Yesterday, the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Michael Kratsios published Science: A New Golden Age, a report to President Trump which lays out a vision and policy framework for American research and development. Accompanying the report is a White House Fiscal Year 2028 R&D Priorities Memorandum from OMB director Russ Vought and Director Kratsios, providing specific directives to federal departments and agencies for implementing the recommendations laid out in this report. Federal R&D agencies are required to submit an action plan within 90 days outlining their implementation plans and incorporate the guidance into their FY2028 submissions to OMB.
A summary of the report from OSTP is below:
“The report organizes its recommendations to government, industry, academia, and philanthropy around four key pillars:
- Revitalize America’s Science and Technology Enterprise
The R&D enterprise should refocus support on individual scientists rather than legacy institutions, diversify funding mechanisms beyond slow consensus peer review, create agile new research organizations such as X-Labs and expanded ARPA-like entities, and establish metascience units to institutionalize continuous improvement. - Secure U.S. Dominance in Critical and Emerging Technologies
Federal R&D should prioritize national mission-driven scientific initiatives that unite government, industry, academia, and philanthropy around ambitious goals. These include the Genesis Mission to double the productivity of American research through AI; the Quantum Computer for Application Development and Discovery Science (QC-ADDS); commercial fusion power demonstration by the mid-2030s; crewed lunar return and lunar base development; and next-generation semiconductor technologies. - Launch a New Golden Age Powered by AI for Science
The Federal government should fully fund and scale the Genesis Mission as the flagship national AI-for-science initiative to dramatically accelerate discovery; develop domain-specific scientific foundation models and high-value datasets, invest in AI-enabled verification infrastructure and autonomous laboratories; and begin transitioning toward AI-native scientific institutions better suited to an era of machine-augmented research. - Ensure That Science and Technology Better the Lives of All Americans
Federal agencies should integrate hands-on technical training and apprenticeships into STEM education, open scientific careers to skilled craftspeople and practitioners, build dense regional innovation clusters that link research with advanced manufacturing, and ensure that the economic returns of discovery reach every region and community in the country.”