The federal government has a long history of creating and deploying innovative science and technology solutions – but institutional complexity and bureaucratic bottlenecks too often stifle its ability to solve problems. Amongst the many challenges facing the legislative and executive branches, tools and approaches currently exist that can dramatically increase government’s ability to deliver for the American people, but these tools remain underappreciated and underutilized.
The Federation of American Scientists aims to help the government identify, define, prioritize and champion solutions to society’s most pressing needs, with a focus on financial mechanisms, modernization, and talent and hiring as key drivers for change.
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.
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.
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.
Congress should create a new Science and Technology Hub within the Government Accountability Office to support an understaffed and overwhelmed Congress in addressing pressing science and technology policy questions.
The federal government plays a critical role in correcting bias in technologies and incentivizing future processes for equitable innovation.
The urgency of building new clean energy infrastructure creates a critical window of opportunity for permitting reform.
We are working with development experts to identify a set of cost-effective interventions and pathways to scale within USAID and other federal programs.
Both established and new approaches to federal evidence use — including living evidence synthesis, public engagement, and expert advising — face obstacles to reaching their potential.
