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
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 35 Issue 21
Featured News 2016 Presidential Candidatesā Science Policy Platforms COSSA in Action COSSA and Coalitions Urge Strong Funding for SBS in Final FY 2017 Funding Negotiations Federal Agency & Administration News Inaugural NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival — December 2, 2016 IES Seeks Comments on NCER-NPSAS Grants NASS Advisory Committee Accepting Nominations Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program Renamed All of Us Research Program NIH Releases Five-Year Rehabilitation Research Plan NIH Seeks Information on Research Supplement to Promote Workforce Diversity in Small Business NINDS to Hold Informational Webinars on Diversity Career Development Awards Publications & Community Events OāConnell Named Next…
2016 Presidential Candidatesā Science Policy Platforms
Over the last year and a half, presidential candidates have provided hints as to what their science policy priorities would be if they were to win. Democratic nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released details of her āInitiative on Technology and Innovationā, which includes commitments to grow the budget of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the research budgets at the Department of Energy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). While Secretary Clintonās published positions related to science primarily focus on computer science and technology, in response to a questionnaire from the Scientific American, Secretary Clinton…
COSSA and Coalitions Urge Strong Funding for SBS in Final FY 2017 Funding Negotiations
In preparation for Congressā return to Washington after the election, several of the coalitions COSSA works through have sent letters to appropriators urging them to pass funding bills rather than a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2017 and to encourage them to preserve funding for the agencies that support social and behavioral science (SBS), including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Senate letter, House letter), the National Center for Health Statistics (Senate letter, House letter), the Census Bureau (Senate letter, House letter), and the Institute of Education Sciences. Back to…
Inaugural NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival ā December 2, 2016
On December 2, 2016, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) will hold an inaugural NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival. Intended to become an annual event, the festival āwill highlight recently funded contributions of behavioral and social science to health research.ā It will also āexplore new directions for health-related behavioral and social science research.ā The event is tailored to build the āunderstanding and capacity to implement transformative behavioral and system interventions that lead to sustainable improvements in health and well-being.ā The festival agenda and additional information is available on OBSSRās website….
IES Seeks Comments on NCER-NPSAS Grants
The National Center for Education Research (NCER) within the Department of Educationās Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is proposing a new information collection as part of an ongoing collaboration between NCER and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)āalso located within IESāand is seeking comments. The NCER supports research projects using subsamples of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), a nationally-representative sample of postsecondary institutions and students fielded every three to four years. The goal for the proposed new collection is to facilitate āone-offā research projects. The Department is specifically interested in comments addressing the following questions: ā(1) Is…
NASS Advisory Committee Accepting Nominations
The Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics, which is the advisory body to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), is accepting nominations. The Committee advises the Secretary of Agriculture and NASS leadership on issues that may affect NASSā agriculture surveys and products. Members represent a broad range of disciplines and stakeholder communities including āproducers, representatives of national farm organizations, agricultural economists, rural sociologists, farm policy analysts, educators, State agriculture representatives, and agriculture-related business and marketing experts.ā Nominations are due by November 30. More information is available in the Federal Register notice. Back to this issueās table of contents.
Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program Renamed āAll of Usā Research Program
On October 12, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Cohort Program has been renamed the All of Us Research Program. The name change, according to the announcement, reflects the studyās core values, which include āparticipation is open to all; participants reflect the rich diversity of the U.S.; participants are partners; participants have access to their information; data will be accessed broadly for research purposes; security and privacy will be of highest priority; and the program will be a catalyst for positive change in research.ā The programās name change also incorporates the feedback NIH…
NIH Releases Five-Year Rehabilitation Research Plan
After two years of planning and soliciting public input, the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) within the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released the NIH Research Plan on Rehabilitation. The government-wide plan, coordinated by NCMRR, addresses the need for rehabilitation research; NIHās investment in rehabilitation research; current medical rehabilitation research activities at NIH; opportunities, needs, and priorities; and NIHās coordination with other federal agencies. Seventeen NIH institutes and centers support rehabilitation research, and the plan ācalls for the continuation of programs to understand the…
NIH Seeks Information on Research Supplement to Promote Workforce Diversity in Small Business
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is soliciting input on a āproposed new supplement to facilitate participation of women and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals in small businessesā through the congressionally-mandated Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The request for information (RFI), Research Supplement to Promote Workforce Diversity in Small Businesses (NOT-OD-17-008), notes that although SBIR/STTR awardees are eligible to apply for diversity supplements, the participation rates in the program are very low. Accordingly, the agency is seeking input to understand the barriers preventing these populations from participating in the āexisting diversity supplement program…
NINDS to Hold Informational Webinars on Diversity Career Development Awards
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is supporting a series of webinars for potential applicants and mentors to its Mentored Career Development Awards to Promote Diversity in Neuroscience (PAR-16-220 and PAR-16-219). The Instituteās Faculty Development Award to Promote Diversity in Neuroscience Research is designed to provide āan intensive, supervised career development and scientific mentoring experience for promising junior investigatorsā¦ from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical research.ā The award also provides protected time from teaching and other duties in addition to providing resources intended to hone awardeesā skills in grant writing and…
OāConnell Named Next DBASSE Director
The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine has announced that it has named Mary Ellen OāConnell as Executive Director of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE), effective November 14. OāConnell is currently serving as DBASSEās Deputy Director and will succeed Robert Hauser, who is retiring. In addition to serving in leadership roles on several Academies Boards, including the Board on Environmental Change and Society (BECS); the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences (BBCSS); and the Board on Human-Systems Integration (BOHSI), OāConnell also led initiatives at the Department of Health and Human Services and the…
Social and Behavioral Scientists Among New National Academy of Medicine Inductees
The National Academy of Medicine announced the election of 79 new members, including 70 regular members and nine international members. The newly elected cohort includes several members who work in the social and behavioral sciences. They include Anita Allen, Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania; Cheryl Ann Marie Anderson, Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health, at the University of California, San Diego; Peter Brian Bach, Director of the Center for Health Policy and Outcomes at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Laura L. Carstensen, Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr. Professor in…
Friends of NCHS-Sponsored Blog Post Explains Proposed NHIS Changes
In a blog post sponsored by the Friends of NCHS (of which COSSA is a member), Renee Gindi, health survey statistician with the Division of Health Interview Statistics at the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), provides a detailed, plain-language summary of the proposed changes to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). One of NCHSā hallmark surveys, the NHIS produces critical data on the health of the American public through detailed in-home interviews with respondents. The survey is scheduled to be redesigned for 2018. In her post, āTaking a Closer Look: The 2018 National Health Interview Survey Redesign,ā Gindi explains…
NRMN Seeking Applicants for Grant Proposal Writing & Professional Development Coaching Groups
The National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) recently announced a new “R01 Resubmission” Grant Proposal Writing Coaching Group, designed for individuals who are resubmitting an R01 (investigator-initiated) grant proposal to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the spring and summer of 2017. A ānationwide consortium of biomedical professionals and institutions collaborating to provide all trainees across the biomedical, behavioral, clinical and social sciences with evidence-based mentorship and professional development programming that emphasizes the benefits and challenges of diversity, inclusivity and culture within mentoring relationships, and more broadly the research workforce,ā NRMNās specific goal is to enhance the diversity of the…
Alan Krueger Wins 2017 Moynihan Prize
The American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS), a COSSA member, announced economist Alan Kruger as the winner of the 2017 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize. Kruger is a professor at Princeton University and served as Chairman of President Obamaās Council of Economic Advisors from 2011 to 2013. Kruger also served as the Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy and Chief Economic at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor. The Moynihan Prize was established in 2007 to ārecognize social scientists, public officials, and civic leaders who champion the use of informed judgement…
AAPSS Discussion Predicts Middle East Challenges for the Next Administration
On October 24, the Middle East Institute (MEI) and the American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS), a member of COSSA, held a panel discussion to highlight the November 2016 volume of The ANNALS, the flagship AAPSS publication. The November volume, āThe Middle East and Regional Transition, Terrorism, and Countering Violent Extremism: What the Next President Will Face,ā analyzes the state of U.S. relations in the Middle East and provides concrete policy recommendations and priorities for the next president and administration. The ANNALS’s guest co-editors Rand Beers (former Deputy Homeland Security Advisor to President Obama), Richard A. Clarke (former…
Events Calendar
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Fall Research Conference, November 3-5, 2016, Washington, DC Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, November 3-6, 2016, Atlanta, GA History of Science Society Annual Meeting, November 3-6, 2016, Atlanta, GA National Communication Association Annual Convention, November 10-13, Philadelphia, PA North American Regional Science Council Annual Meeting, November 13-16, 2016, Minneapolis, MN American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, November 16-20, 2016, Minneapolis, MN American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, November 16-19, 2016, New Orleans, LA Social Science History Association Annual Meeting, November 17-20, 2016, Chicago, IL NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival,…
Funding Opportunity Announcements
AHRQ: Notice of Intent to Publish Funding Opportunity Announcements to Promote Implementation Science (R01) and Dissemination and Implementation Studies (R18) (NOT-HS-17-002) AHRQ: Large Health Services Research Demonstration and Dissemination Projects for Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections (R18) (PA-17-007) AHRQ: Large Research Projects for Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections (R01) (PA-17-008) NIFA: Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (USDA-NIFA-ICGP-006124) NIJ: Graduate Research Fellowship in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (NIJ-2017-10720) NIJ: Research Assistantship Program
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 35, Issue 20
Featured News Emilio Moran Named to National Science Board NSF SBE Directorate Releases Dear Colleague Letter on Robust and Reliable Research, Invites Proposal Submissions Congressional News Congress in Recess until November 14 Federal Agency & Administration News NSF Seeks Deputy Division Director for Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences NIH Recognizes Sexual and Gender Minorities as a Health Disparity Population National Institute of Mental Health Releases Update of Strategic Research Priorities NIA Alzheimerās Disease Research: āA Wealth of New Opportunitiesā NIH to Develop First NIH-Wide Nutrition Strategic Plan NCHS Seeks Comments on Redesign of National Health Interview Survey OMB Seeks Comments on…
Emilio Moran Named to National Science Board
The White House hasĀ announcedĀ the latest appointments to the National Science Board (NSB). Included in the 2016 class isĀ Dr. Emilio MoranĀ of Michigan State University. Dr. Moran is a respected researcher in the natural and social sciences, looking to better understand the interplay of human and environment interactions. TheĀ National Science BoardĀ is the policy-making body of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and also serves as an independent advisor to the President and Congress on federal science policy. Members of the 25-person Board are appointed by the President of the United States for six year terms. Appointment to the Board is a top honor…