April 2022 Washington InfO

Congress Comes to the 2022 SIOP Annual Conference

SIOP and Lewis-Burke Associates continue to generate interest among policymakers at the federal level. For instance, SIOP will be hosting Congressman Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Chairman of the House Select Committee on Modernization of Congress, at 9:30 a.m. PDT on Saturday, April 30 to discuss “The Congressional Workplace” and how to improve hiring, retention, morale, civility, and collaboration on Capitol Hill. For more information, please click here or visit the Whova app. We hope to see you there!

Join the GREAT Committee & Lewis-Burke at the 2022 SIOP Annual Conference!

The SIOP GREAT Committee will be hosting a session on advocacy with Lewis-Burke at the 2022 SIOP Annual Conference in Seattle, Washington. Please join us for a session on “Making the Most of Your I-O Work for Advocacy and Visibility” with Drs. Alex Alonso, Kristin Saboe, and Lorin Mueller at 1 p.m. PDT on Thursday, April 28. Attendees will receive an overview of the federal research funding landscape for 2022 and 2023.

President Biden Releases FY 2023 Budget Request

On March 28, President Biden released his second budget proposal to Congress outlining his priorities. The fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget request proposes a 5.7 percent boost in discretionary spending compared to FY 2022 for a total of around $1.6 trillion. Overall, the budget request would increase funding for research and development, climate and environment, manufacturing, education, and healthcare programs of interest to the research and science communities. The request would also provide $880 million for the new Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate at the National Science Foundation to promote use-inspired research. Key themes throughout include support for the adoption of next generation technologies, including human-machine learning; understanding the impacts of climate change; and fostering best practices for diversity, equity, and inclusion, all of which could be informed by I-O psychology. The release of the budget request also kicks of the FY 2023 appropriations process, prompting the House and Senate to hold budget hearings this spring and markup the 12 annual spending bills this summer. With bipartisan agreement lacking on appropriations and the midterm elections approaching in November, the likelihood that Congress can complete appropriations before the end of the fiscal year on September 30 is very low. A continuing resolution (CR) will likely be needed through mid-November to avoid a government shutdown and continue government operations at FY 2022 funding levels. Lewis-Burke will continue to advocate for SIOP priorities throughout this process.

SIOP Submits Comments to White House Science Office on AI R&D

SIOP submitted comments to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in response to a recent request for information (RFI) seeking to update the National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development (AI R&D) Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan establishes a group of priorities for federally funded AI R&D and calls on all government agencies to collaborate and engage with academia, private companies, and the public to further AI R&D within those areas. Comments made to this RFI will be addressed in the next update to the AI R&D Strategic Plan. SIOP comments specifically addressed standards in AI-based hiring assessments, suggesting the AI R&D Strategic Plan adopt SIOP’s guidance published in the Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures. SIOP also included recommendations related to AI and the emerging technology-enabled workforce. SIOP highlighted I-O psychology expertise analyzing how technology and AI will affect the workforce, and noted I-Os role in developing effective strategies to retrain workers, including identifying current skill needs and projecting the skills of importance for the future. Lewis-Burke continues to monitor for the forthcoming updates to the AI R&D Strategic Plan.