The House and Senate return to Washington this week from their month-long August recess. They have only a couple of weeks to address a number of major policy issues, such as immigration, the child migrant crisis on the border, and ongoing foreign conflicts, before both chambers adjourn again until after the November midterm elections. Among the to-dos in the coming weeks is consideration of a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the federal government operating into fiscal year (FY) 2015, which begins on October 1. The outcome of the elections weighs heavily on potential end-game strategies for the FY 2015 appropriations bills, with much hinging on whether the Democrats maintain control of the Senate or lose the majority to the Republicans.

For a recap on the current status of the FY 2015 appropriations bills important to the COSSA community, please see the August 11, 2014 COSSA Washington Update.

fEderal Agency & Administration Activities & News

NSF Seeks Social Science Public Affairs Specialist

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Office of Legislative and Public Affairs (OLPA) is seeking to fill a position for a public affairs specialist. The agency is particularly interested in receiving applications from qualified professionals with experience in "developing and implementing integrated communications strategies to promote basic research about social, behavioral and economic sciences to a variety of audiences and stakeholders." The opportunity closes September 19, 2014. More information can be found on USAJOBS.

IES Seeks Input to Guide Future Education Research Activities

The Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Education has issued a "Dear Colleague" letter soliciting public input to guide the future activities of the agency's two research centers, the National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER). The letter states that the effort is intended to "make sure that the two centers are contributing to significant advances in research and building knowledge that is useful to education policymakers and practitioners." Comments are due October 31, 2014.

Census, NCHS Hold Joint Technical Meeting Ahead of Release of Insurance Coverage Data

On September 16, the Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) will release the first federal statistics on health insurance coverage during the period after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The agencies held a technical meeting on August 18 to go over what will be released this month and provide some background on their methods used in the respective household surveys. A webcast of the August meeting is available here.

Two sources of data will be used together to assess the impact of the ACA on health insurance coverage. The Census' Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS) asks participants about their health insurance status in the previous calendar year, providing a baseline estimate of health insurance coverage before the ACA's coverage expansion went into effect. NCHS' National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) collects data on participants' current health insurance coverage. The upcoming data release will cover the first quarter of 2014 (coverage expansion began in January 2014).

Read on for more details on the meeting.

NASS Invites Suggestions for Next Census of Agriculture

The National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) is seeking comments from the public on changes for the 2017 Census of Agriculture. Conducted every five years, the Census provides detailed information on nearly every facet of U.S. agriculture down to the county level. In a press release, NASS Associate Administrator Renee Picanso said, "Many industries want data that we currently don't collect...There are also some data that people think are no longer relevant with changing trends in agriculture. This is the time to express those ideas and concerns." Comments may be submitted via an online form. NASS will notify the public before the comment period closes.

NIJ Seeking Researchers to Support Comprehensive School Safety Initiative

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is seeking social scientists to work in residence at NIJ and participate in the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative. The jobs are two-year details (with the option for renewal for a third year) through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) and are open to employees of federal, state, and local governmental agencies; institutions of higher education; Indian tribal governments; federally funded research and development centers; and qualified non-profit organizations.

The Comprehensive School Safety Initiative is "a large-scale, integrated research effort designed to increase the safety of schools nationwide by developing knowledge about the most effective and sustainable school safety interventions and programs and by testing innovative approaches." (More information is available here.) Selected candidates will "work closely with NIJ staff responsible for the design and management of the Initiative, with responsibilities ranging from establishing a research agenda to providing assistance to NIJ grantees conducting a variety of research projects to conducting small research projects in furtherance of Initiative objectives."

More information about the position, including information on how to apply, is available on NIJ's website. Applications are due September 30, 2014.

NIH Seeks Input on Resources for Data-Related Standards Used in Biomedical Science

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently issued a Request for Information (RFI): Input on Information Resources for Data-Related Standards Widely Used in Biomedical Science, seeking comments and ideas to inform the consideration of an NIH Standards Information Resource (NSIR) that would collect, organize, and make available to the public trusted, systematically organized, and curated information about data-related standards.

The potential initiative comes out of a NIH Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K)-sponsored workshop, Frameworks for Community Based Standards Efforts. An emerging theme from the workshop is that investigators or other users currently have to choose among the wide variety of sometimes overlapping standards. This information would be more useful if it were systematically organized and consistently presented. As more biomedical research data become available in digital form and as the value of interconnecting heterogeneous data, tools, and resources become more integral to the science itself, investigators' choices of data-related standards will need to be more deliberate.

The NIH BD2K initiative seeks input in two broad areas. First is NSIR content and relevant existing efforts that could inform the development of and /or enhance an NSIR. Specifically, the agency is pursuing comments on the metadata about standards that would provide the most benefit to end-users within an NSIR and why, and on information that may be more effectively provided through links to other resources. In addition, NIH is looking for input on the standards and/or types of standards considered most critical to include. Comments regarding existing relevant resources about data standards and how they are currently useful to end users are also invited.

Comments are due September 30, 2014. For additional information see Notice Number NOT-CA-14-054.

AHRQ Solicits Scientific Information on Health Information Exchange

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Healthcare Program is soliciting submissions of scientific information to inform its review of Health Information Exchange, which AHRQ defines as the "electronic sharing of clinical information among users such as health care providers, patients, administrators or policy makers across the boundaries of health care institutions, health data repositories, States and others." The agency is particularly interested in scientific information related to the effectiveness, harms, prevalence, facilitators and barriers, and sustainability of Health Information Exchange. More information is available in the Federal Register notice. Submissions must be received by September 29, 2014.

NOtable PUblications & Community events

Social Scientists among 2014 Golden Goose Awardees

On September 18, the scientific community and policy makers will come together to celebrate the winners of this year's Golden Goose Award at a ceremony in Washington, DC. The Golden Goose Award honors scientists whose research funded by the federal government has yielded major benefits to society, which could not have been anticipated at the time of funding. Among the 2014 awardees is a group of scientists whose research studying the impact of maternal absence on infant rats has significantly improved the ability of premature babies to thrive and has saved billions in health care costs and a group of economists who applied basic research on game theory to assist the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in setting allocations for auctioning the telecommunications spectrum, which has yielded more than $60 billion in revenue for the federal government. COSSA is a supporter of the 2014 Golden Goose Award.

DBASSE Announces New Director of Human-Systems Integration Board

Last month, the National Research Council's Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) announced the appointment of Dr. Poornima Madhavan as the next director of the Board on Human Systems Integration (BOHSI). Madhavan comes to the National Academies from Old Dominion University, where she is associate professor of human factors in the department of psychology, as well as director of undergraduate research. BOHSI issues reports and provides expertise on a range of topics, which include "scientific and technology challenges of virtual reality, research needs for human factors, mental models of human-computer interaction, nuclear safety, the future of air traffic control, the effects of musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace, human factors in the design of tactical displays, organizational linkages," among others.

NRC Releases Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform Report

This month, the Committee on Law and Justice within the National Research Council's Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) released a report, Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. The report is a follow-on to the 2013 report, Reforming Juvenile Justice: A Developmental Approach, and is "designed to provide specific guidance to [the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in the Department of Justice] regarding the steps that it should take, both internally and externally, to facilitate juvenile justice reform grounded in knowledge about adolescent development and effective interventions."

Funding Opportunities

Notable NIH Funding Opportunities

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued three notable funding opportunities:

COSSA Member Activities

American Academy of Arts & Sciences to Release New Report on Scientific Research and the American Dream

On September 16, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, a COSSA member, will publish a new report, Restoring the Foundation: The Vital Role of Research in Preserving the American Dream, at a public release event and Congressional briefing. Presenters include report committee co-chairs Norman R. Augustine, Retired Chairman and CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation and former Under Secretary, United States Army; and Neal F. Lane, Malcolm Gillis University Professor at Rice University, former Director of the National Science Foundation, and former Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The events will also feature Hunter R. Rawlings III, President, Association of American Universities; Peter McPherson, President, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities; and the Hon. Bart Gordon, member of the report committee, Partner at K&L Gates, former U.S. Representative for Tennessee, and former Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology. Click here for more information and instructions on how to register.

AAPSS Invites Nominations for 2015 Moynihan Prize

The American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS), a COSSA member, is inviting nominations for the 2015 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize. This annual prize honors "public servants and scholars who champion the use of social science research and evidence in policymaking." Acceptance of the award entails a ceremony in Washington, DC in May 2015 and a public address. The 2014 Moynihan Prize was awarded to Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University. Nominations are due September 26.

LSA Promoting Native American Language Revitalization

The Linguistic Society of America (LSA), a COSSA Governing Member, has engaged in an initiative to educate policymakers about the value of Native American language revitalization. Two bills pending in Congress-- the Native American Languages Reauthorization Act of 2014 (H.R. 726/S. 2299) and the Native Language Immersion Student Achievement Act (H.R. 4214/S. 1948)-- seek to preserve and revitalize Native American languages. Interested organizations can express their support of the bills here.

Consortium of Social Science Associations

Members

Governing Members

American Anthropological Association

American Association for Public Opinion Research

American Economic Association

American Educational Research Association

American Historical Association

American Political Science Association

American Psychological Association

American Society of Criminology

American Sociological Association

American Statistical Association

Association of American Geographers

Association of American Law Schools

Law and Society Association

Linguistic Society of America

Midwest Political Science Association

National Communication Association

Population Association of America

Society for Research in Child Development

Membership Organizations

Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences

American Evaluation Association

American Finance Association

American Psychosomatic Society

Association for Asian Studies
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management
Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations
Association of Research Libraries
Council on Social Work Education

Economic History Association

History of Science Society
Justice Research and Statistics Association
Midwest Sociological Society
National Association of Social Workers
North American Regional Science Council
North Central Sociological Association
Rural Sociological Society

Social Science History Association

Society for Anthropological Sciences
Society for Empirical Legal Studies

Society for Research on Adolescence

Society for Social Work and Research

Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues

Society of Behavioral Medicine

Southern Political Science Association
Southern Sociological Society
Southwestern Social Science Association

Centers and Institutes

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

American Academy of Political and Social Sciences

American Council of Learned Societies

American Institutes for Research

The Brookings Institution

Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences

Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research

Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan

Institute for Social Science Research, University of Massachusetts

Institute for Women's Policy Research

NORC at the University of Chicago

Population Reference Bureau

RTI International

RWJF Center for Health Policy at the University of New Mexico
Social Science Research Council

Vera Institute of Justice

Colleges and Universities

Arizona State University

Boston University

Brown University

Carnegie-Mellon University

Clark University

Columbia University

Cornell University

Duke University

George Mason University

The George Washington University

Georgetown University

Harvard University

Howard University

Indiana University

John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

Johns Hopkins University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University

Michigan State University

New York University

North Dakota State University

Northwestern University

The Ohio State University

Pennsylvania State University

Princeton University

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Stanford University

State University of New York, Stony Brook

Texas A & M University

University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Irvine

University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, San Diego

University of California, Santa Barbara

University of Chicago

University of Connecticut

University of Delaware

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

University of Iowa

University of Maryland

University of Michigan

University of Minnesota

University of Missouri, St. Louis

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

University of Oklahoma

University of Pennsylvania

University of South Carolina

University of Texas, Austin

University of Texas, San Antonio

University of Virginia

University of Washington

University of Wisconsin, Madison

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Washington University in St. Louis

West Virginia University

Yale University

COSSA

Executive Director: Wendy A. Naus
Deputy Director: Angela L. Sharpe

Assistant Director for Public Affairs: Julia Milton

President: James S. Jackson

Address all inquiries to COSSA at newsletter@cossa.org. Telephone: (202) 842-3525

The Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) is an advocacy organization promoting attention to and federal support for the social and behavioral sciences.

UPDATE is published 22 times per year. ISSN 0749-4394.