Further Reading

American Statistical Association, George Mason University

The Nation’s Data at Risk: Meeting America’s Information Needs for the 21st Century. This assessment, based on year-long study of federal statistical agencies, evaluates their capacity to serve the US and includes recommendations for Congress, parent agencies where the statistical agencies reside, the Office of Management an Budget, and the statistical agencies.

Bipartisan Policy Center

Toward a Potential Grand Bargain for the Nation. 2024. Bipartisan Policy Center researchers provide several federal-, state-, and local-level proposals to education, environment, health, tax, and federal budget reforms to increase economic growth and overall upward mobility. This report focuses on broad recommendations rather than specific policy details. Recommendations include investing in training and education for workers, skill-based immigration, investments in basic research, tax reductions for new investments, and reducing regulations to spur innovation.

Hoover Institution

The Contribution of High-Skilled Immigrants to Innovation in the United States. 2022. Researchers analyzed patent records and social security number information to characterize the contributions of immigrants to US innovation. The results highlight the total innovation output of immigrants and trends related to immigrant inventors’ influence on global importation and diffusion of ideas compared to US-born inventors.

National Academy of Medicine

The State of the U.S. Biomedical and Health Research Enterprise: Strategies for Achieving a Healthier America. 2024. National Academy of Medicine authors suggest that a lack of national coordination, a fragmented funding system, and a declining workforce contribute to the challenges facing the biomedical research enterprise. They propose priorities to reinvigorate the enterprise. The priorities include strategic vision, funding, health, equity, coordination and convergence science, and workforce.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

International Talent Programs in the Changing Global Environment. 2024. This study examines the global competition for talent, foreign talent within the United States’ STEM research system and workforce, the history of China-US cooperation in science and technology, the rise of China as a science and technology leader, the national security and defense implications of scientific research and foreign talent, attracting and retaining foreign talent in the US, and how other countries attract and retain talent.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Call to Action for Science Education: Building Opportunity for the Future. 2021. Call to Action for Science Education: Building Opportunity for the Future articulates a vision for high quality science education, describes the gaps in opportunity that currently exist for many students, and outlines key priorities that need to be addressed in order to advance better, more equitable science education across grades K-16. This report makes recommendations for state and federal policy makers on ways to support equitable, productive pathways for all students to thrive and have opportunities to pursue careers that build on scientific skills and concepts. Call to Action for Science Education challenges the policy-making community at state and federal levels to acknowledge the importance of science, make science education a core national priority, and empower and give local communities the resources they must have to deliver a better, more equitable science education.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. 2007. A comprehensive set of four recommendations and 20 implementation actions for federal policymakers aimed at creating high-quality jobs and focusing science and technology efforts on meeting the US’s needs. The recommendations include: increase America’s talent pool by vastly improving K-12 mathematics and science education; sustain and strengthen the nation’s commitment to long-term basic research; develop, recruit, and retain top students, scientists, and engineers from both the US and abroad; and ensure that the United States is the premier place in the world for innovation.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5. 2010. A follow-up to the 2007 report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, summarizing the work the government and the private sector have done since the release of the 2007 report, an analysis of whether the 2007 recommendations have or have not been acted upon, the consequences on future competitiveness, and priorities going forward.

National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers

Competing in the Next Economy: Innovating in the Age of Disruption & Discontinuity. 2024. This Call to Action lays out crucial policies to secure America’s global leadership in technology and innovation. It describes seven pillars for driving productivity, prosperity, and national security. Among these pillars are the urgent need for renewed vision, a pro-innovation business climate, empowerment of the skilled work force, and collaborative innovation networks.

National Research Council, Institute of Medicine

Enhancing the Vitality of the National Institutes of Health: Organizational Change to Meet New Challenges. 2003. This summary identifies the structure and organization of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and assesses whether it is configured for US biomedical research and other scientific needs, and the optimal structure for the NIH. It includes an analysis of the evolution of NIH’s organizational structure, the changing nature of biomedical research, the current organizational structure, and recommendations to enhance NIH’s ability to respond to new challenges.

National Science Board

Vision 2030. 2020. National Science Board’s multi-year vision recommends leadership opportunities in four areas – the practice of science and engineering, talent, partnerships, and infrastructure – to help the US remain the world leader in innovation in 2030. Recommendations include strategic near - and long-term investments, increasing STEM skills and opportunities for Americans and attracting and retaining foreign talent, investments in research infrastructure, and increasing government-university-industry partnerships.

National Science Foundation

Connected Horizons New Opportunities in a Changed Landscape. 2024. Darío Gil, National Science Board Chairman, summarizes the development of science and technology institutions and highlights trends in research and development funding, the current funding landscape, the role of geopolitics in science and technology leadership, and opportunities for cross-sectoral approaches.

Science & Technology Action Committee

Science and Technology Action Plan. 2020. Three actions toward a renewed science and technology commitment dedicated to surmounting overarching societal threats are presented within this plan, which related to science and technology leadership, coordination and collaboration around emerging threats, and investment. Appendices address prior reports on similar topics and polling data demonstrating American support for science and technology.

Science & Technology Action Committee

The State of Science in America. 2023. The Science & Technology Action Committee’s report summarizes insights from science experts on the benefits of science and technology investments, the obstacles to advancing science and technology, and the challenges facing the US as it engages in global competition.

Science is US, American Association for the Advancement of Science

People of Science: An Inclusive Analysis of the U.S. STEM Workforce and Its Economic Impact. 2023. An in-depth analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data on the growing US STEM workforce and its impact on the US economy. The report includes statistics on the number of STEM jobs, people employed in STEM professions, STEM salaries, the growth in STEM professions, and STEM focused economic activity. The report also includes information on how STEM contributes to the size and impact of the workforce in every US state.

United States House of Representatives

Bipartisan House Task Force Report on Artificial Intelligence. 2024. The bipartisan House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and other committees of jurisdiction developed this comprehensive report on artificial intelligence (AI) for Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The report includes guiding principles and recommendations for advancing US leadership in artificial intelligence innovation.