Please join the AAAS Social Science Affinity Group for its next event – a roundtable discussion on “What is the value of the social science research?”
Who: AAAS Fellows, DC area social scientists, and anyone interested in learning more about this topic
Where: Koshland Science Museum, 525 E. St. NW, Washington, DC 22201
When: Wednesday, March 5 from 6:30-8 p.m.
Although the percentage of federal R&D dollars spent on social science research is a small fraction of total federal R&D, policy makers and the public alike periodically question the value of federal funding for social science research. Calls for defunding social science research at the NSF and for scrutiny of social science research portfolios at various government agencies have occurred repeatedly for over 60 years. Most recently this was reflected by the passage in 2013 of the Coburn Amendment, which restricted the funding for NSF-sponsored projects in political science to only those that promote U.S. national security or economic interests.
This roundtable will provide an overview of the history of challenges to federal funding of social science research, review some of the key concerns raised in the recent wave of criticism, and consider how social scientists and their allies in the humanities and the sciences can make a more compelling case for the value of social science research. Today social science research is undergoing a renaissance as it is being drawn closer to many of the other sciences and playing a crucial role in the big data revolution. Yet forming a unified message about social science remains challenging given the wide range of disciplines and methodologies used. And unlike many of the other sciences, the value of the social sciences can often not be measured in terms of inventions, patents, widgets, and financial profitability.
At this roundtable, we’ll develop a deeper understanding of the current critique of social science research and brainstorm ways to convey the value of social science research to policy makers and the public. We are particularly interested in thinking about how to highlight the role of social science research in safeguarding our democratic institutions, bolstering our nation’s national security, in strengthening our foreign relations, in supporting the work of our military, in fostering our economic prosperity, and in ensuring the health and well-being of our citizens. Bring your questions, thoughts, and ideas, and join us for a lively, interactive discussion.
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