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
White House Awards National Medal of Science to Political Scientist
At the beginning of January, President Biden announced the latest recipients of the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the nationās highest honors in science, engineering, and technology. Both awards were presented at a joint ceremony. Among the recipients of the National Medal of Science was Political Scientist Dr. Martin Larry Bartels, āfor thought leadership that promotes democracy around the world,ā according to his award citation. Bartels, Princetonās Donald E. Stokes Professor in Public and International Affairs, Emeritus, and an emeritus professor of politics, was on the Princeton faculty from 1991 to 2011. He then transferred…
DBASSE to Host Webinar Series on Assessing and Communicating the Quality of National Statistics
The Committee on National Statistics, housed within the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), is hosting a three-part series to ādiscuss approaches to characterizing and communicating the quality of national statistics and statistical dataā. As federal statistical agencies work to develop methods to more efficiently release statistical data, the committee will examine ways to communicate federal statistics as well as the quality and recommended uses of federal statistical data with the public as the use of fast response platforms and non-survey data sources grows. The sessions will…
2025 AAPOR Award Nominations are Open
The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) announced that nominations are open for their portfolio of awards to recognize distinguished work in the profession, as well as to further the education of students and early career researchers. AAPOR welcomes and encourages diversity in all aspects of the research profession, including their award nominees. Read more about each award and the submission guidelines on the AAPOR website. Submissions are due February 21, 2025.
Register Now: Social Science Advocacy Day 2025 Informational Webinar
Curious about 2025 Social Science Advocacy Day? Do you have questions or want to know more about what to expect from the event? Join us for an informational webinar! We will be hosting a session to provide an overview of Advocacy Day, how to register, answer any questions, and more. Find the Zoom link below and come with your questions! The webinar will be taking place on January 16 at 1pm EST. Register here.
118th Congress Enacts Funding Patch in Late December; 119th Congress Sworn In
At the end of last year, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees finalized a continuing resolution (CR) to push the deadline for fiscal year (FY) 2025 funding to March 14, kicking responsibility to the new Congress. The CR continues funding at FY 2024 levels and includes supplemental funding for federal disaster programs and a year-long extension to the Farm Bill. While Congress successfully averted a government shutdown, the impact of the new CR will likely be seen in delays to the FY 2026 appropriations process, which traditionally begins in February. On January 3, the 119th Congress was sworn in at the Capitol. As expected,…
NIH Releases Public Access Plan and RFI for Research Findability and Transparency
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released the final version of its public access policy in response to the August 2022 memorandum issued by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The memorandum announced new requirements for federal agencies to make peer-reviewed publications resulting from federal funding freely available to the public immediately following publication (see previous COSSA coverage). The new policy, finalized from the draft released in June 2024 (see previous COSSA coverage), is set to take effect on December 31, 2025, and provides clarification on the definitions of Article, Manuscript, Final Published Article, Official Date of…
Trump Announces Appointments to Science Team
On December 22, President-elect Trump announced on Truth Social his picks for top White House science positions. Michael Kratsios, an alum of the first Trump Administration, will be nominated as Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Kratsios previously served as Trumpās Chief Technology Officer and later as Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in DOD. Kratsios will also serve as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, known commonly as the Presidentās Science Advisor. The OSTP position requires Senate confirmation, but the Science Advisor does not. Kratsios holds a BA in politics from…
NASEM Requests Nominations for Experts for Study of Quality, Credibility, and Relevance of U.S. Homeland Security Statistics
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) is seeking experts for a new consensus study on the Quality, Credibility, and Relevance of U.S. Homeland Security Statistics. These experts will work with the Office for Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS), housed within the Department of Homeland Security, to ensure statistics within the agency align with federal standards, enhancing āthe relevance, credibility, objectivity, and public trust of their statistics to support evidence-based decision makingā. Experts are requested in the following areas: Nominations can be submitted here by January 8.
A Word from COSSA
Dear Friends: This is the last COSSA Washington Update of 2024, but it certainly is not the end of our work for the year. As I write, our team is busily preparing for what everyone expects will be a challenging year ahead for policymaking. We are headed into uncertain terrain with the return of the Trump Administration come January 20 and a new Congress with margins tighter than we have seen in a long time. Last week, COSSA hosted a webinar for our members previewing some of the expected actions of the next Congress and Administration and outlining many of the unknowns…
Social Science Advocacy Day 2025 Registration is Open!
Early bird registration for COSSAās annual Social Science Advocacy Day is officially OPEN! The event will be taking place March 24-25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Take advantage of early bird pricing and register here. The stakes for research funding have never been higher as we enter a particularly challenging political and budgetary environment. Social Science Advocacy Day is a must for all stakeholders who care about the fate of federal funding for social and behavioral science research and who believe this research should be used to inform sound public policy. Advocacy Day is open to anyone affiliated with a COSSA member organization or university. Not…
REGISTER NOW: Headlines Webinars continue December 17
It’s the final Headlines of the year! Last Spring, the White House released a seminal report detailing the important contributions the social and behavioral sciences make to addressing some of the nationās 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 December 17 for…
Meet COSSAās Fall Policy Intern: Paige Kirkham!
Paige Kirkham started as COSSAās fall policy intern in September. Before heading back to class later this month, she provided some reflections from her time at COSSA. How did you learn about COSSA and the opportunity to serve as a policy intern for the fall? I am a student at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was given the opportunity to come to Washington, DC through a program called āWisconsin in Washingtonā in which the university brings a group of about twenty student-interns to DC for a semester. The coordinators of this program provide us with a list of opportunities to apply…
House Oversight Hosts Census Bureau Director Rob Santos
On December 5, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing on theĀ Oversight of the U.S. Census BureauĀ with Director Rob Santos as the witness. During his opening remarks, House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) raised concerns over the 2020 Census and the overcount and undercount of different states, suggesting that undercounting was found in predominately Republican states while overcounting was found in predominately Democratic states. In his response, Santos indicated that the unexpected impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated overcounts and undercounts. Further, he clarified that the Census Bureau and subsequent surveys are non-partisan. Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (R-MD) pointed to…
President-Elect Trump Nominates Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to Lead NIH
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of health policy at Stanford University, as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Notably, Bhattacharya was a critic of the governmentās handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and was the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case, Murthy v. Missouri, where he argued that he was āunfairly censoredā on social media by the government for his views on the issue. While the case gained national attention, it was ultimately unsuccessful in a 6-3 ruling. About the nomination, Trump said, āDr. Bhattacharya will work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr….
Trump Names David Sacks as AI Czar/PCAST Head
On December 4, President-elect Trump announced his plan to appoint tech venture capitalist and PayPal cofounderĀ David SacksĀ to a new āAI czarā position and advisor on cryptocurrency in the next Administration. The announcement also states that Sacks will lead the Presidentās Council of Advisors on Science and TechnologyĀ (PCAST). While little more detail is known about Trumpās plan for PCAST, the naming of Sacks as chair signals that the council will be maintained in Trumpās second term. This is notable particularly because during Trumpās first term, PCAST was not reconstituted until almost three years into his term. This is a developing story.
OSTPās CoSTEM Releases Five-Year Federal Strategic Plan Advancing STEM Education and Cultivating STEM Talent
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policyās (OSTP) National Science and Technology Councilās (NSTC) Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (CoSTEM) has released the Federal Strategic Plan Advancing STEM Education and Cultivating STEM Talent. The five-year plan is intended to promote STEM education and careers, particularly in coordination with multi-sector collaborators throughout the STEM ecosystem and has identified three principles to achieve this goal, including expanding opportunity, developing partnerships and the ecosystem, and fostering transparency and accountability. Within these principles, OSTP has identified five pillars including STEM engagement; STEM teaching and learning; STEM workforce; STEM research and innovation capacity; and…
NSF Releases NAIRR Dear Colleague Letter for AI Research and Education
On November 15, the National Science Foundationās (NSF) National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot released a Dear Colleague letter seeking datasets to āenable a broader set of researchers and educationsā in artificial intelligence (AI) and foster the development of AI skills in educational environments (see previous COSSA coverage here). The deadline to submit datasets is February 7 and can be submitted here. Full details about the submission criteria and evaluation can be found here.
Currently Reading: CPI’s Census Accuracy Guides
The Center on Poverty and Inequality (CPI) at Georgetown Law released aĀ series of guidesĀ designed for civil rights organizations, advocates, and policymakers. The Census Accuracy series includes: This series is intended to help stakeholders and organizations advocate for necessary research and reforms to ensure every community is accurately counted, promote robust funding for the census by emphasizing the need for accurate data to help ensure fair political representation and equitable resource distribution, and implement measures to mitigate the impact of census inaccuracies. Read the guides here.
Social Science Advocacy Day 2025 News
COSSAās annual Social Science Advocacy Day will be taking place March 24-25, 2025 in Washington, DC! This signature, members-only event brings together social and behavioral science researchers, faculty, students, association professionals, and other advocates from across the country to meet with their elected officials in Congress to discuss the value of our sciences and the importance of federal funding. Early bird registration is officially OPEN! Register now and take advantage of our early bird rates (these won’t last long). Visit the COSSA website for the latest information on Social Science Advocacy Day and share with your colleagues.
Editor’s Note: Update Returning on January 7
This is our final issue of the COSSA Washington Update for 2024. Late-breaking news and analysis will be shared with members subscribed to our members-only emails. We will resume our ongoing coverage of policy developments affecting the social and behavioral sciences on January 7. The COSSA team wishes all our readers a happy and healthy holiday season.