day one project

Democratizing
the policymaking
process.

In 2019, we came together with an idea to arm the next presidential administration in January 2020 with 100 implementation-ready policy proposals crowdsourced from the science, technology and innovation community. Not only was our call for ideas met with an overwhelming response, but along the way we honed a vision for policy entrepreneurship: how anyone can convert a merely promising idea into real movement.

Since then, we have helped a growing community of contributors develop promising policy ideas — an amazing number of which have already become policy. Together we have inspired over $2.6 billion in federal investment across key science and technology priorities, eight new cross-cutting federal initiatives, four executive actions, and more.

200+ ideas
300+ contributors

Have an innovative new idea but don’t know where to start? Here’s what we need from you in order to work with you to make your idea an action-ready policy memo:

Got all that? Share your idea with us here.

Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Day One memo?

Day One memos are short (2-3 pages and under 1000 words), targeted documents that explain the challenge and opportunity associated with a particular societal issue, and provide a clear plan of action for the federal government to respond. You can read the latest ones here.

What does the open call process look like?

You will submit an idea for our open call via a short application. Submissions will include a description of your idea in 350 words or less, and a few sentences on the challenge, opportunity, and plan of action. Authors with the most compelling ideas will get to work with our team of experts to develop their idea into a policy memo, and be connected to relevant idea customers who can help drive implementation.

How many ideas are you accepting?

There is no limit to how many ideas you can submit and work with FAS to develop.

Can more than one person author a Day One memo?

Yes! A memo can have multiple authors. We ask that one member of your team submit on behalf of the group and, if your idea is accepted, we will begin coordinating on memo development with the entire team.

What is the timeline for reviewing and submitting an idea?

Program teams will be internally reviewing all ideas that come in on a bi-weekly cadence and will accept ideas on a rolling basis. FAS accepts ideas through its Day One call year-round, so there is no deadline for submissions.

What will the time commitment for developing an idea be?

We will ask that you engage in written exchanges with our team of experts to further refine the ideas into policy memos; we expect this might add up to ~10-15 hours over a couple of months.

Latest Policy Memos
See all
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
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Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Taking on the World’s Factory: A Path to Contain China on Legacy Chips

We can address the issue of international semiconductor competition along three major axes: increasing production outside of China, containing an oversupply of Chinese semiconductors, and mitigating the risks of remaining Chinese chips in the U.S. market.

02.06.25 | 21 min read
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Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Using Targeted Industrial Policy to Address National Security Implications of Chinese Chips

In an industry with such high fixed costs, the Chinese state’s subsidization gives such firms a great advantage and imperils U.S. competitiveness and national security. To curtail Chinese legacy chip dominance, the United States should weaponize its monopoly on electronic design automation software.

02.04.25 | 17 min read
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Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
An “Open Foundational” Chip Design Standard and Buyers’ Group to Create a Strategic Microelectronics Reserve

The technical advances fueled by leading-edge nodes are vital to our long-term competitiveness, but they too rely on legacy devices.

02.03.25 | 9 min read
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Testimonials

“I feel I have a much clearer vision of how the government operates and how we can make things happen in the nation. The guidance helps not only to push forward new policy but also how I apply for grants at NSF and how I integrate policy discussions in my research papers (which can help me to ensure i have much better impact)”

“The Day One accelerator took me from 0 to 100 in 9 weeks: Literally from zero knowledge about policy-making to feeling very confident about what I need to do to affect it. The knowledge alone is just one part, and the hard work lies ahead, but Day One was superb at conveying the knowledge, and also in showing how within reach policy influence could be.”

“As a graduate student studying public policy, I found that the Day One Project did a brilliant job of concisely distilling and substantiating in 9 weeks some of the most important lessons I’d learned over the course of a year. More importantly, they took these lessons three steps further by adding practical insights on the reality of policy entrepreneurship, by having us test and refine our ideas with our cohort and seasoned policymakers, and by pushing us to publish and implement our proposals.”

“This was a fantastic experience. I teach graduate students about US information and telecommunications policy and the opportunity to share what I’ve been working on with them and to bring in some of the lessons I’ve learned about writing about policy in a concise and persuasive way was awesome. I appreciate the resources that your team has developed and the time you spent to think with me about developing a coherent proposal. I learned a great deal from the guests, too.”