I'm often asked what I do at APS. (Particularly by my former colleagues in graduate school! And my mother.) The official answer is that I am APS's liaison with federal research agencies and Congress, which means I educate policymakers about the role of behavioral science in health, education, and other areas of public concern, as well as advocate to improve the visibility of psychological science and further its use in developing public policy. That doesn't help much, does it? That's why this featurette was born: to give you a better sense of how we do just that. Much of the work happens behind the scenes and sometimes in measured steps; that's how it's done in this town, and with great success on APS' part. We're busting open to give you the inside scoop – in an occasional column, I'll report on the latest happenings in the world of behavioral science advocacy. Be forewarned: you're going to learn a lot of acronyms (and you're expected to remember them).
- Amy Pollick
Government Relations and Advocacy
The APS Government Relations team educates federal policy makers about the role of behavioral science in health, education, productivity, and other areas of public concern, and works to improve the visibility of psychological science and further its use in developing public policy.
Issues
Access information about current issues affecting the psychological science community.
Congressional Activities
See the latest Congressional report language and testimonies.
Observer Coverage
Read recent articles covering a variety of topics relating to government relations in the Observer.
Federal Agencies
Acces resources about federal agencies and Congress.
Current Funding Opportunities
Success Stories in Behavioral Science
March 17, 2010
NSF, EPA, NYC – TMA (Too Many Acronyms)
When I last wrote, I mentioned that the topic of animal cognition research at NSF has come into sharper focus for APS. To get some traction on the issue, APS brokered meetings earlier this month between an NSF program officer in NSF's Social, Behavioral, & Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE) and a group of top animal cognition researchers, at the Eastern Psychological Association meeting in Brooklyn (No...sleep...till Brooklyn – for those of you young enough to appreciate this*). The meetings generated productive discussions about ways to garner better support for the field within SBE (the Biology Directorate had historically been the primary home for this research), including programs that most animal cognition researchers haven't tapped into, such as the Decision, Risk, & Management Sciences, Physical Anthropology, and Developmental & Learning Sciences programs. Resources are posted on the Advocacy section of the APS website, and remember to always call the pertinent program officers if you're interested in applying.
Energy Forward
We're making steady progress on our effort to get a behavioral research program funded at the Department of Energy (DoE). To that end, we've been meeting with a slew of Congressional members to get them to sign onto a letter spearheaded by the departing Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA), asking appropriations committees to fund this new program. So far, the powerful Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Rush Holt (D-NJ) have signed on, and we're waiting on other supporters. This should increase the chances of a request being made this year.
It's budget hearing and briefing time on the Hill – federal agency heads of all stripes talk about their budgets with many committees and staffers, and one had an interesting connection with energy and behavior. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) at DoE (which is the program that would likely house behavioral research) discussed their budget with staffers at a briefing late last month. I asked the EERE heads (Assistant Secretary Cathy Zoi and her Deputy, Henry Kelly) how they plan to address the human element in their new and exciting initiatives, and they replied that they're keen on applying behavioral economics insights to their programs, and they welcome input (see the video of the hearing – start at 1:03:05). We (and you should) certainly plan to take them up on this!
Talking About Student Research Participants at "Sack-Harp"
You may have heard around your institution about a letter from the federal Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) to a private company about penalizing student research participants for failing to show up for a study. There's been debate about whether it's right for OHRP to make this decision, and how much control local IRBs should have over this issue. You can read more about it here. At last week's OHRP's advisory committee (officially called the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections, or SACHRP), OHRP Director Jerry Menikoff told me they've received a number of letters, mostly from psychologists, expressing concern about decisions regarding student research participation being wrested away from local IRBs. Make your views known and write to OHRP (that means you, psychologists who are IRB chairs and members). And check out this interview with Menikoff in the APS Observer.
Signing off,
Amy
*For those of you who aren't, it's from the song "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" by the Beastie Boys.