We wanted to connect with our community of scientists in light of the recent news that the operations of NIH, NSF and other federal agencies have been potentially affected by executive action. While this primarily impacts our US members, as an international community of scientists, non-US scientists are also funded by these agencies in various ways, and the disruption of science at this scale can have cascading effects on all of us.   

In addition to the existing pause on communications from all federal funding agencies as well as a (now rescinded) pause on grants disbursed from the government, multiple US agencies including DOE, NASA, and NSF communicated with PIs yesterday and today, instructing them to stop activities concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion to comply with executive orders.

The need for innovative research is widely understood and appreciated. Research into brain development promotes improved health and resilience in children, a goal we all share. Thus this sentiment can transcend other differences in opinion. Flux as a community will continue to support our members in the service of developmental cognitive neuroscience research and advocate whenever possible to funding agencies and governments.  

In our view, this includes: studying participants which reflect the populations and communities where we live, so that our science is as generalizable as possible; as well as studying the widest range of life circumstances possible, including experiences of oppression, and having a varied group of scientists whose life experiences reflect the populations we study. We think this is important simply because there is consistent evidence that this will lead to novel scientific discoveries and drive the field forward. Science is about innovation, change, discovery. History has consistently shown that regulating and stifling forms of thought leads to less innovation, change, and discovery.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

If you're in the US, as individual members, you can reach out to your elected representatives in federal government and contacts at NIH, NSF, and other federal agencies to communicate the value of scientific research. There are resources which show the importance of grant funding to your state. Understand that answers may not yet be available, and that virtually everyone engaged in grant funding related activities will also be experiencing both disorientation and desire for more information and guidance.  Emphasis on shared goals is more important than ever.

Sincerely,

Flux Society Executive Committee