Last month, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released the “Quadrennial Science and Technology Review” outlining how federally funded research has made the United States a global leader in innovation – and how sustained investments in research are needed to maintain that cutting edge.
“How Americans live and work, our health and opportunities, the security of our nation and the stability of our world, and the expanding scope of human knowledge all depend on continued U.S. leadership” in science and technology (S&T), the report argued. And, in order for America to maintain that leadership, the report added, our nation will need to continue investing in research despite budgetary constraints.
The report explained that research projects funded by the federal government are guided by a public mission to expand knowledge and to create the potential for scientific discoveries that lead to major technological breakthroughs and drive the economy forward. The report outlined ongoing S&T efforts across various federal government agencies and noted that, in FY23, the federal government invested a total of $97 billion in basic and applied research and another $98 billion in development, primarily to support the building of “experimental prototypes of systems for missions such as defense and space.”
Federally funded R&D is usually performed in “government, academic, corporate, and other facilities,” the report noted, adding: “The U.S. has the world’s strongest research enterprise, including our universities and federal and national labs.” AAU members and other research universities play a vital role in performing scientific research, especially basic research. In FY21, for example, the majority of spending on R&D by U.S. higher education institutions was funded by the federal government and, according to the National Science Board, “academic institutions represented 44% of U.S. basic research performed that year.”
OSTP noted, however, that federally funded R&D infrastructure is facing “multibillion-dollar deferred maintenance backlogs, and numerous facilities are nearing the end of or exceeding their designed lifespans.” The report argued that “our nation’s continued leadership in S&T depends on the maintenance and modernization of existing infrastructure as well as investments in new facilities and systems that can support cutting-edge 21st century research.”
The report also discussed the importance of cultivating a robust, equitable, and diverse S&T workforce in the United States through streamlining domestic talent pipelines and bolstering the recruitment of foreign-born talent. Additionally, OSTP highlighted the importance of making R&D investments in the specific areas of national security, climate, health, and artificial intelligence in order to “build competitive 21st century industries that create good jobs” and “open the door of opportunity for every American.”
Finally, the report highlighted the importance of S&T in keeping the United States ahead in “geopolitical competition,” particularly competition with China. “The PRC is the only competitor to the U.S. with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to advance that objective,” it said.
The Quadrennial Science and Technology Review is a precursor to the forthcoming U.S. National Science and Technology Strategy, which OSTP and the National Science and Technology Council are required to create as a result of a provision in the CHIPS and Science Act. The legislation requires OSTP to submit the strategy one year after submission of the quadrennial review.
Kritika Agarwal is senior editorial officer at AAU.