The field of human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) generates and applies knowledge of human characteristics for the design of safer, more effective, and more efficient systems. The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society's mission is to promote these goals, and foremost among its activities is its support of communication within and beyond the field (via journals, newsletters and Web sites, technical groups, press releases, and other customary vehicles).

For most of its history, the field's impact on design was achieved primarily through either the direct participation of HF/E professionals in the design process or the management thereof. In recent years, however, HF/E professionals and HFES have become more active at the public policy level, recognizing that decisions in that arena have a wide-ranging impact on everything from the nation's investment in HF/E research to the practices adopted by entire industries.

In 2004, at the request of the HFES Executive Council, the Government Relations Committee (GRC) was established to provide added impetus and structure to the Society's public policy activities. Since that time, a number of GRC initiatives aimed at informing and involving the HFES membership have been attempted. The most successful to date has been the publication of noteworthy policy developments and related HFES activities under the "Public Policy Matters" banner as a regular feature in the HFES Bulletin. To communicate time-sensitive announcements and reports between Bulletin issues, the GRC created this section of the HFES Web site.

An HFES Guide to Participation in Federal Policymaking is now available for use by human factors/ergonomics professionals in the United States who wish to take an active role in communicating with their senators and representatives.

To illustrate topics of the sort you are likely to see posted here in the future, a list of announcements relating to public policy, as well as a list of HFES Bulletin titles published since 2004, are provided below.

• President Releases Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Request, May 2013
• Policy Update: White House Announces New Open Access Policy for Federally Funded Research, April 2013
• Policy Update: Continuing Federal Budget Brinksmanship and Sequestration , March 2013
• Policy Update: Top Pentagon Official Discusses Future of Defense Budget, February 2013
• Congress Acts to Avoid Fiscal Cliff; Sets Stage for Next Round of Negotiations in 113th Congress, January 2013
• Looking Ahead: Election 2012 Implications for Science and Technology, December 2012
• FABBS Recruiting Members for District Science Lobby Week, July 2012
• Nominees Sought for New Early-Career Investigator Award, July 2012
• The Why, Where, and How of Making a Difference in Public Policy, February 2012
• FABBS Advocacy: Why It?s Important to Scientists, February 2012
• An Uncommon Revision of the Common Rule, December 2011
• Call for Comments on Revision of Important Federal Research Regulations, September 2011
• Board on Human-Systems Integration (BOHSI) Activities at the National Research Council, August 2011
• FABBS 2010 Annual Meeting Report, February 2011
• Public Policy Matters: A Big Win for HF/E, February 2011
• Committee on Human-Systems Integration (COHSI) Activities at the National Academies, October 2010
• New Web Page for "Public Policy Matters", October 2010
• The Value of FABBS for HFES, August 2010
• Public Policy Matters: U.S. Health Care Bill Mandates Accessible Diagnostic Equipment, May 2010
• NIH Issues Information Request for New Health Care Funding, February 2010
• Public Policy Matters: The Role of Human Factors in Home Health Care, February 2010
• Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009, November 2009
• The DOT Distracted Driving Summit: Highlights and HF/E Challenges, November 2009
• Public Policy on Distracted Driving, November 2009
• News from the NRC Committee on Human-Systems Integration, April 2009
• Public Policy Matters, April 2009
• On Prospecting for "Stimulus Package" Gold, April 2009
• Opinion: Is a New Ergonomics Workplace Standard in the Works? April 2009
• HFES Government Relations: Progress and Prospects, August 2008
• The National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council's Committee on Human Factors, April 2008
• HFES Government Relations: What, Why, and How? March 2008
• The Need for Human Factors/Ergonomics Involvement in Electronic Voting Systems, November 2007
• FAA Forecasts Major Progress in Aviation Human Factors R&D, October 2007
• New Legislation Gives National Mandate to Modeling and Simulation Field, September 2007
• Updated Usability.gov Has Value for All Users, August 2007
• HFES to Host Science Forum on Education and Competitiveness, October 2006
• On the Cusp of a Crisis - Connecting the Dots, February 2006
• Science Forum on Homeland Security, September 2005
• Opinion: A Review of NACE, March 2005
• Enhancing Strategic Studies for Homeland Defense, January 2005
• HFES Comments on OSHA's Retail Grocery Store Guidelines, September 2004
• Science Forum on Patient Safety, September 2004
• Human Factors Represented at Congressional Exhibition on Science @ Work, August 2004
• This Belt's for You, America, January 2004

Photo: Architect of the Capitol