SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

America's scientific enterprise is a complex machine comprising researchers, institutions, publishers, funders, and private-sector organizations that turn discoveries into reality—all supported by a public that both shapes and benefits from scientific progress. For decades, this enterprise has made American science the envy of the world. Our innovation engine has powered America's dominance across industries, improved health outcomes nationwide, and fueled the greatest period of prosperity in history.

However, scientific discovery and technological progress are never guaranteed. They require the ( printed page 54413) concentrated effort of individuals and organizations. Over the past century, America relentlessly reinvented the machinery of science itself. Examples include establishing university research programs, marrying large-scale engineering with scientific exploration across America's national laboratories, founding the National Science Foundation, launching the Apollo Program to win the Space Race, and pioneering the venture capital model.

Today, multiple forces are reshaping how scientific research is conducted. New institutional models like focused research organizations operate outside traditional academic structures; emerging questions in fields like quantum information science and biology require ever-closer collaboration between engineering and basic science; and rapid progress in AI promises to accelerate discovery cycles. These shifts demand continuous improvement in how the Federal government supports scientific research. Simultaneously, America's strategic competitors have placed unprecedented focus on scientific advancement. While the U.S. retains a leading global position, breakthrough research that advances our short- and long-term national security and economic competitiveness is now more urgently needed than ever.

These converging factors, which include new scientific opportunities, intensifying global competition, and evidence that traditional approaches to research could be greatly improved, call for a comprehensive assessment of how the Federal government prioritizes and structures scientific research.

Specifically, OSTP invites responses to one or more of the following questions:

(i) What policy changes to Federal funding mechanisms, procurement processes, or partnership authorities would enable stronger public-private collaboration and allow America to tap into its vast private sector to better drive use-inspired basic and early-stage applied research?

(ii) How can the Federal government better support the translation of scientific discoveries from academia, national laboratories, and other research institutions into practical applications? Specifically, what changes to technology transfer policies, translational programs, or commercial incentives would accelerate the path from laboratory to market?

(iii) What policies would encourage the formation and scaling of regional innovation ecosystems that connect local businesses, universities, educational institutions, and the local workforce—particularly in areas where the Federal government has existing research assets like national laboratories or federally-funded research centers?

(iv) How can Federal policies strengthen the role played by small- and medium-sized businesses as both drivers of innovation and as early adopters of emerging technologies?

(v) What empirically grounded findings from metascience research and progress studies could inform Federal grantmaking processes to maximize scientific productivity and increase total return on investment? Please provide specific examples of evidence-based reforms that could improve funding allocation, peer review, or grant evaluation.

(vi) What reforms will enable the American scientific enterprise to pursue more high-risk, high-reward research that could transform our scientific understanding and unlock new technologies, while sustaining the incremental science essential for cumulative production of knowledge?

(vii) How can the Federal government support novel institutional models for research that complement traditional university structures and enable projects that require vast resources, interdisciplinary coordination, or extended timelines?

(viii) How can the Federal government leverage and prepare for advances in AI systems that may transform scientific research—including automated hypothesis generation, experimental design, literature synthesis, and autonomous experimentation? What infrastructure investments, organizational models, and workforce development strategies are needed to realize these capabilities while maintaining scientific rigor and research integrity?

(ix) What specific Federal statutes, regulations, or policies create unnecessary barriers to scientific research or the deployment of research outcomes? Please describe the barrier, its impact on scientific progress, and potential remedies that would preserve legitimate policy objectives while enabling innovation.

(x) How can Federal programs better identify and develop scientific talent across the country, particularly leveraging digital tools and distributed research models to engage researchers outside traditional academic centers?

(xi) How can the Federal government foster closer collaboration among scientists, engineers, and skilled technical workers, and better integrate training pathways, recognizing that breakthrough research often requires deep collaboration between theoretical and applied expertise?

(xii) What policy mechanisms would ensure that the benefits of federally-funded research—including access to resulting technologies, economic opportunities, and improved quality of life—reach all Americans?

(xiii) How can the Federal government strengthen research security to protect sensitive technologies and dual-use research while minimizing compliance burdens on researchers?

(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6613.)

90 FR 54412