The Civic Research Agenda
Government is best which is closest to the people
– Lyndon B. Johnson
The Civic Research Agenda is a culmination of several years of study, partnerships, and intelligence gathering that is the first comprehensive reporting on the priority research needs of American cities and counties. It considers the demand and supply of research: what are the priority research needs and knowledge gaps of local governments, and how can research outputs better serve that audience to improve or create impact?
About the project
Science is one of the most impactful tools humanity has in addressing complex, important problems. The federal government remains the main driver of academic R&D, funding 55% ($59.7 billion of the total $108.8 billion) of expenditures in 2023. These investments have resulted in some of the greatest inventions of our time, including Global Positioning System (GPS), cell phones, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) technology, MRIs, the internet, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Meanwhile, local governments – or cities and counties for the purpose of this report – are the very laboratories that serve as a key partner to deliver solutions. The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) holds an evidence-based theory of change that by bringing academic and local government institutions together in a meaningful and intentional way, solutions abound.
For many reasons which this report will address, this intentional pairing is difficult. Two key reasons stand out. First, research is often given to local governments without request, lacking a process to understand the need (or demand). Second, research output doesn’t necessarily align with how cities and counties work, and it’s difficult to adopt. In other words, the demand and supply of research needs to be intentionally considered for local governments.
The Civic Research Agenda is a culmination of several years of study, partnerships, and intelligence gathering that is the first comprehensive reporting on the priority research needs of U.S. cities and counties. Note the emphasis on priority research needs. Research of all types and science backgrounds are likely very applicable and helpful to local governments. The unique nature of this list is that it is grassroots based. FAS has asked local governments directly about their research needs and pressing knowledge gaps that, if addressed, would help address their priority challenges and goals. It also provides an analysis of the supply side barriers (and recommendations) that will connect research to impact.
Get in touch
If you are in the research community and have a report or publication addressing a specific question listed that has been published after March 2025, please fill out this form. FAS aims to support this community and support the responses/answers to this report will include it in a repository.