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
SSRC Opens Applications for Visual Sociology Prize
The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is seeking applicants for the Rachel Tanur Memorial Prize for Visual Sociology. The prize recognizes students in the social sciences who incorporate visual analysis in their work and encourages students to work with photography as a visual medium in their study and understanding of social phenomena. The contest is open worldwide to undergraduate and graduate students in the social sciences. Students must be enrolled in their undergraduate or graduate program at the time of application. The deadline for applications is February 4, 2025. Learn more about the prize and the application process here. SSRC is a COSSA…
President-Elect Trump and a New Majority Congress: 2025 Policy Outlook
With the results of the 2024 Presidential election cycle nearing completion, Former President Donald Trump pulled out an electoral victory with 312 electoral college votes compared to Vice President Kamala Harrisâs 226. In addition, Republicans outperformed expectations in the Congressional races, taking control of the Senate and still in contention to hold on to the majority in the House (although not all races have been called), potentially giving President-elect Trump an ideal landscape in which to enact his policy agenda after the transition. Presidential Transition With the presidential race decided, attention now turns to the presidential transition. The President-elect has…
Deadline Extended: NSF Seeking Input on Research Ethics
In September, the National Science Foundation (NSF) issued a Dear Colleague Letter requesting public input into the agencyâs efforts to improve its merit review process to mitigate the potential harms of emerging technologies as required by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. The deadline for the Request for Information (RFI) has been extended to December 13 in response to feedback requesting more time. The RFI contains several guiding questions to assist with public response, such as: âDescribe ethical, social, safety, and/or security risks from current or emerging research activities that you believe might be of concern to the community, profession, or organization…
BLS and Census Bureau Pause Decrease in CPS Sample Size Following Friends of BLS Letter
As previously reported by COSSA, the Friends of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) coalition sent a letter urging the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to modernize the Current Population Survey (CPS) with additional funding in FY 2025. On October 29, BLS and the Census Bureau, who jointly sponsor the survey, announced that they have paused intent to decrease the CPS sample size in January 2025. A $6 million anomaly in the continuing resolution (CR) passed by Congress in late September (see previous COSSA coverage here) was provided to fund the sample size assuming the funding remains in any final bills or future CRâs passed by Congress…
COSSA Participating in Development of New Vision for U.S. Science and Technology
Throughout the fall, a task force of more than 60 leaders in science, technology, industry, government, and philanthropy has been meeting to discuss and develop a new Vision for American Science and Technology (VAST). The bipartisan group includes representatives spanning the various sectors that touch the U.S. scientific enterprise. The near-term goal is to develop a draft of the vision that can be shared with the incoming Presidential Administration and Congress in the coming weeks with the final vision slated to be complete by early 2025. COSSA Executive Director Wendy Naus is serving on the Task Force. According to a press release, the…
CNSTAT Releases Eighth Edition of Principles & Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency
The Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has released the eighth edition of Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency, a report released every four years to coincide with presidential terms. The consensus study report provides an explanation of the federal statistical system and offers guiding principles and best practices for federal statistical agencies. While the practices and principles remain largely the same as past versions (see previous COSSA coverage), the most recent report includes updated information on the changes made to the federal statistical system in the past four years. The…
SRCD Accepting Applications for Policy Fellowship Program
The Society for Research Development (SRCD) is accepting applications for their U.S Policy Fellowship Program. This fellowship provides postdoctoral placements for postdoctoral child development experts for one to two years in a US federal or state agency, or a congressional agency, with a focus on child and family policy. Fellows work in fast paced environments on policy implementation programs, drafting memos, developing research funding, and more. SRCD is seeking researchers that are passionate about evidence-based policymaking, who are open to learning, and want to explore policy-related fields. Interested applicants can apply here. The application process includes a written portion, an interview, and a match-making…
Preparing for Next Week’s Elections: Content from COSSA!
In anticipation of next week’s elections, we wanted to share some of our past Why Social Science? posts and Headlines webinars to help you navigate the next few days. Why Social Science? COSSA Headlines Webinars In our recent COSSA Washington Update, we compiled a list of Competitive Elections for the SBS Community to Watch where you can find some races that will have an effect on our community. The article also includes links to the Cook Political Reports where you can keep a close eye on the races. We also recommend another tracker from The Hill to keep a close…
REGISTER NOW: Headlines Webinars continue November 19
Last Spring, the White House released a seminal report detailing the important contributions the social and behavioral sciences make to addressing some of the nationâs most pressing challenges and promoting better use of social and behavioral science research in evidence-based policymaking across the federal government. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released the Blueprint for the Use of Social and Behavioral Science to Advance Evidence-Based Policymaking in May following two years of work by social and behavioral science experts from across federal agencies and departments. Join COSSA on November 19 for a discussion with Kei Koizumi, OSTP Principal Deputy…
Congress: Competitive Elections for the SBS Community to Watch
As November 5 rapidly approaches, Congress is likely to see some leadership changes in both the House and the Senate. With a current slim majority in both chambers, competitive races have Democrats and Republicans battling for control. The 2024 CPR Senate Race Ratings from the Cook Political Report details the Senate races that are competitive, including Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Significantly more Democrat-held seats are in competitive races than Republican-held seats in the Senate. Similarly, the 2024 CPR House Race Ratings from the Cook Political Report details the House races that are competitive, including races in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado,…
Social Scientists, STEM Education Experts to Join National Science Board
On October 15, President Biden announced his intent to appoint the newest class of National Science Board members, which includes sociologist and former White House official Alondra Nelson. The National Science Board (NSB) is the policy-making body of the National Science Foundation (NSF) that also serves as an independent advisor to the President and Congress on federal science policy. The board consists of 24 members who serve staggered six-year terms and new members are appointed by the President. Alondra Nelson is a sociologist who served as the first Deputy Director for Science and Society at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)…
The Reestablished NIH Scientific Management Review Board Schedules First Meeting
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has reestablished the Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB) to review the agency’s structure and research portfolio and make recommendations to the NIH director. While SMRB was originally created by Congress in 2006, the review board hasnât met or issued any reports since 2015 (see previous COSSA coverage). In response to growing Congressional criticism of the NIH, including Republican discontent about the handling of COVID-19 (see previous COSSA coverage), SMRB has scheduled their initial meeting for November 12 to review the NIHâs mission, structure, and budget as well as SMRBâs history and future directions. Notably,…
OBSSR Releases 2025-2029 Strategic Plan
On October 15, the National Institutes of Healthâs (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) released its Strategic Plan for 2025-2029. This is OBSSRâs fourth strategic plan in its 27-year history. The plan, which was developed over the last three years with input from the stakeholder community, also reflects recommendations made in recent years by two NIH Council of Councils working groups on Trans-NIH Research Opportunities in the Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences (2021) and Integration of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research at NIH (2022). The new strategic plan emphasizes health equity as a crosscutting theme and identifies three research priorities: (1) Coordinating and promoting…
NASEM Calls for Experts for Study on Disabilities in STEM Workforce
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has put out a call for experts to participate in a study focused on increasing knowledge about barriers, solutions, and policies facing people with disabilities to advance a robust STEM workforce and STEM education workforce. NASEM staff is looking to build a team of approximately 12-16 volunteers whose tasks will include collecting information on potential speakers, participants, and peer reviewers for any publications regarding this study. NASEM is seeking experts in the following areas: disability studies, STEM career development, STEM and STEM education workforce, employment law, disability accommodations for academic and…
Congress on the Campaign Trail
Congress departed for the campaign trail on October 1 after passing a continuing resolution (CR) to extend the appropriations deadline to December 20 (see previous COSSA coverage). Expected to return on November 12 after the elections, Congress will return ready to draft the final appropriations bills or seek a second CR to allow for the new Congressional session to take the helm. Stay tuned to COSSAâs continued coverage of Congressional news.
NSF Researchers Awarded Physics Nobel Prize
John Hopfield at Princeton University and Geoffrey Hinton at the University of Toronto, Canada were awarded the physics Nobel Prize for their research on artificial neural networks. The Nobel laureates received several funding grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), including Hintonâs award for the Search Methods for Massively Parallel Networks from the Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science (AICS) program, to support this work. Following the announcement, NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan praised, “The laureates brought their understanding of the fundamental physical workings of nature into a new realm and created an entirely new foundation that has led to what we…
NIJ Seeks Input into Public Access Plan
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), is seeking stakeholder input into the development of its Public Access Plan. NIJ is interested in hearing from NIJ grantees, criminal justice practitioners, researchers, publishers, and other interested parties. Development of the plan aligns with the Biden Administrationâs 2022 directive that federal agencies make peer-reviewed publications resulting from federal funding freely available to the public immediately following publication. However, it is important to note that given its size, NIJ is not required to comply with the 2022 memorandum, unlike larger federal science agencies (e.g., National Institute of…
NASEM Publishes Follow-Up on State of Science Address
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recently published an update to President Marcia McNuttâs State of Science address in which they reemphasized her main points from the speech, and brought in guest authors to expand on what is needed to improve the U.S. research enterprise (see previous COSSA coverage). This collection of articles includes: âK-12 Educationâ by Alexandra Fuentes; âAddressing Red Tapeâ by Matt Owens; âBidirectional Collaborationâ by James Manyika; âCultivating Trustâ by J. Marshall Shepherd; and âLearning to Listenâ by Stephanie Diem. In McNuttâs State of Science address, encouraging innate childhood curiosity was linked to strengthening…
Research!America Requesting Proposals for 2024-25 Civic Engagement Microgrants Program
Research!America announced the application period for its Civic Engagement Microgrant Program is now open. The program awards grants of up to $4,000 to graduate student and postdoc-led groups in STEM (including social science) to design projects that create dialogue with public officials, local community leaders, and the public around issues of common concern. These funds provide opportunities for grantees to develop skills in areas such as communication and program planning, along with an understanding of public policy and government to have an impact in their local communities. Applications are due November 4, 2024. More details are available on Research!Americaâs website.