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.
NIJ Seeking Chief Research Advisor
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is looking to hire a Chief Research Advisor tasked with leading the development and implementation of a new initiative that will “build in-house research capacity in law enforcement agencies.” According to the listing, “NIJ is looking for a social science researcher with a commitment to partnering with law enforcement to produce applicable, impactful research and analysis that addresses the field’s highest priority needs and advances policy and practice. The selected applicant will manage NIJ’s newest effort to partner with interested law enforcement agencies to identify their in-house capacity for research and analysis, review data…
Office of AIDS Research Issues RFI on Trans-NIH Plan for HIV-Related Research
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of AIDS Research (OAR) in the Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI) recently issued a request-for-information (RFI) (NOT-OD-16-089) seeking input on the fiscal year (FY) 2018 Trans-NIH Plan for HIV-Related Research. The 2018 Plan is “designed to identify and articulate possible future directions to maximize benefits of investments in HIV/AIDS research.” In August 2015, NIH issued “new overarching priorities” for the next three to five years for HIV/AIDS research in a Notice, NIH HIV/AIDS Research Priorities and Guidelines for Determining AIDS Funding (NOT-OD-15-137). The Notice also outlined guidelines the agency…
NIMHD Accepting Applications for Health Disparities Research Institute
The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking applicants to its Summer Institute on Health Disparities Science. The Institute which will be held on the NIH campus from August 15-19, 2016, is designed to “support the development of individual research projects by promising scientists early in their careers and … stimulate research in the disciplines supported by science on minority health and health disparities.” The course includes lectures, seminars, and small group discussions on research relevant to minority health and health disparities along with sessions by NIH scientific staff…
Mary Waters Delivers 2016 David Lecture
On May 3, 2016, Mary C. Waters, M.E. Zukerman Professor and former chair of Sociology at Harvard University, delivered the Spring 2016 Henry and Bryna David Lecture at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The David Lecture highlights innovative social and behavioral science research by inviting leading scholars to contribute an article to Issues in Science and Technology and present at the National Academies. Waters’ talk, titled “The War on Crime and The War on Immigrants: New Forms of Legal Exclusion and Discrimination in the U.S.” drew from two major recent Academies reports, The Growth of Incarceration in…
SSRC Seeks Nominations for Hirschman Prize
The Social Science Research Council, a COSSA member, is inviting nominations for its highest honor – the Albert O. Hirschman Prize. The Hirschman Prize recognizes excellence in social science research, theory, and public communication. Nominations are requested by June 15 and should be submitted to hirschmanprize@ssrc.org along with information on the nominator, a brief statement of commendation, and the nominee’s curriculum vitae or links to the nominee’s website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Funding Opportunity Announcements
NIFA: Effective Mitigation Strategies for Antimicrobial Resistance/5-Year Assessment of AFRI Food Safety Challenge Area (AFRI Food Safety Challenge Area) (USDA-NIFA-AFRI-005802) NIFA: Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities (AFRI Foundational Program) (USDA-NIFA-AFRI-005843) ED: Investing in Innovation Fund: Validation Grants ED: Investing in Innovation Fund: Scale-up Grants NIH opportunities: NIA: Aging Research to Address Health Disparities (Admin Supplement) (PA-16-225) NIH: Health Services Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities (R01) (PAR-16-221), (R21) (PAR-16-222) [NIMHD, NIAAA, NIDA] NIDA: NIDA Research Education Program for Clinical Researchers and Clinicians (R25) (PAR-16-224) NCI: Innovative Approaches to Studying Cancer Communication in the New Media Environment (R21) (PAR-16-248), (R01)…
Events Calendar
Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, June 2-5, 2016 Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, June 24-26, 2016 Joint Statistical Meetings, Chicago, IL, July 30-August 4, 2016 American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Denver, CO, August 4-7, 2016 Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, August 16-19, 2016 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, August 20-23, 2016 A list of COSSA members’ annual meetings and other events can be found on the COSSA website. COSSA members who have an upcoming event they would like to see listed in the Events Calendar and on our website should…
Senate Committee Discusses U.S. Science Investments; COMPETES Bill Expected Soon
On May 11, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing entitled, “Leveraging the U.S. Science and Technology Enterprise.” The Committee heard from a panel of experts in science and engineering representing the university and private sectors. The hearing was designed to inform the Committee’s efforts as it works to reauthorize the America COMPETES Act, which is legislation originally enacted in 2007 to bolster U.S. investment in basic scientific research. The Committee has oversight jurisdiction for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other basic science agencies. Read on for full details and check out COSSA’s complete coverage…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 35 Issue 9
Featured News Senate Bill Seeks Flat Funding for NSF, NIJ for FY 2017 Congressional News Senate Health Committee Advance Biomedical Innovation Bills NIH Appears Before Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Federal Agency & Administration News AHRQ Names New Director NIH Director Fills Vacancies for PMI Cohort and ECHO Programs NCHS Releases Health, United States 2015 NIJ Identifies Additional Topics for School Safety Research Initiative BTS Issues Quarterly National Transportation Statistics Update Funding Opportunity Announcements COSSA Member Spotlight COSSA Welcomes the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences Events Calendar
Senate Bill Seeks Flat Funding for NSF, NIJ for FY 2017
On April 21, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year (FY) 2017 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Bill. This bill serves as the vehicle for annual appropriations for the National Science Foundation (NSF), Census Bureau, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and countless other federal departments and agencies. The next step for the CJS bill is consideration on the Senate floor, which has not yet been scheduled. The bill would provide NSF with a total budget of $7.5 billion in FY 2017, flat with the FY 2016 enacted level. Most notably the Senate bill does…
Senate Health Committee Advances Biomedical Innovation Bills
On April 6, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held the third in a series of hearings (March 16 and March 9) to complete its work on companion legislation to the 2015 House-passed 21st Century Cures Act. Opening the hearing, HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) noted that the committee has completed action on approximately 50 bipartisan proposals via 10 hearings and five staff working groups that held more than 100 meetings. The proposals resulting from these deliberations form the Senate’s companion legislation to the 21st Century Cures Act. The legislation also serves as the means of…
NIH Appears Before Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
On April 7, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins appeared before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS), accompanied by five of the NIH’s 27 institute and center directors and/or acting directors. Attending were: Richard Hodes, National Institute on Aging (NIA); Doug Lowy, National Cancer Institute (NCI); Nora Volkow, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA); Walter Koroshetz, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS); and Christopher Austin, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).
AHRQ Names New Director
Andrew Bindman, a primary care physician and Professor of Medicine, Health Policy, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, has been named the new director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) effective May 2, 2016. His research interests focus on primary care and low-income individuals’ access to and quality of health care. Bindman’s previous federal experience includes a fellowship with the House Energy and Commerce Committee and several years as a senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) Office of Health Policy and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services….
NIH Director Fills Vacancies for PMI Cohort and ECHO Programs
National Institute of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins recently announced the appointments of Eric Dishman as the Director of the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Cohort Program and Matthew Gillman as the Program Director of the NIH Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO).
NCHS Releases Health, United States 2015
The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has released the most recent issue of one of its hallmark publications, Health, United States. The 2015 edition compiles data on the health of the U.S. population, including on mortality and life expectancy, morbidity and risk factors, health insurance coverage, access to and utilization of health care, and health expenditures. This year’s edition also includes a special feature on racial and ethnic health disparities. The full report can be accessed on the NCHS website, as well as the shorter Health, United States, 2015: In Brief. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NIJ Identifies Additional Topics for School Safety Research Initiative
National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Director Nancy Rodriguez issued a Dear Colleague letter last month identifying additional research topics as part of the agency’s Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (CSSI). The additional guidance suggests topics of interest such as “understanding and reducing disparities in school discipline; involvement of local stakeholders and multiple disciplines; data systems for school behavior and discipline; inclusion of safety issues for Indian Country schools and students; event sequence and decision-making analysis; and instances where students are removed from the educational environment.” The deadline for proposals is May 27. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
BTS Issues Quarterly National Transportation Statistics Update
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) has issued its quarterly update of National Transportation Statistics, its compilation of data on the U.S. transportation system. The April release updates 44 of the 260 data tables, which cover the impact of the transportation system on safety, the economy, and the environment. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
COSSA Welcomes the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences
COSSA is pleased to welcome the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) as its newest member. As its name suggests, CCAS is the national association representing colleges of arts and sciences, with a membership that includes nearly 800 deans at 525 institutions across the U.S. and abroad. The Council exists to “provide professional-development programming to its member deans and to sustain the arts and sciences as a leading influence in American higher education.” Welcome CCAS! COSSA’s full membership list can be viewed here. Information on how to join can be found on the COSSA website. Back to this…
Funding Opportunity Announcements
AHRQ: Pediatric Quality Measures Program (PQMP): Dissemination and Implementation of Child Health Quality Measures Cooperative Research Grants (U18) (RFA-HS-16-002) AHRQ: Optimizing Care for People Living with Multiple Chronic Conditions through the Development of Enhanced Care Planning (NOT-HS-16-013) AHRQ; Pediatric Quality Measures Program (PQMP): Dissemination and Implementation of Child Health Quality Measures Cooperative Research Grants (U18) (RFA-HS-16-002) FDA: Collaborating Centers of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (U01) (RFA-FD-16-036) NIH opportunities: NIH: Population Health Interventions: Integrating Individual and Group Level Evidence (R01) (PA-16-146), (R21) (PAR-16-146) [DPCPSI, OBSSR, NCI, NIAAA, NIDCR, NIDA, NIDCD] NIAID, NIMH: Understanding HIV Rebound (P01) (RFA-AI-16-028) NIDA: Growing…
Events Calendar
Alcohol, Stress, and the Brain: Implications for Treatment and Recovery, Washington, DC, May 5, 2016 2016 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Lecture: Policy, Politics and Partisanship, Washington, DC, May 12, 2016 American Association for Public Opinion Research Annual Conference, Austin, TX, May 12-15, 2016 Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, June 2-5, 2016 Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, June 24-26, 2016 Joint Statistical Meetings, Chicago, IL, July 30-August 4, 2016 American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Denver, CO, August 4-7, 2016 Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, August 16-19, 2016 American Sociological…