Update on Research Funding via Federal Agencies October 5, 2022
Research Development's Strategic Intelligence team monitors the federal budget and funding landscape and produces this memo on a bi-weekly basis to share information that may impact ASU research.
Science Policy Legislation
Stopgap Spending in Place, Lawmakers Depart Washington
President Biden signed a short-term spending bill last week that will keep the federal government functioning through Dec. 16, giving Congress time to negotiate finalized spending legislation for fiscal year 2023, which began Oct. 1. The agreement funds most federal programs at their current levels through the end of the year and provides $12 billion in supplemental funding for activities related to the war in Ukraine, including $136 million for R&D programs at the Department of Defense and $35 million for the Department of Energy to prepare for potential nuclear events in Ukraine. After completing their work on the stopgap, lawmakers departed Washington, D.C., and Congress will now be mostly out of session through the November election. Behind the scenes, congressional staff members may continue to hammer out budget details, but the current proposals on the table, summarized in FYI’s Federal Science Budget Tracker, will be subject to significant revision once Democrats and Republicans agree to overall levels for federal spending.
Tracking the Funds
https://www.gao.gov/tracking-funds
As part of the Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations process, Members of Congress could request provisions, designating an amount of funds to a particular recipient—such as a local government or nonprofit organization—for a specific project. These provisions are called "Congressionally Directed Spending" in the U.S. Senate and "Community Project Funding" in the House of Representatives. To help Congress oversee these funds, the US Government Accountability Office GAO) is issuing a series of products looking at agencies’ plans for distributing and monitoring the funds, including 18 agency reports.
Maintaining U.S. Global Leadership in Science and Technology Requires Greater Focus on Strengthening Innovation
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends a range of actions the federal government should take to maintain the United States’ global leadership in science and technology. The government should shift from its historical emphasis on protecting specific technologies from access by competitor nations to a risk-management approach that protects the United States’ own capacity to innovate, the report says.
US needs to do better in science diplomacy, White House says
https://sciencebusiness.net/news/us-needs-do-better-science-diplomacy-white-house-says
The White House's National Science and Technology Council sent a report to Congress urging that the US do a better job supporting international research collaboration. In science and technology, the US “is missing out on both short- and long-term strategic opportunities to engage internationally and is being left behind as a result,” said the report. It cites several problems, including inadequate funding for international research, inexperienced or over-stretched government officials and, compared to China, an uncoordinated and short-term approach to science diplomacy.
New Report Showcases Climate of Fear Among Asian-Origin Scientists and Researchers
The Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) released a report with data that shows a growing number of Chinese-origin American academics leaving the United States and switching from U.S. to Chinese affiliations. The research shows the effect of potential federal investigation and prosecution since the U.S. Department of Justice’s “China Initiative,” which launched in 2018. The national academic climate survey, conducted between December 2021 and March 2022 in collaboration with 11 Asian American professional organizations, collected responses from more than 1,300 faculty members nationwide. Although an overwhelming majority of the survey respondents (89 percent) would like to contribute to the U.S. leadership in science and technology, 42 percent are fearful of conducting research in the U.S., especially engineering and computing science faculty, life science faculty, federal grant awardees, and senior faculty.
National Space Council to seek industry input on future regulatory framework
https://spacenews.com/national-space-council-to-seek-industry-input-on-future-regulatory-framework/
The National Space Council plans to hold “learning sessions” with industry in coming weeks on how to develop a new regulatory framework for novel commercial space activities. Speaking to an audience of industry and government experts in space situational awareness (SSA), Diane Howard (director of commercial space policy for the National Space Council) said those evolving capabilities should play a role in that new regulatory framework.
New report on the bioeconomy highlights need for a national strategy
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46881
Following President Biden's announcement of a Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative to grow the United States bioeconomy, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has released The Bioeconomy: A Primer. The report considers the future of the bioeconomy, the potential benefits of moving to a bioeconomy, what kind of R&D investments are necessary, ways to grow the workforce, and more. Above all, Congress needs to develop a comprehensive national strategy for the bioeconomy.
The House Science Committee introduced a trio of bills on September 28 focused on reducing emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. One of these is relevant to universities: The Methane Emissions Mitigation R&D Act introduced by Reps. Sean Casten (D-IL) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) would establish a research, development, and demonstration program at the DOE to support technologies and methods that detect, quantify, and significantly mitigate methane emissions. It also directs DOE to support a consortium of federal agencies and national labs, oil and gas companies, university researchers, and community groups to facilitate data sharing and research on cooperative leak detection and repair.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Center for Scientific Review 2022-2027 Strategic Plan
https://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2022/09/22/center-for-scientific-review-2022-2027-strategic-plan/
NIH's Center for Scientific Review (CSR), which handles the peer review of proposals submitted to NIH, has released their strategic plan.
Upcoming NHGRI ELSI Job Opportunity
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is seeking to hire a Program Director in the Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Research Program. The Program Director will manage a portfolio of grants, provide scientific expertise and advice to NHGRI leadership, organize scientific workshops, and participate in NHGRI and trans-National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded consortia and working groups
NHGRI is seeking qualified candidates who possess knowledge–either through previous employment or course of study leading to an advanced degree–of the ethical, legal and/or social implications related to genetics or genomics. Candidate backgrounds can include a wide range of disciplines. Candidates should also be able to demonstrate a strong research background; meticulous attention to detail; experience in working with and leading multidisciplinary groups; and excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences.
Interested candidates are encouraged to email Larry Brody (lbrody@mail.nih.gov) with any questions or to express interest in being notified when the position is posted in late October.
National Science Foundation (NSF)
NSF hopes big data will finger grantees not reporting foreign support
NSF will soon begin crunching several large databases to see whether there are scientists who failed to disclose ties to foreign institutions in their grant applications. It is arguably the boldest of several steps federal research agencies are taking to comply with the CHIPS and Science Act that aims to boost U.S. technological innovation–and prevent China and other foreign governments from pilfering federally funded research.
Department of Commerce (DoC)
White House chooses chemical engineer to lead semiconductor R&D office
https://cen.acs.org/business/White-House-choses-chemical-engineer/100/i35
Chemical engineer Eric K. Lin will be interim director of research and development for a new federal office focused on the US semiconductor industry. The new office will be run jointly by the White House and the Department of Commerce, which oversees NIST; it will be located at the institute.
U.S. Department of Commerce Appoints First Members to Industrial Advisory Committee
The DOC announced the appointment of 24 members to the Industrial Advisory Committee (IAC), an advisory body that will provide guidance to the Secretary of Commerce on a range of issues related to domestic semiconductor research and development in support of CHIPS for America. The committee comprises leaders from a broad range of disciplines in the microelectronics field, including academia, the semiconductor industry, federal laboratories, and other areas.
Department of Energy (DoE)
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $156 Million for America's First-of-a-Kind Critical Minerals Refinery
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released an FOA for up to $156 million in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for a first-of-a-kind facility to extract and separate rare earth elements (REE) and critical minerals (CM) from unconventional sources like mining waste.
Meeting: Examining Challenges in Scaling Hydrogen Energy
https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/10-07-2022/examining-challenges-in-scaling-hydrogen-energy
October 7, 1:30 –3:00 PM Eastern
This webinar, hosted by the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, will discuss research and infrastructure challenges, as well as potential solutions, for the mass implementation of hydrogen as an energy source.