public policy, while also contributing to the public discourse on society’s most pressing issues.” Among her many contributions, Blank is being recognized for her work at the U.S. Department of Commerce, as a member of the Council of Economic Advisors during the Clinton Administration, and during her various faculty positions. Blank will give…
NRC Committee on Law and Justice Seeks New Director
The National Academies’ National Research Council (NRC) is conducting a search for a new board director for its Committee on Law and Justice. Established in 1975, the Committee’s mission is to “improve research methods and information to inform and support the development of national and state-level criminal justice policy, and to extend and help advance criminological and criminal justice research.” The director will work with the Committee Chair, senior staff, and Committee members to “provide intellectual leadership by identifying current and emerging issues in criminal justice; develop workshops, conferences, and studies by separate panels of experts; and seek funds for…
Nominations Sought for Science Communication Awards
The National Academies’ Keck Futures Initiative has issued a call for nominations for its 2015 Communication Awards. Prizes in the amount of $20,000 are given to individuals or teams “who have developed creative, original works that address issues and advances in science, engineering and/or medicine for the general public” in four categories: book, film/radio/television, magazine/newspaper, and online. More information, including nomination instructions and eligibility criteria, is available on the Futures Initiative website. The deadline for nominations is February 9, 2015. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NSF: Resource Implementations for Data Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences
The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate is seeking proposals to develop large-scale data resources and analytic techniques to advance fundamental SBE research. Successful proposals will aim to create databases or techniques that will enable SBE research that would not otherwise have been possible and should have impacts across multiple fields or within broad disciplinary areas. Proposals are due February 23, 2015. The full solicitation is available on the NSF website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
APA Seeks New Executive Director for Science
The American Psychological Association (APA), a COSSA Governing Member, is looking for its next Executive Director for Science (see here). Former COSSA Executive Committee Chair Steven Breckler vacated the position and left APA in late 2014; Howard Kurtzman, current deputy, is serving as the acting executive director until the new head is named. The position oversees the APA Science Directorate. Applications are sought by March 13. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Events Calendar
Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Meeting, Long Beach, CA, February 26-28, 2015 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, March 3-7, 2015 Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations Annual Meeting, New Brunswick, NJ, March 5-7, 2015 COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, Washington, DC, March 9-10, 2015 American Psychosomatic Society Annual Scientific Meeting, Savannah, GA, March 18-21, 2015 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, March 19-21, 2015 Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, March 25-29, 2015 Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, March 26-29, 2015 Midwest Sociological Society…
NIH: Four Opportunities in the Science of Behavior Change
Human behavior accounts for approximately 40 percent of the risk associated with preventable premature deaths in the U.S. Researchers are beginning to make progress in understanding some of the basic mechanisms that account for less-than-optimal initiation and maintenance of behavior change. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) via its Common Fund supports a Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) program initiative that “seeks to promote basic research on the initiation, personalization and maintenance of behavior change” (see Update, February 10, 2014). By integrating work across disciplines, the agency believes that this effort will lead to an improved understanding of the underlying…
Science and Human Rights Coalition Explores the Risks and Promise of Big Data
The AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition, of which COSSA is a member, held its biannual meeting on January 15, focusing on the connections between Big Data and Human Rights. The Coalition brings together organizations and individuals who recognized a role for scientists and engineers in human rights.
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 1
From the Executive Director Featured News COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, March 9-10 – Registration now open Congressional News 114th Congress Gavels In; Committee Leaders Appointed Federal Agency & Administration News President’s FY 2016 Budget Request to be Released February 2 SACHRP Seeks Nominations for New Members Public Comment Sought for Death Master File Certification Program Profile of New BEA Director in Amstat News Publications & Community Events NRC Roundtable Discusses Need for Improved Public Understanding of Social Science Research Funding Opportunities NSF: Science of Learning Collaborative Networks NIH: BD2K Biomedical Science Training Coordination Center NIH: BD2K MOOC on…
From the Executive Director
Happy 2015! COSSA is thrilled to kick-off the New Year with a brand new logo, look, and website. Check it out at www.cossa.org, where you will also find the latest news and analysis of policy developments impacting social and behavioral science research, archives of the COSSA Washington Update, details on the upcoming COSSA Annual Meeting and Advocacy Day (more below), information on how to become a COSSA member, and much more. We are looking forward to working with you in the year ahead to promote social and behavioral science research! Wendy A. Naus COSSA Executive Director Back to this issue’s…
COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, March 9-10 – Registration now open
Registration is now open for the 2015 COSSA Annual Meeting and Social and Behavioral Science Advocacy Day scheduled for March 9-10, 2015 in Washington, DC. The meeting is open to the public; however, the advocacy day meetings are reserved for representatives of COSSA member organizations and institutions. The COSSA Annual Meeting brings together representatives from throughout the social and behavioral science community for a day of discussion on federal issues impacting social and behavioral science research. It provides an opportunity for COSSA members and others to engage directly with leaders of federal science agencies, Congressional staff, and colleagues from other associations and…
114th Congress Gavels In; Committee Leaders Appointed
The 114th Congress was officially sworn in on January 6. The new Congress includes a freshman class of 52 Representatives (36 Republicans and 16 Democrats) and 12 Senators (11 Republicans and 1 Democrat), as well as a new GOP majority in the Senate. The party split now stands at 246 Republicans to 188 Democrats (and 1 vacancy) in the House and 54 Republicans, 44 Democrats, and 2 Independents in the Senate.
President’s FY 2016 Budget Request to Be Released February 2
In an effort to promote a return of the annual appropriations process to “regular order,” the White House announced that it will release its fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request to Congress by the legally-mandated deadline of the first Monday in February (February 2). This will be the first time in five years that the request is submitted on time; the request was released several weeks late in previous years. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
SACHRP Seeks Nominations for New Members
The Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections (SACHRP), the advisory body of the Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP), is seeking nominations to fill two spots that will become vacant in July 2015. The Committee provides guidance on matters “relating to the responsible conduct of research involving human subjects with particular emphasis on special populations such as neonates and children, prisoners, the decisionally impaired, pregnant women, embryos and fetuses, individuals and populations in international studies, populations in which there are individually identifiable samples, data or information; and investigator conflicts of interest.” Qualified candidates will possess expertise and experience in…
Public Comment Sought for Death Master File Certification Program
On December 30, the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register for the establishment of a certification program to “certify” persons to access Death Master File (DMF) information about an individual within three years of that individual’s death. The new program would replace the temporary certification program in place since 2013. The deadline for comments has been extended to March 30. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Profile of New BEA Director in Amstat News
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Director Brian Moyer was recently profiled in Amstat News, the membership newsletter of the American Statistical Association (ASA). The piece gives readers a closer look at the new BEA head, whose tenure began in September 2014, as well as a deeper understanding of the agency itself. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NRC Roundtable Discusses Need for Improved Public Understanding of Social Science Research
On January 8, the National Research Council (NRC) Roundtable on the Application of Social and Behavioral Science Research convened its first meeting. Chaired by Arthur “Skip” Lupia from the University of Michigan, the Roundtable brings together a diverse set of stakeholders in the social and behavioral science community to discuss ways to improve public understanding of social science research as well as the research community’s understanding of the uses of research by various sectors, such as industry, military, or public health. Membership includes “those who create SBS research, those who use it, and those who know how to communicate about…