Minerva - NSF/DoD Joint Solicitation

NSF recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the DoD, allowing collaboration between the two agencies, and has just announced a joint solicitation for proposals in the tune of $8 million. The stated goals of the program are “1) to develop the DoD’s social and human science intellectual capital in order to enhance its ability to address future challenges; 2) to enhance the DoD’s engagement with the social science community; and 3) to deepen the understanding of the social and behavioral dimensions of national security issues.”

Although we are pleased with NSF's involvement in Minerva, additional clarification is needed about the extent of DoD's role in the selection and review process. AAA is also concerned that only a portion of Minerva funding is being routed through NSF.

Share your thoughts on Minerva in our comment section below.

Links:

AAA letter regarding Minerva [pdf]

"Military's Social Science Grants Raise Alarm" ~ Washington Post

"When Professors Go to War" ~ Hugh Gusterson

"Pentagon Shift on 'Minerva'" ~ Inside Higher Ed

"Anthropology Association Urges Government to Tread Cautiously With 'Minerva' Project" ~ The Chronicle of Higher Education

"Academics Target Pentagon's Social Science Project" ~ Wired's Danger Room,

"AAA Issues Statement on Minerva" ~ Savage Minds

DoD Defense Bloggers Roundtable Regarding Minerva [pdf]

Minerva Ignores AAA Concerns

The Pentagon issued a call for research proposals for the Minerva Project, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported today. Although there is no mention of coordinating with the NSF, the Pentagon has said, "The Minerva program is likely to be closely coordinated with the National Science Foundation."

The AAA previously issued a response to the proposed Minerva Project, in which it expressed concerns about the very same review process that the Pentagon describes in its announcement. The Association will continue to urge the Pentagon to coordinate with agencies (NSF, NIH, NEH) that have extensive experience in peer-review and are familiar with the rigorous standards of our discipline.

Links:
Pentagon kicks off social science consortium (Wired's Danger Room Blog)
AAA Responds to Proposed Minerva Consortium (AAA Public Affairs Blog)

Human Terrain Teams in the Media

The human terrain system made an appearance in the mainstream media this past week. Newsweek published an article entitled, “A Gun in One Hand, A Pen in the Other” that details the military’s efforts to recruit experts for HTS. The story is largely critical of the program, and is reinforced by comments from past HTT members. A major criticism of HTS is the recruitment of candidates who lack any regional or linguistic expertise in the Middle East.

One of the main architects of HTS, Montgomery McFate, has already written a response to Newsweek that has been included, in full, on Wired magazine’s Danger Room blog.

The AAA has also written a letter to Newsweek expressing two concerns it has with the article. First, the AAA is continuing to take a proactive approach in examining the full spectrum of issues associated with HTS and other related security and intelligence programs. The Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with the US Security and Intelligence Communities was formed to address the potential ethical implications of the military application of anthropology. Second, the association highlights the fact that anthropologists only represent a small percentage of HTS members, and that ethical considerations associated with the program bear relevance to the entire social science community.

As always, readers are encouraged to express their thoughts on the intersection of ethics, anthropology, and the military in the comments section below.