March 2016

The Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) held its 2016 Annual Meeting and Social and Behavioral Science Advocacy Day on March 15 and 16, bringing together more than 100 members of the social and behavioral science community for a day of discussion on federal issues impacting social and behavioral science research. Almost 50 participants took to Capitol Hill for Social and Behavioral Science Advocacy Day to meet with their Congressional delegations to discuss the value and importance of this research.

AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine, who chairs the COSSA Board of Directors, welcomed attendees at the opening session on March 15. AERA was a meeting sponsor.

On March 15, attendees heard from panelists on a broad range of social and behavioral science issues. The day started with a panel on peer review and national interest that included perspectives from the National Science Foundation and congressional committee staff.

Other panels included a look at social science and the media, trends in federal statistics, and the importance of social and behavioral science at federal agencies including the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, and National Institute of Justice. The final panel included representatives from Google, Intel, and Facebook who addressed the need for social science in the tech industry.

On March 16, COSSA members, including Levine and Juliane Baron, AERA Director of Government Relations, were divided into teams and met with Senate and House of Representatives staff in over 50 different offices to discuss the value of social science research and the critical role the federal government plays in supporting this research.