The SSRC has been asked to join the UN’s new scientific advisory network, sharing insights into how the social and behavioral sciences might contribute to more effective science and technology policy. In this post, SSRC President Anna Harvey shares the SSRC’s initial contributions on the UN’s priority issues of artificial intelligence, climate change, and biotechnology. The SSRC has been asked to join the UN’s new scientific advisory network, sharing insights into how the social and behavioral sciences might contribute to more effective science and technology policy. In this post, SSRC Preside ..read more

Over the past three years, the Mercury Project has invested in testing a portfolio of interventions with the goal of identifying those that most effectively increase vaccination demand and the quality of the information environment at scale.Through our Mercury Project Research Roundtable series, you will have an opportunity to learn from the solutions-oriented work conducted by each of the eighteen teams we support. The post Mercury Project Research Roundtable Series appeared first on Social Science Research Council (SSRC ..read more

In any given year an estimated 11 million people are booked into US jails, though nobody knows the true number. According to survey data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, about 70% of jailed individuals have not been convicted of any charges, a proportion which has been rising over time. The decision to incarcerate these individuals, who remain innocent before the law, may have far-reaching consequences. For those incarcerated, being held behind bars may lead to both short-term and long-term economic disruption. For communities, jail incarceration may prevent some crimes from occurring wh ..read more

The Mercury Project presents results; prepares for next phase Vaccine demand is a pressing problem: MMR vaccine uptake is backsliding, uptake of the new RSV vaccine has been lower than expected, and concerns abound about uptake of the new malaria vaccine. We cannot take for granted that supplying vaccines means that people will take them.  Research on behavioral interventions that promote the uptake of proven biomedical products like vaccines must complement research to develop and bring to market such products. Taking up this challenge, the Mercury Project was launched in 2021, as Covid ..read more

The Council’s Data Fluencies Program announces a call for proposals for its research development workshop, Drilling Down to the Data: Navigating Data Politics at the Heart of AI Policy, to be held on July 22–23, 2024. The workshop is designed to support research from across fields that has a clear policy impact and that contributes to evidence-based AI regulation discussions. The post Data Fluencies Call for Proposals: Workshop on AI Policy Challenges appeared first on Social Science Research Council (SSRC ..read more

With support from Arnold Ventures, the Jail Data Initiative collects daily person-level jail records in over 1,300 counties to enable the research and policy communities to better understand the causes and consequences of jail incarceration. A joint project of the Social Science Research Council and New York University’s Public Safety Lab, the Jail Data Initiative’s dashboard and downloadable data allow researchers to identify policies that can safely reduce jail incarceration. The post Jail Data Initiative Offers Tools to Researchers and Policymakers appeared first on Social Science Research ..read more

Fortunate Machingura and Leslie Nyoni In a Bulawayo suburb, Chipo has been working as a community health worker (CHW) since 2010, promoting public health while navigating both technology and tradition. With a megaphone in hand, she disseminates crucial health information in neighborhoods, announcing vaccination campaigns, and informing residents about essential health services and advice with flyers. Bustling urban centers in Zimbabwe, like Harare and Bulawayo, are fertile ground for innovative public health approaches—but also for the spread of both vaccine-preventable diseases and inaccurate ..read more

The Social Science Research Council, the Institute for Research on Innovation and Science (IRIS), and the Ohio Education Research Center (OERC) are pleased to welcome a new University Advisory Board to the Industries of Ideas project. Representatives from 35 universities nationwide have joined our National Science Foundation-supported collaboration to map the economic impacts of federal investments in university-based research in emerging technologies. The advisory board will provide critical input into a prototype data infrastructure linking person-level university grant data with state workf ..read more

Frontiers in Social and Behavioral Science features new research in the flagship journals of the Social Science Research Council’s founding disciplinary associations. Every month we publish a new selection of articles from the most recent issues of these journals, marking the rapid advance of the frontiers of social and behavioral science. The post Frontiers in Social and Behavioral Science – March 2024 appeared first on Social Science Research Council (SSRC ..read more

Key challenges facing our society require individuals—in their personal, professional, and policymaking roles—to engage in science-based decision-making. Navigating the information environment around health can be challenging—adolescents face particular challenges when encountering misleading information. This includes navigating media, peer groups, and family opinions to, ultimately, take, trust, and promote evidence-informed protective health behaviors. Such behaviors can be obscured by inaccurate and misleading information.  Living in a low-income and low-literacy environment, with its ..read more