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.
By acting now, the Administration can create clear career pathways for workers and better equip federal agencies with critical workforce insights to optimize national investments.
Adopting and transforming to a government-wide shared service business model can save money, improve customer experience, improved decision-making power, and more.
The federal government can leverage existing authorities and hiring mechanisms to respond to staffing needs for emerging policies, technologies, and crises in near-real time.
A federal agency takes over 100 days on average to hire a new employee — with significantly longer time frames for some positions — compared to 36 days in the private sector.
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.
