- OSTP Director Michael Kratsios has printed a report on revitalizing federal R&D
- The White House has outlined 9 R&D priorities for FY 2028 price range planning
- The 2026 FedCiv Summit will discover AI adoption, knowledge infrastructure and extra
Michael Kratsios, assistant to the president for science and expertise and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, has published a report titled “Science: A New Golden Age,” outlining recommendations to renew the federal research and development enterprise.
As federal businesses weigh how to align analysis investments with nationwide science and expertise priorities, authorities and trade leaders will collect on the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 FedCiv Summit on Oct. 29 to focus on AI adoption, knowledge and cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity and workforce enablement. Register now to acquire firsthand insights from leaders shaping federal civilian modernization priorities.
“This report lays a policy foundation that frees American scientists to do their most groundbreaking work, revives the national pursuit of ambitious scientific missions, and positions the United States to lead the AI-driven scientific revolution that will define the next century,” Kratsios, a two-time Wash100 awardee, stated in an announcement printed Tuesday.
What Are the Report’s 4 Key Pillars?
The report organizes its suggestions round 4 pillars.
- Revitalize America’s science and expertise enterprise — Shift funding towards particular person researchers over established establishments, broaden funding approaches past conventional peer assessment, get up new agile analysis our bodies like X-Labs and ARPA-style entities, and construct metascience items to drive ongoing enchancment
- Secure U.S. dominance in vital and rising applied sciences — Concentrate federal R&D on mission-driven efforts spanning authorities, trade, academia and philanthropy, anchored by the Genesis Mission, the Quantum Computer for Application Development and Discovery Science initiative, a mid-2030s business fusion demonstration, a crewed lunar return and base, and next-generation semiconductors
- Launch a brand new golden age powered by AI for science — Scale the Genesis Mission as the federal government’s flagship AI-for-science effort, construct scientific basis fashions and high-value datasets, fund AI-enabled verification instruments and autonomous labs, and transfer towards AI-native analysis establishments
- Ensure science and expertise higher the lives of all Americans — Bring hands-on technical coaching and apprenticeships into STEM training, widen entry to scientific careers for expert tradespeople, develop regional hubs linking analysis to manufacturing, and unfold the financial advantages of discovery nationwide
What Are the FY 2028 R&D Priority Areas?
As an annex to the report, Kratsios and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought collectively issued the administration’s fiscal year 2028 research and development budget priorities memorandum. The doc outlines 9 priorities for businesses to think about of their FY 2028 price range submissions to OMB.
- Rebalance R&D portfolios — Shift funding towards foundational analysis and the bodily sciences and engineering
- Advance nationwide S&T missions — Align investments with nationwide missions such because the Genesis Mission and next-generation semiconductors
- Apply AI to speed up analysis — Use AI and rising applied sciences to velocity up American analysis and innovation
- Expand R&D infrastructure — Broaden entry to analysis infrastructure for the broader science and expertise ecosystem
- Strengthen regional ecosystems — Translate scientific advances into stronger regional economies and broader prosperity
- Explore new funding mechanisms — Consider new institutional fashions and funding approaches to help frontier science
- Develop scientific expertise — Identify higher methods to recruit and develop scientific expertise
- Improve how science is funded — Study and consider federal science funding practices to drive steady enchancment
- Integrate federal R&D — Connect federal analysis efforts with the broader science and expertise enterprise
What Are the Memo’s R&D Priority Practices?
The memo additionally outlines implementation practices businesses ought to undertake as they perform the 9 priorities above.
- New mechanisms for frontier science — Diversify funding fashions, together with longer-duration grants, quick grants for exploratory work, and prizes and challenges to help bold analysis
- Development of high technical expertise — Broaden recruitment of scientific expertise nationwide and broaden coaching pathways spanning Ok-12 training by means of early-career analysis
- A self-improving scientific enterprise — Build metascience capabilities to research which funding practices and institutional fashions produce the strongest analysis outcomes
- Integration with the broader S&T enterprise — Coordinate federal R&D with non-public trade, academia and regional economies to broaden the affect of federal funding
Agencies with $3 billion or extra in FY 2026 R&D price range authority should submit motion plans inside 90 days describing how they’ll implement the precedence practices outlined within the memo.