December 2019

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is seeking input on several areas of the production of scientific knowledge to inform the work of the OSTP Joint Committee on the Research Environment (JCORE). JCORE formed in May with the mission to address four issues in the research enterprise: rigor and integrity in research, reducing administrative burdens, research security, and safe and inclusive research environments.

The request for information includes questions to determine how federal agencies and the broader scientific community can partner in each of these areas.

• Rigor and integrity in research. JCORE seeks input on actions federal agencies can take to facilitate the reproducibility and quality of research; how to ensure that researchers are aware of ethical principles of integrity; and incentives to encourage reporting of null and negative results.
• Reducing administrative burdens. JCORE is interested in actions on financial conflict-of-interest regulations and policies for coordinating administrative requirements for research.
• Research security. JCORE is looking at disclosure requirements, the appropriate role of federal agencies in enhancing research security, and practices organizations can follow.
• Safe and inclusive research environments. JCORE is interested in several topics in this area, including policies and practices that can best foster safe and inclusive environments, barriers organizations face in recruiting and retaining diverse researchers, and metrics the federal government can use to assess progress in promoting safe and inclusive environments.

The deadline for comments was extended to January 28, providing an additional month to submit information in response to the questions. AERA will be submitting comments.