The 2015 COSSA Annual Meeting and Social and Behavioral Science Advocacy Day is fast approaching. Join us on March 9-10, 2015 in Washington, DC for a day of discussion on federal issues impacting social and behavioral science research. The preliminary program is available here. Visit the COSSA Annual Meeting page for full details.

President Obama released his fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request to Congress on February 2, officially kicking off the FY 2016 appropriations process. COSSA has released its analysis of the President's budget request. The 62-page report provides funding details for all federal departments, agencies, and programs important to social and behavioral science research. It outlines the President's funding proposals as they compare to current (FY 2015) levels. In addition, the document serves as a helpful catalog of social science programs and initiatives across the federal government.

COSSA has developed a series of fact sheets describing the amount of federal funding for social and behavioral science that is provided to each state. These fact sheets are intended to illustrate the economic impact of federal investment in social and behavioral science research, including as a driver for innovation at universities across the country. While federal investment in social science research is significant ($921 million), it pales in comparison to the total amount of annual federal funding for all of science and engineering ($40.1 billion).

Over the last few months, a number of bills in support the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have been introduced by members of the 114th Congress. These authorizing bills would address various aspects of NIH, including increasing the amount of funding that can be appropriated to it.

Read on for details on the follow bills:

• 21st Century Cures Act Discussion Draft
• Accelerating Biomedical Research Act
• American Cures Act
• Medical Innovation Act

On January 29, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Richard Burr (R-NC) released Innovation for Healthier Americans: Identifying Opportunities for Meaningful Reform to Our Nation's Medical Product Discovery and Development. The report addresses challenges to getting safe treatments, devices, and cures to patients more quickly and effectively, looking specifically at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Read on for details.

On January 28, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed the Strengthening Education through Research Act (S. 227). The bill reauthorizes the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA). ESRA authorizes funding for the research activities of the U.S. Department of Education, including the Institute for Education Sciences (IES). The legislation would authorize an appropriation of $612 million for fiscal year (FY) 2016 and $3.2 billion between 2016-2020 to support federal educational research, statistical analysis, and other activities.

Read on for details.

On February 9, Dr. Nancy Rodriguez (Arizona State University) was sworn in as director of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). Rodriguez's research expertise includes topics such as collateral consequences of imprisonment; issues pertaining to race, ethnicity, crime, and justice; and longitudinal studies of families affected by maternal/paternal incarceration. She was appointed by President Obama in October 2014.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) has released its biennial report, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. Mandated by the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act, the report details the participation of these underrepresented groups in science and engineering. The data is organized by enrollment, field of degree, occupation, employment status, and academic employment. More information, including downloads of the report digest and data, are available on the NCSES website.

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is accepting applications for a Service Fellowship in the Analytic Studies Branch of the Office of Analysis and Epidemiology. The Fellow will be primarily responsible for preparing and disseminating Health, United States, NCHS' flagship report. Qualified applicants will have graduate degrees in the social sciences, health sciences, statistics, public health, or a related field (e.g., demography, public policy, or epidemiology). More information on the fellowship and application process is on the NCHS website. Applications are due March 31, 2015.

COSSA is thrilled to welcome Fielding Graduate University as its newest university member. Located in Santa Barbara, CA, Fielding boasts scholarship and practice in fields such as clinical psychology and media psychology, human and organizational development, and educational leadership and change.

COSSA's full membership list can be viewed here.

The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS), a leading authority on criminal justice education, research, and policy analysis, has announced the creation of Policy Notes, a new series of free online, policy-focused abstract summaries that highlight the findings and implications of leading peer-reviewed research from ACJS' flagship publication Justice Quarterly. The first Policy Notes looks at what the latest research on residence restrictions for sex offenders mean for future housing policy and is available here.