In Brief
Take Action: Register for Biophysics Week NIH and NSF Grant Application Sessions
Check out the activities BPS has scheduled for Biophysics Week, March 22-26. The Public Affairs Committee (PAC) will be hosting two sessions on federal grant applications. Get ‘Expert Insight into NIH Grants’ on Wednesday, March 24 at 3:00pm Eastern and ‘Inside Perspectives and Opportunities: NSF Grants’ on Friday, March 26 at 3:00pm Eastern. Register now for one or both programs!
Trillion Dollar Relief Package Awaiting Signature
The $1.9 trillion relief bill is headed to President Biden for a signature today after the House and Senate reached consensus on the final package. The House vote was split along party lines, with one Democrat voting with the Republicans against. With this package now pending signature, legislators are already looking ahead to the even larger “build back better” infrastructure proposal that the White House says will be announced after the American Rescue Plan becomes law.
FY21 National Defense Authorization Act Focuses on STEM R&D
Enacted on Jan. 1, this year’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has a strong focus on advanced technologies, particularly through its inclusion of the CHIPS for America Act and National AI Initiative Act, both of which set the stage for major interagency R&D efforts.
The Industries of the Future Act [Sec. 9412] directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to define the term “industries of the future” and submit a proposal for increasing nondefense R&D funding for these industries to $10 billion per year by fiscal year 2025. Under the Trump administration, the phrase referred specifically to artificial intelligence, quantum information science, 5G telecommunications, biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing. OSTP is also instructed to propose a path for doubling nondefense QIS funding over a baseline level by fiscal year 2022. In addition, the president is directed to establish an interagency Industries of the Future Coordination Council. A separate provision directs DOD to establish a steering committee that will assess threats related to an array of advanced technologies and to recommend strategies for addressing them. [Sec. 236]
This year’s NDAA modifies an initiative that Congress mandated two years ago to protect academic research from “undue influence” by rival nations. DOD is now instructed to publish a list of “foreign talent programs” that undermine U.S. national security interests and a list of academic institutions in countries, including but not limited to China and Russia. In addition, DOD is directed to designate an official responsible for liaising with academic institutions and to arrange for academic officials to be briefed on espionage risks. [Sec. 1299C] The same provision expands on last year’s direction that DOD develop means of vetting department-funded researchers who work in applied R&D by requiring it to also develop policies and procedures for gathering “appropriate information” on those conducting “fundamental research.”
A separate provision directs all major federal science agencies to require funding applicants to disclose the sources and amounts of all other support they are receiving or expect to receive. The provision defines “support” as including, in addition to funding, “in-kind contributions requiring a commitment of time and directly supporting the individual’s research and development efforts,” such as “office or laboratory space, equipment, supplies, employees, or students.” To penalize non-compliance, agencies are authorized to take actions ranging from rejecting applications to notifying law enforcement authorities. OSTP is directed to help harmonize disclosure policies across agencies. [Sec. 223]
NIH Launches Initiative to Address Structural Racism
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced last week the launch of a major new initiative, UNITE, to tackle structural racism in biomedical research. The effort has begun to identify short- and long-term actions that NIH can take through five agency-wide committees, the Advisory Committee to the Director and a public Request for Information (RFI). See the “Action Item” above for more information on the RFI.
NSB Addresses Bias and Broader Impacts
The National Science Board, which co-heads the National Science Foundation (NSF), recently passed two resolutions to address “the urgent need for greater participation of women and other underrepresented groups in the U.S. science and engineering enterprise and ensure that research benefits reach all Americans.” The first resolution states that the NSF director implement policies, such as mandatory peer reviewer training, focused on key elements of reviewer responsibilities, such as fair consideration of all proposals, awareness of implicit biases and useful written feedback. The second states that the NSF director should develop a plan to ensure that Committees of Visitors, which provide external expert evaluations and recommendations, have expertise on Broader Impacts grant requirements.