[Nhcoll-l] FW: Science Policy News from AIBS

Mon Jan 4 11:02:40 EST 2021

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AIBS Public Policy Report

AIBS Public Policy Report, Volume 22, Issue 1, January 4, 2021

  *   Congress Approves FY 2021 Spending, Stimulus Legislation
  *   Academy Report Discusses Future of Science Policy
  *   Report Examines Economic Benefits of Scientific Collections
  *   Upcoming Webinar: Forward-Thinking Discussion on Biological Collections
  *   Invitation: Global Consultation on Converging Digital and Extended Specimens
  *   Deadline Approaching: 2021 Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award
  *   Short Takes
     *   UK Retains Access to European Research Funding Under Brexit Deal
     *   GAO Report: Agencies Need to Strengthen Policies to Address Foreign Influence
     *   Nominations Requested: Study on Misleading Information about Biological Threats
  *   From the Federal Register

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The AIBS Public Policy Report is distributed broadly by email every two weeks.  Any interested party may self-subscribe<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=e4a4b62915&e=6708ed45cf> to receive these free reports by email.

With proper attribution to AIBS, all material from these reports may be reproduced or forwarded. AIBS staff appreciates receiving copies of materials used. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact the AIBS Public Policy Manager, Jyotsna Pandey, at 202-628-1500 x 225.

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Congress Approves FY 2021 Spending, Stimulus Legislation

On December 21, 2020, both chambers of Congress passed a $900 billion coronavirus stimulus package along with the fiscal year (FY) 2021 omnibus spending legislation.  After demanding changes to relief provisions in the congressionally approved legislation for a week, President Trump capitulated and signed the stimulus-spending bill into law on December 27, 2020, just prior to the expiration of the most recent stopgap funding resolution.

The stimulus package includes $20 billion for the purchase and distribution of coronavirus vaccines; $325 billion in economic relief for small businesses, including $284 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program and an additional $20 billion for grants; $82 billion for schools with $22.7 billion for higher education institutions; unemployment benefit extensions of $300 per week through March 2021; and up to $600 direct payments to individuals.  The legislation does not include the two controversial measures that had drawn out relief negotiations—aid for state and local governments, which the Democrats had been pushing for, and liability protections for business, a GOP priority.  The aid package also left out the $26 billion in supplemental research relief<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=8de32cdac1&e=6708ed45cf> funding for federal agencies that academic and science groups, including AIBS, have been advocating for.

The $1.4 trillion appropriations omnibus, which allocates FY 2021 funding for the federal government, rejects the deeps cuts proposed<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=d5e7fe56a0&e=6708ed45cf> by President Trump for most science agencies and provides modest funding increases for research.  Overall, defense spending would increase by $5 billion over FY 2020 to $671.5 billion and nondefense spending would increase by $20 billion to $656.5 billion.  The omnibus provides:

  *   $8.5 billion to the National Science Foundation, an increase of 2.5 percent compared to FY 2020, with $6.9 billion for Research and Related Activities (+2.5 percent).  President Trump had proposed a 6 percent cut to the science agency.
  *   $5.4 billion (+1.5 percent) for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  *   $23.3 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a 3 percent increase, with $7.3 billion (+2 percent) for its Science account. President Trump had proposed a 12 percent boost for NASA.
  *   A flat budget of $1.03 billion for the National Institute of Science and Technology, with a 4.5 percent increase for the agency’s core science programs.
  *   $42.9 billion to the National Institutes of Health, an increase of 3 percent over FY 2020.
  *   $7.026 billion (+$26 million) for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science and $427 million (+$2 million) for Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.  Biological and environmental research at DOE saw an increase of $3 million to $753 million.
  *   $13.7 billion (-$146 million) to the Interior Department in FY 2021, with $1.3 billion (-$60 million) going to the Bureau of Land Management; $3.1 billion (-$254 million) to the National Park Service; and $1.58 billion (-$60 million) to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
  *   $1.32 billion (+$45 million) to the U.S. Geological Survey, with $259 million for the Ecosystems Mission Area.
  *   $9.2 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (+$180 million). President Trump had proposed slashing the budget for the agency by 26 percent.
  *   $1.033 billion (-$14 million) to the Smithsonian Institution, with $51.5 million (+$1.8 million) for the National Museum of Natural History.
  *   $3.3 billion (+$125 million) for agricultural research, including $1.57 billion (+$43 million) for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, $1.53 billion (-$80 million) for the Agricultural Research Service, $435 million (+$10 million) for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.
The government had been operating under a series of stopgap funding resolutions since fiscal year 2021 began on October 1.  The finalized appropriations package ensures predictable funding for federal research agencies for the remainder of the year.  Although the latest stimulus does not include any funding to address pandemic-related disruptions to research, there will likely be other opportunities to secure research aid in the coming months.  Several lawmakers and President-Elect Joe Biden have indicated that they will push for additional relief funding in the new year.  Biden called the most recent stimulus “an important down payment on what's going to have to be done beginning the end of January into February.”

Academy Report Discusses Future of Science Policy

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has released proceedings from a February 2020 symposium that summarizes discussions among leading business, academic, and government professionals on the future of science policy in the U.S. and whether the modern research architecture needs to be reconfigured to meet 21st century challenges.

“We need to find ways to make all of our institutions, including my own, more responsive and nimble in a fast-moving world,” said Marcia McNutt, President of NAS.  “We must ask if we are doing enough to inspire, nurture, and cultivate our young people. We have to encourage diversity and inclusion and create an informed citizenry that values decision-making and policies based on science and evidence.”

Drawing on remarks from a number of leaders—including former NSF Director France Córdova, Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Rafael Reif, former Lockheed Martin Corp CEO Norman Augustine, and Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science founder Alan Alda—the report examines future pathways to leadership in science, how to respond to an evolving research enterprise, communicating science to the public, the evolution of the government-university research partnership, and connecting basic research with economic growth.

The report<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=bad79de0e5&e=6708ed45cf>, The Endless Frontier: The Next 75 Years in Science, concludes with four take-home messages from McNutt “to ensure that science remains the endless frontier.”  The first highlights education: “Science needs more exciting new projects to attract young people to research—It also needs to prepare and reach out to everyone, not just to the members of particular groups.”  The second message emphasizes the need for scientists to effectively engage with the public, with communication going “in both directions, so scientists learn what members of the public think and need and what it takes to earn the public’s trust.”  The third point underlines the importance of a diversified research portfolio to ensure research dollars are spent in the most effective way.  The final take-home message involves the re-envisioning of the reward system in science and the need for science to be much more inclusive, distributed, and participatory.

The symposium was held in partnership with The Kavli Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to mark the 75th anniversary of the publication of Vannevar Bush’s report Science: The Endless Frontier, which created a blueprint for U.S. scientific research after World War II.

Report Examines Economic Benefits of Scientific Collections

A new advisory report, entitled, “Economic Analyses of Federal Scientific Collections,” explores the economic benefits of Federal scientific collections.  The report provides a framework for economic analyses, including methods for documenting long-term operating costs and benefits of collections.

The study was commissioned by the Interagency Working Group on Scientific Collections (IWGSC)—part of the White House National Science and Technology Council.  IWGSC is co-chaired by the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and consists of representatives from more than 15 Federal departments and agencies, each of which owns, manages, or provides financial support for scientific collections spread across a wide spectrum of scientific disciplines. The report was produced by IWGSC’s Economic Study Group—a panel comprised of federal researchers, economists, collections professionals and budget or policy specialists and chaired by David E. Schindel, Research Associate at the Smithsonian Institution.

The report provides illustrative examples of the services enabled by scientific collections, including their contributions to vaccine development and earthquake preparedness. While this report focuses on collections owned, operated and/or supported by government agencies, the methods presented in the report are universally applicable to museums, universities, research institutions and industries around the world.  “Although the report is focused on Federal scientific collections, its content applies to myriad collections and leads to many public benefits,” said Scott Miller, Smithsonian chief scientist and IWGSC co-chair. “The report is especially timely given the economic stress on research and organizations because of COVID-19.”

“The benefits generated by federal institutional collections can take many forms, both monetary and non-monetary,” argues the report.  “These benefits are usually indirect and delayed, and the value chains that connect costs to benefits are generally difficult to document.”  The report outlines a standard framework for estimating long-term operating costs and describes five different methods, along with their strengths and weaknesses, for estimating and documenting the benefits generated by collections. Examples presented in the report highlight how the differences among collections and their missions require different methods. The report also provides guidance on how to select the most appropriate methods to make evidence-based decisions. According to the authors, demonstrating the long-term value of scientific collections can help institutions preserve these important resources to address future challenges.

Read the report at: https://iwgsc.nal.usda.gov/economic-analyses-federal-scientific-collections<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=3c2d8dd0cc&e=6708ed45cf>

Upcoming Webinar: Forward-Thinking Discussion on Biological Collections

The Biological Collections community at-large is invited to join the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSCA), and Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) for a joint discussion with the Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN) and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) on the future of biological collections.  Representatives from the NASEM panel that authored the report, Biological Collections: Ensuring Critical Research and Education for the 21st Century, and the Extended Specimen Network writing committee will discuss and leverage the common themes and associated recommendations from these reports to kick off discussions on the short-, medium-, and long-term implementation plan goals and identify the path forward.

Date: January 14, 2021
Time: 2:00-4:00 pm Eastern Time (includes a 15 minute break)
Location: Online via Zoom
The webinar will be recorded.

Registration is free, but required.  For more information about the program and panelists and to register for the webinar, please visit https://www.aibs.org/news/2020/201221-collections-webinar.html#subheader<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=0c79a69f0d&e=6708ed45cf>.

The Biological Collections community around the world is incredibly diverse and all voices need to be heard. We rely on you to disseminate this announcement far and wide to groups and individuals who should be a part of this conversation.

Invitation: Global Consultation on Converging Digital and Extended Specimens

Over the past year several exciting conversations about the possibilities of digital representations of the billions of specimens currently held in the world’s natural history collections. Two concepts—the Digital Specimen<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=04d59dc7b9&e=6708ed45cf> proposed by the Distributed System of Scientific Collections (DiSSCo) in Europe and the Extended Specimen<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=3b3ad705c7&e=6708ed45cf> emerging from the Biological Collections Network (BCoN) in the United States—are now aligning towards a shared vision that connects all information related to a specimen, creating in effect “digital twins” for the materials held in scientific collections.

Beginning in February, the consultation will seek to engage the wider community on a handful of topics that have technical, financial, social, governance and professional implications that require broader discussion and consensus. The consultation aims to expand participation in the process, build support for further collaboration, identify key use cases, and develop an initial roadmap for community adoption and implementation.

Topics of the consultation will include:

  *   Digitizing/mobilizing FAIR data for specimens
  *   Extending, enriching and integrating data
  *   Annotating specimens and related data
  *   Crediting and attributing tasks like data and material curation
  *   Analyzing/mining specimen data for novel applications
The alliance for biodiversity knowledge invites other parties to participate in this process, to review the draft consultation outline<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=88c40061b7&e=6708ed45cf> and to sign the Letter of Intent<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=fb3c4ee292&e=6708ed45cf>. More details about the virtual consultation will become available after the holiday. If you have ideas, want to ask questions, or would like to co-moderate a topic, please contact us at alliance at gbif.org<mailto:alliance at gbif.org>.

Deadline Approaching: 2021 Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award

Are you a science graduate student looking to make a difference in science policy and funding?  The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is now accepting applications for the 2021 AIBS Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award.  This award recognizes graduate students in the biological sciences who are demonstrating an interest and aptitude for working at the intersection of science and policy.

Recipients of the AIBS Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award receive:

  *   A trip to Washington, DC, to participate in the AIBS Congressional Visits Day, an annual event where scientists meet with lawmakers to advocate for federal investment in the biological sciences, with a primary focus on the National Science Foundation. Domestic travel and hotel expenses are paid for the winners. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, winners will participate in a virtual advocacy event in the spring of 2021 (likely in April) and will also have the opportunity to attend a future in-person event.
  *   Online policy and communications training, including information on the legislative process and trends in federal science funding, and how to engage with policymakers and the news media.
  *   Meetings with congressional policymakers to discuss the importance of federal investment in the biological sciences.
  *   A one-year subscription to the journal BioScience and a copy of “Communicating Science: A Primer for Working with the Media.”

The 2021 award is open to U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents enrolled in a graduate degree program in the biological sciences, science education, or a closely allied field. Applicants should have a demonstrated interest in and commitment to science policy and/or science education policy. Prior recipients, including Honorable Mentions, are not eligible for the award.

Applications are due by 05:00 PM Eastern Time on January 15, 2021.  The application guidelines can be downloaded at https://www.aibs.org/news/2020/201111-call-for-eppla-2021.html#subheader<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=c50eb2e0bb&e=6708ed45cf>.

Short Takes

  *   Researchers in the United Kingdom (UK) will remain eligible for European research funding under the agreement reached on December 24, 2020 concerning Britain’s departure from the European Union (EU) or Brexit.  According to the deal<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=243cf01ab9&e=6708ed45cf>, in exchange for a contribution to the EU budget, the UK will have access to EU’s forthcoming Horizon research funding program, which will invest €85 billion over the next seven years.  The UK will, however, lose influence over the program and how the money is doled out—those decisions are reserved for EU countries. According to an analysis by Nature, the UK received<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=327ffc71b0&e=6708ed45cf> 12.1 percent of the funding under Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe’s predecessor program; while the country’s average contribution to the overall EU budget had been around 11.4 percent.  The Brexit agreement was approved by the UK Parliament on December 30, 2020 and now awaits ratification by the European Parliament.
  *   According to a new report<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=7821ab1baa&e=6708ed45cf> by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), federal agencies need to enhance and clarify their policies for monitoring the foreign ties of the researchers they support.  GAO reviewed five agencies that together accounted for almost 90 percent of all federal R&D expenditures at universities in fiscal year 2018.  They found that three have agency-wide conflict of interest policies, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, while the Departments of Defense and Energy do not.  However, the three agencies with existing policies “focus on financial interests but do not specifically address or define non-financial interests.”  The GAO recommends that agencies address gaps in monitoring foreign influences by adopting explicit and uniform policies on how grantees can adequately disclose financial and nonfinancial conflicts and other required information.
  *   The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is launching a study that will assess how scientists can determine which claims may be addressed by defensible scientific information, and how scientists can work together in trusted networks to conduct accurate, authoritative, and evidence-based analysis and peer review in a community-based manner to address those claims. Nominations will be accepted for experts to serve on this study committee by January 16, 2021. Learn more<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=a3c1358b0e&e=6708ed45cf>.

From the Federal Register

The following items appeared in the Federal Register from December 21 to January 1, 2021.

Commerce

  *   Hydrographic Services Review Panel<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=d7fed2f402&e=6708ed45cf>
  *   Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=9a26c22b7a&e=6708ed45cf>
  *   Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Northeast Fisheries Science Center Fisheries and Ecosystem Research, Atlantic Ocean<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=a848cef5e6&e=6708ed45cf>
  *   Sanctuary System Business Advisory Council: Public Meeting<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=731cb1af55&e=6708ed45cf>

Environmental Protection Agency

  *   Interim PFAS Destruction and Disposal Guidance; Notice of Availability for Public Comment<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=40b33dc4fc&e=6708ed45cf>

Health and Human Services

  *   Fogarty International Center; Notice of Meeting<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=4468f5bc37&e=6708ed45cf>
  *   Meeting of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=1d9cde6725&e=6708ed45cf>
  *   National Cancer Institute; Notice of Meeting<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=b9b5a75e02&e=6708ed45cf>
  *   National Cancer Institute; Notice of Meeting<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=4d40a33b8b&e=6708ed45cf>

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  *   NASA Advisory Council; Human Exploration and Operations Committee Meeting, Including Joint Meeting with Science Committee<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=5c6020c2e9&e=6708ed45cf>

National Science Foundation

  *   Sunshine Act Meetings<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=35709e1c16&e=6708ed45cf>

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  *   Give your society or organization a voice in public policy. Join AIBS today.<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=8bd4f015df&e=6708ed45cf>

  *   Become an advocate for science, visit the AIBS Legislative Action Center<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=c6da539304&e=6708ed45cf>.

The American Institute of Biological Sciences is a non-profit 501(c)3 public charity organization that advances the biological sciences for the benefit of science and society. AIBS works with like-minded organizations, funding agencies, and political entities to promote the use of science to inform decision-making. The organization does this by providing peer-reviewed or vetted information about the biology field and profession and by catalyzing action through building the capacity and the leadership of the community to address matters of common concern.

Founded in 1947 as a part of the National Academy of Sciences, AIBS became an independent, member-governed organization in the 1950s. Today, AIBS has over 100 member organizations and has a Public Policy Office in Washington, DC. Its staff members work to achieve its mission by publishing the peer-reviewed journal BioScience, by providing scientific peer-review and advisory services to government agencies and other clients, and by collaborating with scientific organizations to advance public policy, education, and the public understanding of science.

Website: www.aibs.org<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=6281dfbb8d&e=6708ed45cf>.

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