Author: Howard J. Silver

Howard J. Silver served as the executive director of the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) in Washington, DC, from 1988 to 2013. He has testified before Congress, spoken on federal funding of science at many professional meetings, and written extensively on executive-legislative relations, the federal budget process, and science policy as it affects the social and behavioral sciences.

Social Science Spending a Pawn in Budget Games
Academic Funding
April 11, 2016

Social Science Spending a Pawn in Budget Games

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Our Man in Bogota Finds Colombia a Nation Resurgent
News
March 16, 2016

Our Man in Bogota Finds Colombia a Nation Resurgent

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NSF’s Three “Sensational Surveys” Survive and Thrive
Academic Funding
February 3, 2016

NSF’s Three “Sensational Surveys” Survive and Thrive

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Social Science Surveys Need to Be Ingenious in Finding Funding
Academic Funding
December 2, 2015

Social Science Surveys Need to Be Ingenious in Finding Funding

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The National Interest and the NSF

The National Interest and the NSF

Current legislation calls for federally funded science to be in the ‘national interest.’ What does that even mean, and why do scientists fear this Republican-led effort?

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Shutdowns: The Misfire Next Time

Shutdowns: The Misfire Next Time

Although a U.S. government shutdown has apparently been kicked down the road just a little bit longer, but a potential new shutdown — and its ruinous consequences for grant-funded science –always seems to be just around the corner.

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Behavior Routinely on Biomedicine’s Back Burner

Behavior Routinely on Biomedicine’s Back Burner

The challenge of infusing the social sciences into what are generally viewed as biomedical issues has been a long and difficult one, as the recent WHO report on Ebola demonstrates. Oddly, this lesson has been learned many times before, but keeps getting forgotten.

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Funding Social Science: A Primer on US Budgeting Process

Funding Social Science: A Primer on US Budgeting Process

Howard Silver examines the process in which federal research funding is arrived at — and points out how the process is, or isn’t, working in this Congress.

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Data, Democracy, and Janet Norwood

Data, Democracy, and Janet Norwood

Making decisions without data soils the public policy process with ideology, partisan politics, and misinformation, all things the late Janet Norwood abhorred. Her voice, commitment, and professionalism will be sorely missed.

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So It Goes – Travails of Science in Latest Congress

So It Goes – Travails of Science in Latest Congress

The latest re-authorization of the America COMPETES bill that dramatically reduces funding for social science (and geoscience) may very well pass Congress. Will the president be willing to veto an important bill that contains these unwelcome provisions?

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Two Mentors and a Senate Legacy

Two Mentors and a Senate Legacy

Howard Silver looks back over the career of the longest-serving woman in the U.S. Congress and how her role as appropriator influenced policy decisions on social science wants and needs.

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Change in the Caribbean?

Change in the Caribbean?

Our Washington-based correspondent Howard Silver reflects on his recent trip to Cuba, a place where professors turn to driving taxis to make ends meet.

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