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
Congress Returns from Recess, Gets Moving on FY 2023 Budget Oversight
Congress returns this week from its two-week recess to a packed agenda. Oversight hearings on the Presidentâs fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget request have begun in earnest, with Biden Administration officials appearing before House and Senate Committees throughout the week to defend the Presidentâs funding priorities for next year. Reports indicate an ambitious timeline in the House for considering the FY 2023 appropriations bills. It has been reported that House leadership is looking to hold floor votes on as many FY 2023 bills as possible in July, meaning the House Appropriations Committee and various subcommittees will need to complete their…
Newly Created Advanced Research Agency Transferred to NIH
On April 20, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra announced that the newly created Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) would be formally transferred to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). ARPA-H, which has been a frequently touted priority for the Biden Administration, was newly established in March with the passage of the final appropriations bills for fiscal year (FY) 2022. Although initially established as an independent agency, the appropriations bill gave the HHS secretary authority to transfer ARPA-H elsewhere within the Department, including NIH (see COSSAâs analysis of the final FY 2022 Appropriations…
Equitable Data Working Group Releases Report
On April 22, the Equitable Data Working Group (âWorking Groupâ) released a report on advancing the use of equitable data in the government. The Working Group was established in response to President Bidenâs Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (E.O. 13985). The Working Group consulted several outside organizations during their information collection, including several COSSA governing members such as the American Economic Association, the American Statistical Association, and the Population Association of America. Some of the major recommendations from the report include calling for making disaggregated data the norm, catalyzing existing…
National Academies to Host OSTPâs Alondra Nelson for Discussion on Equity in Federal Research
On May 12, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) will host a hybrid event featuring Dr. Alondra Nelson, Acting Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), for a discussion regarding equity within federal research programs. The event will feature keynote remarks from Dr. Nelson on co-producing scientific knowledge in partnership with diverse groups of stakeholders. Following these remarks will be a moderated panel discussion and a public forum to answer, âwhat does equitable co-production look like in practice?â and âwhat should it look like?â Registration in advance is required to attend the event in person,…
Presidentâs FY 2023 Budget Request for Social and Behavioral Science
As previously reported, the Biden Administration released its fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget request to Congress on March 28. The FY 2023 budget prioritizes investment in areas of central importance to the Biden Administration, such as innovation and competitiveness, cancer research, and technological advancement. In addition, like we saw in last yearâs budget request, the Administrationâs budget underscores the Presidentâs commitment to science as a means for addressing large societal challenges, such as climate change, racism, and, of course, pandemic recovery. However, the budget seeks to achieve these ends through targeted investments that could potentially come at the expense of…
Recap of COSSA’s 2022 Social Science Advocacy Day
It is not too late to get in on the action. Check out COSSAâs Action Alert and send a quick note to your elected officials today to voice your support for federal science agencies that advance the social and behavioral sciences.
Congress Continues to Hint at Upcoming Mental Health Package
On April 5, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health met to discuss legislation to support American mental health and well-being. The hearing, overseen by Subcommittee Chair Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Ranking Member Brett Guthrie (R-KY), is one of many Congressional hearings held in the past few months focused on potential policy solutions related to mental health (see previous coverage for more details). The hearing included two panels of experts. The first panel featured Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Dr. Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, and Administrator at…
NSF Announces Research Security Activities for 2022-23
As part of its budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2023 (see related article), the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced its intent to commission a JASON study this year, during FY 2022, âto provide guidance on the establishment of a Research on Research Security funding programâ that would begin in FY 2023. According to the budget materials, NSF would conduct several activities related to research security in 2023, including: Work with other federal research agencies âto establish uniform mechanisms for research investigators to provide agencies with consistent information on their appointments, activities, and sources of financial support.â Stand up the…
National Academies Release Reports on Education Research and Statistics
Recently, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) have released prepublications of reports evaluating education research and statistics activities within the Department of Educationâs Institute for Education Sciences (IES). The first of which, titled The Future of Education Research at IES: Advancing an Equity-Oriented Science, analyzes the National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) within IES to identify pressing issues facing the centers and developing approaches for future education research programs. The report identifies several areas for future focus, including: Adopting new categories for types of research that reflect the…
Last Chance to Register for UIDP Workshop on University-Industry Partnerships in the Social Sciences!
The University of Maryland and UIDP, in collaboration with COSSA, the National Science Foundation, MITRE, the Optimal Solutions Group, SAGE Publishing, and the Federation of Associations in the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, will be hosting the second part of the Workshop on U-I Partnerships in the Social Sciences. The in-person workshop will be held April 20-21 at The Hotel at the University of Maryland. The event will bring together âa group of experts and leaders from academia, industry, and government to consider how academic-corporate partnerships can advance social, behavioral, and organizational science research to positively impact science and society.â Learn more…
Biden Administration Begins Rollout of FY 2023 Budget, Some Details Yet to be Published
On March 28, the Biden Administration began releasing details of its fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget request to Congress. At the time of this writing, details for all federal agencies and departments important to the social science research community have not yet been published; however, topline budget levels are available: The budget request proposes increases for much of the federal research enterprise with some exceptions; however, the devil is in the details. For example, more than half of the proposed increase for the National Institutes of Health would go toward the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) which was…
Today is Social Science Advocacy Day! Learn How You Can Participate
Today, COSSA is holding its 2022 Social Science Advocacy Day, a members-only annual event bringing together social and behavioral scientists from across the country to meet with Members of Congress and their staff to advocate for increased funding for federal agencies and programs important the research community. This year, 70 individuals from COSSA member organizations will participate virtually in about 90 meetings with policymakers and their staff in the House of Representatives and Senate. You can get in on the action by responding to COSSAâs Action Alert and sending a quick note to your elected officials to voice your support…
Senate Discusses Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders, Hints at Bipartisan Legislation
On March 23, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing to discuss the national mental health and substance use disorder crisis and the federal programs being used to address these issues. The hearing, overseen by Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC), is one of many Congressional hearings held in the past few months focused on potential policy solutions related to mental health (see previous coverage for more details). The witnesses present at the hearing were Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services…
NSF Establishes New Technology Directorate
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced the creation of its first new research directorate in over 30 years, the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP). The new Directorate will support âuse-inspiredâ research with the goal of âfostering innovation and technology ecosystems, establishing translation pathways, and partnering across sectors to engage the nationâs diverse talent.â In addition to new investments, the directorate will transfer several existing NSF programs into TIP, including the NSF Lab-to-Market Platform comprising the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps), Partnerships for Innovation, and Americaâs Seed Fund powered by NSF , as well as the NSF Convergence Accelerator. Dr. Erwin Gianchandani, who has…
PCAST Holds Panel Discussion on Science Communication
On March 24, the Presidentâs Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) hosted a panel discussion on the topic of improving science communication. In his introductory remarks, Dr. Francis Collins, acting co-chair of PCAST and interim Presidential Science Advisor, noted serious concerns about science communication, specifically with respect to vaccine hesitancy, and stated that PCAST has an opportunity to advise the federal government on how to improve science communication to build public trust. In a nod to previous remarks made by Collins as he stepped down as Director of the National Institutes of Health last year, he acknowledged that…
Rayvon FouchĂ© Begins Appointment as NSFâs SES Division Director
On February 28, the National Science Foundationâs (NSF) Social and Economic Sciences (SES) Division saw a change of leadership as Dr. Rayvon FouchĂ© took the helm of the division. FouchĂ©, a science and technology studies researcher and professor at Purdue University, succeeds the previous division director Daniel Goroff who led the division from 2019 through 2021. The SES Division is responsible for many of the key social and behavioral science research programs within the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate at NSF. More information is available on the NSF website.
Invitation: White House Holding Virtual Summit to Kick Off âYear of Evidence for Actionâ
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will hold a Virtual Summit on Evidence for Action on April 7, 2022. The summit will kick off a âYear of Evidence for Actionâ to be focused on âbuilding and strengthening partnerships between evidence communities within and outside of the federal government.â The event will include an opening plenary featuring Acting OSTP Director Alondra Nelson, OMB Deputy Director for Management Jason Miller, Senior Counselor in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) K. Sabeel Rahman, Census Bureau Director Robert Santos, and Deputy…
National Academies Release Recommendations for Modernizing NAEP
On March 24, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) released the report âA Pragmatic Future for NAEP: Containing Costs and Updating Technologies,â which provides recommendations to improve the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Congressionally-mandated assessment administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The report, which is the culmination of one of several NASEM activities related to education research and statistics (see previous coverage), focuses on reducing the costs of administering NAEP and identifying ways to incorporate modern technologies and systems to…