House Modernization Committee Develops Recommendations on Increasing Collaboration and Evidence-Based Policy Making
The House of Representatives Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress released a set of recommendations this month focused on increasing collaboration and civility among Members of Congress and supporting evidence-based policymaking. Of particular interest to I-Os, the Select Committee recommended that Congress establish a bipartisan, bicameral commission to further the use of data in the legislative process to support evidence-based policymaking. The recommendation also suggests that the House facilitate conflict resolution by providing Members with information on outside organizations that can work with offices to resolve issues and find common ground. SIOP has been heavily engaged with the Select Committee on these and other issues of relevance to I-O psychology. Most recently, President Steven Rogelberg interviewed Select Committee Chairman Derek Kilmer (D-WA) on the work of the Select Committee and the role I-O psychology can play in modernizing Congress. The Select Committee continues to accept feedback on its work and recommendations, and we encourage US-based SIOP members to engage with the Select Committee through this mechanism.
NSF Updates STEM Scholarship, MSI Capacity Building Opportunities
The National Science Foundation (NSF) issued a new solicitation for applications under the Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program. The S-STEM program aims to increase the number of low-income students graduating in STEM fields by funding institutions of higher education to award scholarships, implement evidence-based curricular activities, and otherwise improve student success and graduation in STEM. The new solicitation expands program eligibility for the S-STEM program to most fields of study funded by NSF, including social sciences fields previously not supported by the program. However, business school programs leading to Bachelor of Arts or Science in Business Administration remain ineligible. Award amounts vary from $750,000 per year to $5 million per year over six years, depending on the scope of the proposal. Proposals are due February 23, 2022.
In addition to the S-STEM program, the NSF Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) released a new solicitation for Build and Broaden 3.0 (B2 3.0), which “supports fundamental research at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and encourages research collaborations with scholars at MSIs.” B2 3.0 hopes to advance the research capacity of MSI’s in part through partnerships with institutions that have “well-established research infrastructures.” Projects can address any of the scientific areas supported by SBE programs. NSF anticipates making 25 to 30 awards with $8 million in total funding. Proposals are due by March 1, 2022.
NSF SBE Holds Fall Advisory Committee Meeting
On December 2-3, the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE) held their fall advisory committee meeting. This was the final meeting for Assistant Director Arthur “Skip” Lupia and others in SBE leadership whose terms expire in the new year. New leadership is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. SBE also hinted at the forthcoming creation of a program officer position solely for managing efforts to broaden participation, such as the Build and Broaden program.
Among the key foci for SBE leadership were Build and Broaden; the new program on Strengthening American Infrastructure, which is expected to continue to grow in the coming years; NSF-wide priorities to address climate change, where it was hinted that more opportunities will likely be forthcoming; and additional efforts to build partnerships between SBE and the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) directorate. SBE and CISE released a dear colleague letter over the summer with funding opportunities that have overlap between the disciplines, but the advisory committee discussed going further and working on a federal funding gap analysis to better support the area.
Finally, a major topic throughout NSF has been the imminent creation of the Translation, Innovation, and Partnership (TIP) Directorate to support use-inspired research, which has received significant support from Congress and the Administration. TIP officials noted that while technology transfer will be a key focus area, there’s also strong interest in promoting social sciences and understanding the human element through the Directorate. Lewis-Burke will continue to monitor this conversation given the significant focus of end-users in most I-O research.
Publication Type
Washington InfO
Topic
Advocacy, Government Relations, STEM