The Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) is an advocacy organization that promotes attention to and Federal funding for the social and behavioral sciences. It serves as a bridge between the academic research community and the Washington policymaking community. Its members consist of more than 100 professional associations, scientific societies, universities, and research centers and institutes. In its many activities, COSSA:
- Represents the needs and interests of social and behavioral scientists;
- Educates federal officials about social and behavioral science;
- Informs the science community about relevant federal policies;
- and Cooperates with other science and education groups in pursuit of common goals.
COSSA works with federal agencies and with the relevant congressional committees and offices to explain the importance of social and behavioral sciences toAmerica’s economic and national security.Many advocacy activities are conducted through coalitions. COSSA has not only participated actively in these groups, but, has and continues to, serve in leadership positions. Its Executive Director has served as the chair of the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) and its Deputy Director co-chairs the Coalition to Promote Research (CPR) and the Coalition for the Advancement for Health Through Behavioral and Social Science Research (CAHT-BSSR). COSSA also leads the Collaborative for Enhancing Diversity in Science (CEDS).
Click here to learn more about why and how to join COSSA!
Follow COSSA on 
|
COSSA Washington Update
May 14, 2012 - Volume 31, Issue 9
- House Passes CJS Spending Bill: Amendments Eliminate NSF Political Science Program and American Community Survey
- Paul Volcker Receives Moynihan Prize from AAPSS
- CDC Conference Examines "The Weight of the Nation:" IOM Issues Obesity Report
- Ramaswamy Takes Over at NIFA
- Lead Poisoning and Health Disparities Focus of Briefing
- Fogarty Seeks Input on its Strategic Plan
Archived Update
Stay informed with Update! We invite you to sign up to receive our bi-weekly electronic newsletter!
'Science in the Age of Austerity'
COSSA Executive Director Speaks at University of Texas
Howard J. Silver, COSSA's Executive Director, at the invitation of the University of Texas' Population Research Center, directed by Mark Hayward, spoke at the University of Texas at Austin on October 14. His topic "Science in the Age of Austerity," reflected the difficulties the emphasis on federal budget deficits has placed on funding for research today and possibly into the future.
He had earlier given similar talks to the American Education Research Association on September 11 focusing primarily on the National Science Foundation and to the Association of Public Data Users on September 23 focusing on the agencies of the federal statistical system.
The slides from the Texas presentation are available here.
COSSA's 2011 Annual Meeting and Celebration
November 2 and 3, 2011
Washington, DC
Summary - A Colloquium Celebrating COSSA's 30 Years of Advocacy
- The Changing Political Landscape: 1981-2011 - Thomas Mann
- Economic Well-Being - Charles Schulze
- Race and Ethnicity - James Jackson
- Crime Reduction - Al Blumstein
- Human Behavior and Environmental Change - Roberta Balstad
- Health and Behavior - Norman Anderson
- Cora Marrett
- The SBE Sciences in STEM Education
- Felice Levine
- Steve Breckler
- Robert Hauser
- Shirley Malcom
- Changing Demographics and Immigration Policy
- Richard Alba
- William Frey
- Michael Olivas
- Linda Jacobsen
- Looking Ahead: New Tools, New Areas for Research
- Robert Groves
- Myron Gutmann
- Robert Kaplan
- Subra Suresh
- Challenges for Social/Behavioral Science in the Deficit Driven Federal Budget Climate
- David Price
- John Laub
- Ruth Lee
- Wendy Baldwin
- Michael McPerson
- Kenneth Prewitt
(Speakers' Presentations)
2012 Meeting -- November 29-30; Washington, DC |
COSSA Led Coalitions
COSSA Members' Annual Meetings
2012
Association of American Law Schools
January 4 - 8; Washington, DC
American Historical Association
January 5 - 8; Chicago, IL
Linguistic Society of America
January 5 - 8; Portland, OR
American Economic Association
January 6 -8; Chicago, IL
Association of American Geographers
February 24 -28; New York City, NY
Midwest Political Science Association
April 12 -15; Chicago, IL
Population Association of America
May 3 -5; San Francisco, CA
American Educational Research Association
April 13 -17; Vancouver, Canada
American Association for Public Opinion Research
May 17 -20; Orlando, FL
Law and Society Association
June 5 -8, Honolulu, HI
Rural Sociological Society
July 25-29; Chicago, IL
American Statistical Association
July 28 - August 2; San Diego, CA
American Psychological Association
August 2 - August 5; Orlando, FL
American Sociological Association
August 17 - August 20; Denver, CO
Amerian Political Science Association
August 30 - Sept. 2; New Orleans, LA
American Society of Criminology
November 14 - Nov. 17; Chicago, IL
National Communication Association
November 15 - Nov. 18, Orlando FL
|
|
Protecting the SBE Sciences at the National Science Foundation
House Votes to Prohibit Funding of NSF's Political Science Program and Eliminate American Community Survey
On May 9th the House voted 218-208 in support of an amendment offered by Rep. Jeff Flake (AZ) to prohibit NSF from spending appropriated funds on the NSF's political science program and 232-190 supporting an amendment offered by Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL) to eliminate the American Community Survey. more
A Congressional Briefing - February 28, 2012
Human Subjects Protection
Social and Behavioral Science White Paper on Advanced Notice for Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM)
COSSA and 21 research associations representing more than 350,000 members provided the following social and behavioral science (SBS) white paper in response to the ANPRM requesting comments regarding current regulations for the protecting human subjects in research, as set forth in 45CFR46, Subpart A (the “Common Rule”).
Download Paper (PDF)
Rebuilding the Mosaic:
Fostering Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the Next Decade
A new report from NSF’s Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate presents a vision and research agenda for the next decade of research in these sciences.
Download report
Sign the Petition to Congress:
Protect NIH Funding!
The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, 300 patient and voluntary health groups, medical and scientific societies, academic and research organizations, and industry, has posted an on-line petition opposing the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) funding cut. COSSA is a member of the Ad Hoc Group's Steering Committee.
Sign it today to express your support to Congress for the NIH and to protect its funding.
The petition is available at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/preservenihfunding/
|
COSSA Briefings: Presenting Social and Behavioral Research to Congress
One of COSSA’s roles is to serve as a bridge between the academic research community and the Washington policymaking community. To accomplish this, from the beginning COSSA has presented the results of social and behavioral science research to policy makers through a series of briefings or seminars held on Capitol Hill. The audiences for these sessions have consisted of congressional staff, executive branch agency staff, public interest group representatives, and sometimes Members of Congress.
Recent Briefing Topics
More
|
|
