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.
There is no question this is a Big Deal. If you are a university or research lab, or aspire to work in one, or are simply an enthusiast of federally-funded research, what’s next will matter.
The emerging federal metascience community is asking fascinating questions that are equally vital for democratic legitimacy: beyond “did this program work” to “how does the federal R&D enterprise itself work, and how could it work better?”
Get it right, and pooled hiring becomes a model for how the federal government decides what to do together and what to do apart. That’s a bigger prize than faster hiring. It’s a more functional government.
No one will be surprised if we end up with a continuing resolution to push our shutdown deadline out past the midterms, so the real question is what else will they get done this summer?
