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.
NIH Issues Final Genomic Data Sharing Policy
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently issued its final NIH Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) policy designed to promote data sharing as a way to accelerate the translation of data into knowledge, products, and procedures that improve health but also protect the privacy of research participants.
NCHS and Census Release Data on Health Insurance Coverage
New statistics released by the federal government last week provide insight into the number of Americans without insurance in 2013 and the first quarter of 2014 (after the insurance coverage expansion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) had gone into effect). The Census Bureau published Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2013, based on data from the 2014 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC), which found that 42 million people, 13.4 percent of Americans, had no health insurance for the entirety of 2013.
PCORI Seeks Public Comment on Draft Peer Review and Public Release Proposal
On September 15, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute’s (PCORI) Board of Governors approved the release of the Institute’s draft plan for peer review and public release of its research, Getting the Word Out: PCORI’s Proposal for Peer Review of Primary Research and Public Release of Research Findings. The Institute is seeking comments from the public on the proposal, which may be submitted on its website through November 7, 2014. PCORI will also hold a public forum to discuss the proposal on Monday, September 29 (the event will also be available as a webinar). PCORI’s authorizing legislation mandates that the Institute…
NASS Invites Nominations to Advisory Committee
The National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) is seeking to fill six open seats on its Advisory Committee on Agricultural Statistics. The Advisory Committee “draws on the experience and expertise of its members to form a collective judgment concerning agriculture data collected and the statistics issued by NASS. This input is vital to keep current with shifting data needs in the rapidly changing agricultural environment and keeps NASS informed of emerging issues in the agriculture community that can affect agriculture statistics activities.” Members are appointed to two-year terms by the Secretary of Agriculture and represent fields and disciplines including production, agricultural…
BEA Names New Director
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has named Brian C. Moyer as its next director, effective September 21. Moyer joined BEA in 1993 and most recently served as Deputy Director and Acting Director upon the retirement of Steve Landefeld in May. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Social Scientists Honored for “Golden Goose” Ideas
On September 18, eight scientists were honored with the Golden Goose Award at a ceremony in Washington, DC. The Golden Goose Award honors scientists whose research funded by the federal government has yielded major benefits to society, which could not have been anticipated at the time of funding. COSSA congratulates this year’s awardees, which includes social scientists whose research has had profound impacts on premature infant development and federal auctions of the telecommunications spectrum. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
DOD: 2015 Minerva Funding Opportunity Released
The Office of the Secretary of Defense within the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has issued the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the 2015 Minerva Research Initiative. Established in 2008, Minerva is DOD’s signature social science research program that seeks to “improve DOD’s basic understanding of the social, cultural, behavioral, and political forces that shape regions of the world of strategic importance to the U.S.” It awards grants to university investigators and teams and funding is derived from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Army Research Office (ARO) and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). Proposals are sought across…
COSSA Joins Community in Opposing Conference Accountability Act of 2014
On September 8, COSSA joined 122 organizations representing health care providers, public health leaders, and medical researchers and the patients that benefit from their work on a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urging them to oppose S. 1347, the Conference Accountability Act of 2014.
Coalition for National Science Funding Endorses Senate COMPETES Bill
The Coalition for National Science Funding, of which COSSA is a member, has issued a statement in support of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2014 (S. 2757), which was introduced in the Senate by Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) in July. As the statement reads, “The upward funding trajectory for [the National Science Foundation] provided in this bill would go a long way toward closing the innovation deficit that has been building with recent stagnant U.S. research budgets.” COSSA issued its own statement in support of the bill in August. More information on the America COMPETES Act can…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 33 Issue 16
In this issue… Congressional Activities & News Congress Returns this Week for Short, Packed Work Period Federal Agency & Administration Activities & News NSF Seeks Social Science Public Affairs Specialist IES Seeks Input to Guide Future Educational Research Activities Census, NCHS Hold Joint Technical Meeting Ahead of Release of Insurance Coverage Data NASS Invites Suggestions for Next Census of Agriculture NIJ Seeking Researchers to Support Comprehensive School Safety Initiative NIH Seeks Input on Information Resources for Data-Related Standards Widely Used in Biomedical Science AHRQ Solicits Scientific Information on Health Information Exchange Notable Publications & Community Events Social Scientists among 2014…
Congress Returns this Week for Short, Packed Work Period
The House and Senate return to Washington this week from their month-long August recess. They have only a couple of weeks to address a number of major policy issues, such as immigration, the child migrant crisis on the border, and ongoing foreign conflicts, before both chambers adjourn again until after the November midterm elections. Among the to-dos in the coming weeks is consideration of a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the federal government operating into fiscal year (FY) 2015, which begins on October 1. The outcome of the elections weighs heavily on potential end-game strategies for the FY 2015 appropriations…
NSF Seeks Social Science Public Affairs Specialist
The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Office of Legislative and Public Affairs (OLPA) is seeking to fill a position for a public affairs specialist. The agency is particularly interested in receiving applications from qualified professionals with experience in “developing and implementing integrated communications strategies to promote basic research about social, behavioral and economic sciences to a variety of audiences and stakeholders.” The opportunity closes September 19, 2014. More information can be found on USAJOBS. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
IES Seeks Input to Guide Future Education Research Activities
The Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Education has issued a “Dear Colleague” letter soliciting public input to guide the future activities of the agency’s two research centers, the National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER). The letter states that the effort is intended to “make sure that the two centers are contributing to significant advances in research and building knowledge that is useful to education policymakers and practitioners.” Comments are due October 31, 2014. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Census, NCHS Hold Joint Technical Meeting Ahead of Release of Insurance Coverage Data
On September 16, the Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) will release the first federal statistics on health insurance coverage during the period after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The agencies held a technical meeting on August 18 to go over what will be released later this month and provide background on the methods used in the respective household surveys. Census Bureau Director John Thompson and NCHS Director Charles Rothwell introduced the meeting. A webcast is available here. Two sources of data will be used together to assess the impact of the ACA…
NASS Invites Suggestions for Next Census of Agriculture
The National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) is seeking comments from the public on changes for the 2017 Census of Agriculture. Conducted every five years, the Census provides detailed information on nearly every facet of U.S. agriculture down to the county level. In a press release, NASS Associate Administrator Renee Picanso said, “Many industries want data that we currently don’t collect…There are also some data that people think are no longer relevant with changing trends in agriculture. This is the time to express those ideas and concerns.” Comments may be submitted via an online form. NASS will notify the public before…
NIJ Seeking Researchers to Support Comprehensive School Safety Initiative
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is seeking social scientists to work in residence at NIJ and participate in the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative. The jobs are two-year details (with the option for renewal for a third year) through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) and are open to employees of federal, state, and local governmental agencies; institutions of higher education; Indian tribal governments; federally funded research and development centers; and qualified non-profit organizations. The Comprehensive School Safety Initiative is “a large-scale, integrated research effort designed to increase the safety of schools nationwide by developing knowledge about the most effective and…
NIH Seeks Input on Resources for Data-Related Standards Used in Biomedical Science
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently issued a Request for Information (RFI): Input on Information Resources for Data-Related Standards Widely Used in Biomedical Science, seeking comments and ideas to inform the consideration of an NIH Standards Information Resource (NSIR) that would collect, organize, and make available to the public trusted, systematically organized, and curated information about data-related standards.
AHRQ Solicits Scientific Information on Health Information Exchange
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Healthcare Program is soliciting submissions of scientific information to inform its review of Health Information Exchange, which AHRQ defines as the “electronic sharing of clinical information among users such as health care providers, patients, administrators or policy makers across the boundaries of health care institutions, health data repositories, States and others.” The agency is particularly interested in scientific information related to the effectiveness, harms, prevalence, facilitators and barriers, and sustainability of Health Information Exchange. More information is available in the Federal Register notice. Submissions must be received by September 29, 2014….
Social Scientists among 2014 Golden Goose Awardees
On September 18, the scientific community and policy makers will come together to celebrate the winners of this year’s Golden Goose Award at a ceremony in Washington, DC. The Golden Goose Award honors scientists whose research funded by the federal government has yielded major benefits to society, which could not have been anticipated at the time of funding. Among the 2014 awardees is a group of scientists whose research studying the impact of maternal absence on infant rats has significantly improved the ability of premature babies to thrive and has saved billions in health care costs and a group of…
DBASSE Announces New Director of Human-Systems Integration Board
Last month, the National Research Council’s Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) announced the appointment of Dr. Poornima Madhavan as the next director of the Board on Human Systems Integration (BOHSI). Madhavan comes to the National Academies from Old Dominion University, where she is associate professor of human factors in the department of psychology, as well as director of undergraduate research. BOHSI issues reports and provides expertise on a range of topics, which include “scientific and technology challenges of virtual reality, research needs for human factors, mental models of human-computer interaction, nuclear safety, the future of air…