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Jason Borenstein is the Director of the National Science Foundation’s Ethical and Responsible Research (ER2) Program. Jason will be participating in an APA webinar on ER2 on September 28, 2023, at noon Eastern time (11 a.m. Central, 10 a.m. Mountain, and 9 a.m. Pacific). Cindy Holder, Chair of the Virtual Program Committee, caught up with Jason ahead of the webinar to find out more about ER2 and what to expect in the webinar.
Hi Jason! Welcome to the Blog. You’re a philosopher, right? And you have a whole other professional life outside of ER2. What do you do when you are not program directing?
Yes, my doctoral degree is in philosophy. My dissertation work examined epistemic and ethical issues emerging from expert-witness testimony. Prior to joining the National Science Foundation (NSF), much of my teaching and research focused on the ethics of emerging technologies such as robots and artificial intelligence, as well as the responsible conduct of research (RCR).
ER2 is part of the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences at NSF. What is that?
NSF has directorates that represent science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The ER2 program is supported by multiple directorates within NSF, but the program is housed within the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE). SBE supports basic research on people and society. The SBE sciences focus on human behavior and social organizations and how social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental forces affect the lives of people from birth to old age, and how people in turn shape those forces.
What is ER2? What are its goals? How long has it been around?
ER2 in its current form began in 2019. Research projects supported by the ER2 program seek to produce knowledge about what constitutes or promotes ethical research practices, as well as to encourage research communities to learn about the responsible conduct of research.
What kinds of projects does ER2 fund? Can you give some examples?
The ER2 program supports four different kinds of projects: standard research, which can be up to three years; institutional transformation, which can be up to five years; conference; and project incubation. The last two types of projects can be up to one year. A brief overview of the project types will be discussed during the presentation. Here’s a list of recent projects funded by the program.
So this is not a program that just philosophers apply to, correct?
Correct, researchers from various disciplines have received awards from the program. A research team proposing to the program might include, for example, expertise in the STEM domains on which the project focuses, or in ethics, values, evaluation, and pedagogy. Information on the eligibility criteria can be found in the program guidelines.
It seems like the scope for ER2 includes projects about cultivating and promoting ethical research behavior and not just research ethics in the classical sense. Is that accurate?
The ER2 program aims to increase the number of students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty members exposed to multiple levels and dimensions of responsible conduct of research. The program also seeks to motivate, inform, and educate students and faculty to explore and be cognizant of the ethical dimensions of STEM to ensure responsible and ethical conduct of research that is responsive to the needs, values, and norms of society.
What are you going to be talking about in the webinar? What can people expect?
The presentation will include a brief history of the ER2 program, and a description of the types of proposals that are supported by the program and the merit review process. The presentation will also highlight resources that can be found on NSF web pages.
For APA members who can’t make the webinar itself, there will be a recording available. How else can people get more information about ER2?
More information about the ER2 Program can be found on the ER2 program web page.
If there were one thing you want people to take away about ER2, what would it be?
The ER2 program aims to support the formation and sharing of ethical research approaches, practices, and norms. Those who are interested in learning more can contact an ER2 program officer!
The APA Live webinar on NSF’s Ethical and Responsible Research Program will be held on Thursday, September 28 at noon Eastern time (9 a.m. Pacific time). APA members can register for this and other webinars through the Upcoming APA Live events link on the APA website.
Jason Borenstein
Jason Borenstein is a Program Director within the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences. He is part of the team that oversees the Ethical and Responsible Research (ER2) Program. His duties include coordinating the merit review process for grant proposals submitted to the ER2 Program and administering awards. Dr. Borenstein’s research interests include robot & artificial intelligence ethics, engineering ethics, research ethics, and bioethics.
Cindy Holder
Cindy Holder is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada and Chair of the Virtual Program Committee. Her research focuses on human rights, groups, transitional justice and the philosophy of international law.
