FAS
day one project

Day One 2025

08.20.24 | 1 min read

We sit on the verge of another Presidential election – and we see opportunity for meaningful, science-based policy innovations that can appeal to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. That’s why we launched “Day One 2025” – so we could collect bold policy ideas, grounded in science and evidence, that can tackle the country’s biggest challenges and bring us closer to the prosperous, equitable and safe future that we all hope for. 

For this effort, FAS identified five priority areas where ideas and action are most sorely needed:

publications
See all
Government Capacity
day one project
Policy Memo
Reforming the Federal Advisory Committee Landscape for Improved Evidence-based Decision Making and Increasing Public Trust

Protecting the health and safety of the American public and ensuring that the public has the opportunity to participate in the federal decision-making process is crucial. As currently organized, FACs are not equipped to provide the best evidence-based advice.

02.18.25 | 11 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
A Federal Center of Excellence to Expand State and Local Government Capacity for AI Procurement and Use

As new waves of AI technologies continue to enter the public sector, touching a breadth of services critical to the welfare of the American people, this center of excellence will help maintain high standards for responsible public sector AI for decades to come.

02.14.25 | 9 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Strengthening Information Integrity with Provenance for AI-Generated Text Using ‘Fuzzy Provenance’ Solutions

By creating a reliable, user-friendly framework for surfacing provenance, NIST would empower readers to better discern the trustworthiness of the text they encounter, thereby helping to counteract the risks posed by deceptive AI-generated content.

02.13.25 | 7 min read
read more
Education & Workforce
day one project
Policy Memo
Tending Tomorrow’s Soil: Investing in Learning Ecosystems

By investing in the mechanisms that connect learning ecosystems, policymakers can build “neighborhoods” of learning that prepare students for citizenship, work, and life.

02.12.25 | 6 min read
read more
Government Capacity
day one project
Policy Memo
Protecting Infant Nutrition Security:
Shifting the Paradigm on Breastfeeding to Build a Healthier Future for all Americans

Policymakers on both sides of the aisle agree that no baby should ever go hungry, as evidenced by the bipartisan passage of recent breastfeeding legislation and widely supported regulations. However, significant barriers remain.

02.11.25 | 10 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Supporting Device Reprocessing to Reduce Waste in Health Care

While healthcare institutions are embracing decarbonization and waste reduction plans, they cannot do this effectively without addressing the enormous impact of single-use devices.

02.10.25 | 5 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Blank Checks for Black Boxes: Bring AI Governance to Competitive Grants

To tackle AI risks in grant spending, grant-making agencies should adopt trustworthy AI practices in their grant competitions and start enforcing them against reckless grantees.

01.30.25 | 9 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Fighting Fakes and Liars’ Dividends: We Need To Build a National Digital Content Authentication Technologies Research Ecosystem

As people become less able to distinguish between what is real and what is fake, it has become easier than ever to be misled by synthetic content, whether by accident or with malicious intent. This makes advancing alternative countermeasures, such as technical solutions, more vital than ever before. 

01.17.25 | 12 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Supporting Federal Decision Making through Participatory Technology Assessment

The next administration should establish a Participatory Technology Assessment unit to ensure federal S&T decisions benefit society.

01.16.25 | 12 min read
read more
Government Capacity
day one project
Policy Memo
Unpacking Hiring: Toward a Regional Federal Talent Strategy

With a collaborative, cross-agency lens and a commitment to engaging jobseekers where they live, the government can enhance its ability to attract talent while underscoring to Americans that the federal government is not a distant authority but rather a stakeholder in their communities that offers credible opportunities to serve.

01.15.25 | 6 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
An Agenda for Ensuring Child Safety in the AI Era

AI is transforming how children learn and live, and policymakers, industry, and educators owe it to the next generation to set in place a responsible policy that embraces this new technology while at the same time ensuring all children’s well-being, privacy, and safety is respected.

01.12.25 | 10 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
A Peer Support Service Integrated Into the 988 Lifeline

A peer support option should be integrated into the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline so that 988 service users can choose to connect with specialists based on a shared lived experience.

01.12.25 | 10 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Antitrust in the AI Era: Strengthening Enforcement Against Emerging Anticompetitive Behavior

Given the rapid pace of AI advancement, a proactive effort triumphs over a reactive one. To protect consumers, workers, and the economy more broadly, it is imperative that the FTC and DOJ adapt their enforcement strategies to meet the complexities of the AI era.

01.10.25 | 8 min read
read more
Environment
day one project
Policy Memo
Using Pull Finance for Market-driven Infrastructure and Asset Resilience

The increasing frequency of extreme weather events, which caused over $200 billion in global economic losses in 2023, is disrupting global supply chains and exacerbating migration pressures, particularly for the U.S. Investing in climate resilience abroad offers a significant opportunity for U.S. businesses in technology, engineering, and infrastructure, while also supporting job creation at home.

01.09.25 | 10 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
A National Guidance Platform for AI Acquisition

By leveraging its substantial purchasing power responsibly, the government can encourage high-quality, inclusive AI solutions that address diverse citizen needs while setting a strong precedent for innovation and accountability.

01.08.25 | 10 min read
read more
Environment
day one project
Policy Memo
Enhancing Local Capacity for Disaster Resilience

A new initiative targeting service investment to build resilience in low-capacity communities would help build capacity at the local level, train a new generation of service-oriented professionals, and ensure that federal funding gets to the communities that need it most.

01.07.25 | 8 min read
read more
Education & Workforce
day one project
Policy Memo
Ensuring the Next Generation of STEM Talent through K–12 Research Programming

The next administration should establish a national, federally-funded initiative to develop a robust and diverse pipeline of STEM talent.

01.06.25 | 15 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
An Innovation Agenda for Addiction: Breakthrough Medicines That Scale

The federal government should expand the FDA’s priority review voucher program and provide market exclusivity advantages to encourage the development of medications for addiction.

01.06.25 | 7 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Restoring U.S. Leadership in Manufacturing

Declining U.S. manufacturing has sharply curtailed a key path to the middle class for those with high school educations or less, thereby exacerbating income inequality nationwide. The United States can address many of these problems through concerted efforts in advanced manufacturing.

01.03.25 | 29 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Kickstarting Collaborative, AI-Ready Datasets in the Life Sciences with Government-funded Projects

The research community lacks strategies to incentivize collaboration on high-quality data acquisition and sharing. The government should fund collaborative roadmapping, certification, collection, and sharing of large, high-quality datasets in life science.

01.02.25 | 6 min read
read more
Education & Workforce
day one project
Policy Memo
Launch the Next Nuclear Corps for a More Flexible Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The potential of new nuclear power plants to meet energy demand, increase energy security, and revitalize local economies depends on new regulatory and operational approaches at the NRC.

01.02.25 | 6 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Ready for the Next Threat: Creating a Commercial Public Health Emergency Payment System

In anticipation of future known and unknown health security threats, including new pandemics, biothreats, and climate-related health emergencies, our answers need to be much faster, cheaper, and less disruptive to other operations.

12.23.24 | 5 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
From Strategy to Impact: Establishing an AI Corps to Accelerate HHS Transformation

To unlock the full potential of artificial intelligence within the Department of Health and Human Services, an AI Corps should be established, embedding specialized AI experts within each of the department’s 10 agencies.

12.23.24 | 10 min read
read more
Government Capacity
day one project
Policy Memo
Transforming the Carceral Experience: Leveraging Technology for Rehabilitation

Investing in interventions behind the walls is not just a matter of improving conditions for incarcerated individuals—it is a public safety and economic imperative. By reducing recidivism through education and family contact, we can improve reentry outcomes and save billions in taxpayer dollars.

12.20.24 | 7 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Creating a National Exposome Project

The U.S. government should establish a public-private National Exposome Project (NEP) to generate benchmark human exposure levels for the ~80,000 chemicals to which Americans are regularly exposed.

12.20.24 | 7 min read
read more
Government Capacity
day one project
Policy Memo
Fixing Impact: How Fixed Prices Can Scale Results-Based Procurement at USAID

To respond and maintain U.S. global leadership, USAID should transition to heavily favor a Fixed-Price model to enhance the United States’ ability to compete globally and deliver impact at scale.

12.19.24 | 11 min read
read more
Government Capacity
day one project
Policy Memo
Building Regional Cyber Coalitions: Reimagining CISA’s JCDC to Empower Mission-Focused Cyber Professionals Across the Nation

State, local, tribal, and territorial governments along with Critical Infrastructure Owners face escalating cyber threats but struggle with limited cybersecurity staff and complex technology management.

12.19.24 | 8 min read
read more
Education & Workforce
day one project
Policy Memo
Establishing a Cyber Workforce Action Plan

As cyber threats grow more complex and sophisticated, the nation’s ability to defend itself depends on developing a robust, adaptable, and highly skilled cybersecurity workforce.

12.18.24 | 15 min read
read more
Education & Workforce
day one project
Policy Memo
Teacher Education Clearinghouse for AI and Data Science

For the United States to continue to be a competitive global power in technology and innovation, we need a workforce that understands how to use, apply, and develop new innovations using AI and Data Science.

12.17.24 | 9 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Retiring Baby Boomers Can Turn Workers into Owners: Securing American Business Ownership through Employee Ownership

Employee ownership is a powerful solution that preserves local business ownership, protects supply chains, creates quality jobs, and grows the household balance sheets of American workers and their families.

12.17.24 | 7 min read
read more