SfN and Advocacy Coalition Partners

SfN works with a broad coalition of science and health organizations to champion policies that support research and discovery and help advance SfN’s legislative priorities. Working with coalition partners who have shared goals enables SfN to increase its reach and impact on several key issues affecting our members, such as federal science funding and the ethical use of animals in biomedical research. Not only does this allow for amplified advocacy efforts and enhanced credibility, but it also leads to the sharing of resources, a diverse set of perspectives, greater efficiency, and stronger political leverage, making it harder for decision-makers to ignore the community’s concerns. Each organization brings a particular strength to the coalition’s efforts and together contributes to a stronger, more unified voice in getting the research community’s message across to key stakeholders. Some groups are better positioned to make public statements on matters important to SfN members and are more likely to be heard by the relevant stakeholders, depending on the circumstances. 

Below is a list of some of the key activities that SfN and selected coalition partners engage in throughout the year to advocate on behalf of its members. Although this is not an exhaustive list, it highlights some of the most consistent and impactful efforts undertaken collaboratively to advance shared goals and priorities. 

• SfN engages advocates through Hill Days and action alerts. 
  • Hill Days, along with Congressional visits throughout the year are important steps in developing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with members of Congress and their staff. 
  • Action alerts (pre-drafted and customizable messages to your Congressional Delegation) that SfN (and other like-minded advocacy groups) provide one way to weigh in on individual topics and join the larger chorus of advocates weighing in on critical issues at important moments. 
• The American Brain Coalition (ABC) hosts Congressional Neuroscience Caucus (CNC) briefings and meetings, BRAIN Initiative Hill Days, directly engages and represents the patient communities, and provides advocacy trainings. 
  • The CNC is a self-selected group of members of Congress who are interested in information about the brain and central nervous system and want to join a forum to advance mutual goals on this topic. 
  • Caucus events such as congressional briefings are a formal way to share the latest developments in the field, as well as highlight areas of need to an interested audience. 
  • Highlighting the stories of patients and caregivers further helps to “put a face” on what may be a more abstract concept, especially when discussing clinical and pre-clinical research. These meaningful and personal stories help to “cut through the noise” when there are many important competing legislative priorities on any given day. 
  • Having a roster of sophisticated and trained individuals allows for the rapid deployment of effective advocates in meaningful ways when there may not be much time to engage on an important policy matter.
• The Association of American Medical Colleges brings legal resources to challenge some government policies in court, such as the proposed cap on facilities and administration (F&A, also known as indirect) costs. 
• The Coalition for Life Sciences (CLS) convenes experts, shares resources, and advocates for NIH funding. 
  • These resources can be tailored to various audiences, based on the topic and need – be it for scientist advocates when engaging their members of Congress, other advocacy groups, or as information that policymakers can leverage for public statements, drafting legislation, hosting events, and more. 
• Research!America amplifies the research community’s voice with public opinion data and frequent gatherings with stakeholders. 
• The Coalition for Health Funding (CHF) submits testimony to appropriators.
  • The submission of outside witness testimony ensures that the scientific community’s voice is maintained, verbatim, as part of the Federal Record and considered as policymakers draft, debate, modify, and vote on how discretionary spending by the government is allocated to address national priorities. 
• The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) supports NSF through strategic letters. 
  • These letters, sometimes on behalf of the research community, sometimes for use of members of Congress to other members (also known as “Dear Colleague Letters”), help to educate the recipients and demonstrate the widespread support for matters addressed in letters. 
• The National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) and Americans for Medical Progress (AMP) advocate for the ethical and responsible use of animals in research across federal agencies through Congressional meetings, official letters and statements, and issuing action alerts as well as providing support for researchers who come under attack from animal rights groups. 

Support for research is a group effort and through these collaborative efforts, our voice and impact are magnified. Together, these groups form a unified front, ensuring science remains a national priority.