COSSA’s Full Analysis of the President’s Budget, NSF Announces Research Security Activities, National Academies Release Education Research and Statistics Reports, and More

Featured news

President’s 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 year’s budget request, the Administration’s budget underscores the President’s 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 other programs and agencies; some of the proposals may be viewed as controversial by some in the research community.

The FY 2023 budget request also reflects, for the first time in decades, funding for two new research entities that were requested last year by the Administration and officially established in the FY 2022 omnibus appropriations bill: the new Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships Directorate at the National Science Foundation and ARPA-H at the National Institutes of Health. There are likely to be growing pains in FY 2023 as those entities take shape and as resources as allocated.

The release of the FY 2023 budget request is the official kick-off of “appropriations season.” Congressional committees have begun their oversight hearings for departments and agencies under their purview featuring testimony by Administration officials. House Appropriations Committees typically try to introduce and mark up their versions of the bills in early summer with the Senate often lagging several weeks behind. The start of the month-long August recess in which lawmakers return home to engage with constituents is a typical target for Appropriations Committees to complete their work on the bills and bring them to the floor for consideration. However, 2022 is a mid-term election year, which will all but guarantee that the work of Congress will grind to a halt by late summer or early fall. As always, Congress will aim to make as much progress as possible on FY 2023 appropriations before leaving Washington for the elections; however, it is common, if not likely, that Congress will delay final passage of FY 2023 funding legislation at least until after the November elections, if not until next calendar year, depending on the outcome of the midterms.

Read COSSA’s in-depth analysis of the FY 2023 budget request.

 

New from COSSA

Recap of COSSA’s 2022 Social Science Advocacy Day

On March 29, 70 social science advocates participated in COSSA’s eighth annual , a members-only 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, advocates from 22 states met virtually with 88 Congressional offices in the House of Representatives and Senate to discuss the value of the social and behavioral sciences to issues of importance to policymakers.

It is not too late to get in on the action. Check out COSSA’s 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.

 

Congressional News

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 the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Carole Johnson. The second panel included the President-Elect of the American Psychiatric Association Dr. Rebecca W. Brendel, the President-Elect of the American Academy of Pediatrics Dr. Sandy L. Chung, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Director at the Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing at Stanford University School of Medicine and Stanford Children’s Health Dr. Steven Adelsheim, Medical Director of Behavioral Health and Forensic Programs at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Dr. Debra Pinals, Director of the Office of Addictive Diseases at the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Cassandra Price, and Peer Support Specialist Instructor and Mentor LeVail W. Smith.

Subcommittee Chair Eshoo focused her opening statement on the devastating increase in mental health concerns in the U.S. and expressed particular concern for American youths experiencing mental illnesses. Ranking Member Guthrie focused his opening statement on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in exacerbating the mental health crisis in the U.S. and issues affecting rural Americans. The witness opening statements focused on what their respective agencies are doing to address these issues and ways in which the Subcommittee can continue to support their missions. Many of the Subcommittee members’ questions for the witnesses revolved around how to best support marginalized groups and pregnant individuals, how the President’s Budget Request was received by the federal agencies (see related article), and progress on SAMHSA’s National Helpline for mental health crises. Throughout the hearing, Chairwoman Eshoo and various members of the committee expressed their support for bipartisan federal legislation aimed at addressing the mental health crisis. A recording of the hearing can be found on the Committee website.

This article was contributed by COSSA’s Spring Intern Sofi Cavenaile of the University of Texas, San Antonio.

 

Executive Branch news

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, “to provide guidance on the establishment of a Research on Research Security funding program” 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 “to establish uniform mechanisms for research investigators to provide agencies with consistent information on their appointments, activities, and sources of financial support.”
  • Stand up the aforementioned Research on Research Security funding program guided by the results of this year’s JASON study. The goals of the program would be to assess the characteristics that distinguish research security from research integrity, improve the quantitative understanding of the scale and scope of research security risks, and develop methodologies to assess the potential impact of research security threats, among others.
  • Working with other federal agencies, issue a solicitation to develop training resources for the research community to more clearly understand research security issues and disclosure requirements.

You can follow all of COSSA’s coverage on research security issues on our website.

 

Science Community news

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 Education’s 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 needs, structures, and constraints typically found in educational institutions;
  • Emphasizing research focused on equity in education, including civil rights policy, teacher education, workforce development, and technology;
  • Offering new research awards within NCSER on teaching practices to improve outcomes for students with disabilities, access and inclusion to those practices, and other issues;
  • The need for IES to periodically add and remove research topics from its portfolio when appropriate to reflect the state of the field of education research.

The report also offers recommendations on its methodology, training programs, grant application, and review process. Most notably, the report recommends that Congress re-examine the IES budget, claiming that funding for IES pales in comparison to other scientific funding agencies and that IES currently would not be able to fully implement all the recommendations included in this report.

The second report, titled A Vision and Roadmap for Education Statistics, focuses on the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within IES and offers recommendations for the future of statistical programs and priorities for NCES and for the Department of Education as a whole. The report presents themed recommendations for NCES including the following:

  • Developing a strong strategic plan for NCES that incentivizes innovation and partnerships within and outside of the federal government;
  • Maintaining NCES’ independence in setting its own priorities and products;
  • Fulfilling the needs of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act, and supporting the evidence base across the Department of Education;
  • Embedding diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) into the work of NCES;
  • Expanding data acquisition strategies and exploring alternative data sources for NCES products.

A third National Academies report analyzing the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was released a few weeks prior (see previous COSSA coverage). All three of these reports were commissioned in partnership between the Department of Education and the National Academies.

 

COSSA Member Spotlight

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 “a 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.” Learn more and register here.

 

Resources & OPportunities

COSSA Letters & Statements
·    4/11/2022: Letter to Appropriators Requesting Funding for the Research, Evaluation and Statistics Account Within the Department of Justice in FY 2023

·    4/7/2022: Friends of IES Letter to Appropriators on Funding for the Institute of Education Sciences in FY 2023

·    4/7/2022: Coalition for National Science Funding Letter to House Appropriators Requesting Funding for the National Science Foundation for FY 2023

·    4/7/2022: Coalition for National Science Funding Letter to Senate Appropriators Requesting Funding for the National Science Foundation for FY 2023

 

Nomination Opportunities
·    NSF: National Medal of Science (Closes: May 20, 2022)

 

Funding Opportunities
·    NIH: Research on Biopsychosocial Factors of Social Connectedness and Isolation on Health, Wellbeing, Illness, and Recovery (R01 BESH Required) (R01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed) (R01 Clinical Trial Required) (Opens: May 21, 2022) (Closes: June 22, 2024)

·    NIH: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Validation of Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Tools for Improved Assessment in Epidemiological, Clinical, and Intervention Research (Closes: March 9, 2024)

·    NIH: Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) Institutionally-Focused Research Education Award to Promote Diversity (Closes: November 16, 2023)

·    NIH: Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory – Pragmatic and Implementation Trials of Embedded Interventions (Closes: June 18, 2022)

·    NIH/NCI: Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) (Opens: May 8, 2022) (Closes: June 16, 2022)

·    NIH/NCI: Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (Opens: May 8, 2022) (Closes: June 16, 2022)

·    NIH/NCI: Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (Opens: May 8, 2022) (Closes: June 5, 2022)

·    NIH: BRAIN Initiative: Targeted BRAIN Circuits Projects- TargetedBCP (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (Closes: June 1, 2022)

·    NIH: BRAIN Initiative: Targeted BRAIN Circuits Planning Projects – TargetedBCPP (R34 Clinical Trials Not Allowed) (Closes: June 1, 2022)

·    NSF: Incorporating Human Behavior in Epidemiological Models (IHBEM) (Closes: May 15, 2022

·    NSF: Strengthening American Infrastructure (SAI) (Closes: May 5, 2022)

·    NSF: Civic Innovation Challenge (Closes May 5, 2022)

·    NSF: Dear Colleague Letter: Encouraging Research on Open Knowledge Networks (Closes: April 15, 2022)

·    SSRC: The Mercury Project: Call for Proposals (rolling deadline)

 

Notices, Resources, & Reports
·    NEW: NASEM: The Future of Education Research at IES

·    NEW: NASEM: A Vision and Roadmap for Education Statistics

·    NEW: NSF/EHR: Graduate Research Fellowship Program Administrative Guide

·    NEW: NIH/UNITE: N Committee Co-Chairs’ Corner – Creating New Research on Health Disparities, Minority Health, and Health Equity

 

Open Positions, Fellowships, & Professional Development Opportunities
·    OJP/NIJ: Graduate Research Fellowship Program (Closes: May 17, 2022)

 

Upcoming Events
·    COSSA Headlines | April, April 14, 2022

·    SRCD Webinar: Towards a Global Science of Child Development: Challenges and Opportunities, April 14, 2022

·    Midwest Sociological Society Annual Meeting, April 13-16, 2022, Chicago, IL

·    U-I Partnerships in the Social Sciences, April 20-21, 2022, College Park, MD

·    Southwestern Social Science Association Annual Meeting, April 21-23, 2022, San Antonio, TX

·    American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, April 22-25, 2022, San Diego, CA

·    NIH Social, Behavioral, and Economic Health Impacts of COVID-19 Webinar, April 27-28, 2022

·    American Council of Learned Societies Annual Meeting, April 28-30, 2022, Philadelphia, PA

·    COSSA Headlines | May, May 12, 2022

·    American Association for Public Opinion Research Annual Conference, May 12-15, 2022, Chicago, IL

·    Society for Prevention Research Annual Meeting, May 31-June 3, 2022, Seattle, WA

·    NIH Matilda White Riley Behavioral and Social Sciences Honors, June 3, 2022

·    COSSA Headlines | June, June 9, 2022

·    NSF Virtual Grants Conference, June 6-10, 2022, Alexandria, VA

·    Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, July 13-16, 2022, Lisbon, Portugal

 

A list of COSSA members’ annual meetings and other events can be found on the COSSA events page. COSSA members who have an upcoming event they would like to see listed in the Events Calendar and on our website should send an email to bgoodrich@cossa.org.

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