The directors of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) have distributed their annual memorandum on science and technology priorities for the fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget focusing on efforts that span multiple agencies. The memo to the heads of Executive Departments and Agencies is used to help align agency efforts as they formulate budget submissions to OMB. Requests consistent with these elements in the memo “are more more likely to be prioritized in FY 2017 Budget deliberations.”
The memo from OMB Director Shaun Donovan and OSTP Director John Holdren highlights federal government funding for basic research, which is describes as “the fundamental, curiosity-driven inquiry that is a hallmark of the American research enterprise and a powerful driver of new technology.”
One multi-agency R&D priority focuses on the life sciences:
Innovation in life sciences, biology, and neuroscience. Agencies should give priority to programs that support fundamental biological discovery research that could generate unexpected, high-impact scientific and technological advances in health, energy, and food security, particularly in the President’s BRAIN Initiative, the National Strategy for Combating Antibiotic Resistance, and the National Strategy for Biosurveillance (e.g., infectious-disease forecasting capabilities). Priority should also be placed on research that seeks fundamental principles that cut across habitats and biological systems, such as those that govern the behaviors of microbiomes in diverse environments. Agencies should prioritize research – guided by the National Research Action Plan for Improving Access to Mental Health Services for Veterans, Service Members, and Military Families – to identify and develop effective diagnostic and treatment methodologies and metrics with the aim of improved mental health and reduction in substance-use disorders. In addition, the Administration has committed to launching the Precision Medicine Initiative, aimed at tailoring medical care to the individual patient. Agencies should support investments on improving interoperability of health records, addressing privacy concerns, and launching research that will enable discoveries derived from Big Data.
Other priorities areas highlighted in the memo relate to global climate change, clean energy, Earth observations, advanced manufacturing and industries of the future, national and homeland security, information technology and high-performance computing, ocean and arctic issues, and R&D for informed policy-making and management.
Several other provisions may be of particular interest to the GSA community:
Agencies should support the R&D infrastructure (e.g., facilities, platform technologies, IT, digital tools) needed to ensure that U.S. science and engineering remain at the leading edge, and leverage resources from other agencies, state and local governments, the private sector, and international partners.
…agencies should describe the targeted outcomes of R&D programs using meaningful, measurable, and quantitative metrics where possible and describe how they plan to evaluate the success of those programs.
Agencies are encouraged to use approaches to foster innovation such as Grand Challenges, incentive prizes, citizen science, and collaboration with members of the Maker Movement.
Preserving and improving access to scientific collections, research data, other results of Federally-funded research, open datasets, and open educational resources should be a priority for agencies.
Following engagement with stakeholders, agencies should implement policies and prioritize activities to improve the reproducibility of research in the fields they support.
Agencies should give priority to policies and actions identified by research as having the greatest potential to increase inclusion and diversity in STEM education, research, and careers such as changes in STEM instruction; changing the image of STEM education and careers; and reducing explicit, implicit, and structural biases against girls, and members of underrepresented minority groups.
Additional Information:
- Shaun Donovan and Dr. John P. Holdren, “Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies on Multi-Agency Science and Technology Priorities for the FY 2017 Budget,” July 9, 2015 (M-15-16).
Adam Fagen was formerly Executive Director of the Genetics Society of America.
View all posts by Adam Fagen »Read more in
-
Hongyu Zhao joins GENETICS as new Senior Editor
A new senior editor is joining GENETICS in the Statistical Genetics and Genomics section. We’re excited to welcome Hongyu Zhao to the editorial team. Hongyu ZhaoSenior Editor Hongyu Zhao is the Ira V. Hiscock Professor of Biostatistics, Professor of Genetics, and Professor of Statistics and Data Science at Yale University. He received his BS in…
-
GSA Member Julio Molina Pineda Receives DeLill Nasser Award, Shines at TAGC 2024
“At any career stage, the GSA membership is an amazing investment for any genetics professional!” Julio Molina Pineda is a PhD Candidate in Cell and Molecular Biology and a Research Assistant at the University of Arkansas, and a Doctoral Academy Fellow at the Lewis Lab. In 2023, Julio was awarded the DeLill Nasser Award for…
-
In Memoriam: Ellsworth Herman Grell (1932–2023), a pioneer of Drosophila genome engineering and annotation
Ellsworth (Ed) Grell blessed the Drosophila community through three enduring legacies: as a pioneer of chromosome mechanics, as a primary organizer and synthesizer of genetic knowledge in Drosophila, and as a graceful mentor to those fortunate to have known him personally. Ed grew up in rural Nebraska, completed his undergraduate studies at Iowa State, and…
-
Congratulations to the #Fungal24 Poster Award winners!
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the GSA Poster Awards for posters presented at the 32nd Fungal Genetics Conference! Undergraduate and graduate student members of GSA were eligible for the awards, and a hard-working team of judges made the determinations. Congratulations to all! Felicia Ebot Ojong, The University of Georgia My research is focused…
-
Poster presentation tips for TAGC 2024
You’ve been selected to present a poster at The Allied Genetics Conference 2024 in March—you’ve celebrated, made plans to attend, now what? This is an exciting opportunity to showcase your research and engage with fellow members of the genetics community, so you want to make sure you’re prepared. We wanted to offer you some tips…
-
Maximize your TAGC 2024 experience
A guide to all that National Harbor & DC have to offer Are you joining us for The Allied Genetics Conference 2024 in March? Make the most of your #TAGC24 experience in National Harbor! We know the science will keep you busy, but you deserve to unwind and have some fun, so we’ve curated a…
-
Early Career Leadership Spotlight: Sarah Petrosky
We’re taking time to get to know the members of the GSA’s Early Career Scientist Committees. Join us to learn more about our early career scientist advocates. Sarah PetroskyMultimedia SubcommitteeUniversity of Pittsburgh Research Interest I am interested in understanding adaptation that has been happening recently in populations by dissecting the ways that genes underlying an adaptation…
-
TAGC 2024 Early Career Award Winners
GSA is pleased to announce the winners of the early career awards presented at The Allied Genetics Conference 2024. These awards are specific to particular TAGC communities and recognize early career scientists’ outstanding work on their respective research organisms. The awardees will present their talks in keynote sessions at TAGC 2024. Don’t miss the opportunity…
-
Preeminent geneticists recognized with revamped GSA Awards
In 2022, GSA’s Board of Directors launched an audit to review the five major awards conferred by the Society. Today, we are thrilled to announce the recipients of the reimagined GSA Awards, including the new Genetics Society of America Early Career Medal. The scientists honored this year are recognized by their peers for their outstanding…
-
Fly Board funds outreach programs to spread the word about Drosophila research
In 2020, the Fly Board voted to use part of its reserve fund to support efforts to increase trainee participation as well as equity and diversity in the Drosophila community. An awards committee decides how the money will be spent each year, and from 2020–2022, the committee posted a very broad call for applications from…
-
New members of the GSA Board of Directors: 2024–2026
We are pleased to announce the election of four new leaders to the GSA Board of Directors: 2024 Vice President/2025 President Brenda Andrews Professor, University of Toronto It’s an honor to continue my association with the Society by serving as Vice President of the Board of Directors. I have broad knowledge of the ongoing activities…