[7/14/15 Update: The FY17 OMB-OSTP joint budget memo was released July 9 and contains the same multi-agency R&D priorities as the FY16 memo plus "Ocean and Arctic Issues." The Precision Medicine Initiative, launched earlier this year, is mentioned in the "Innovation in life sciences, biology, and neuroscience" priority.]
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the White House Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) released their joint budget priorities memo for FY16 on July 18. The joint memo is issued annually to guide federal agencies and departments in the preparation of their upcoming budget submissions. The document states, "Federal government funding for
research
and
development
(R&D)
is
essential
to
address
societal
needs
in
areas
in
which
the
private
sector
does
not
have
sufficient
economic
incentive
to
make
the
required
investments.
Key
among
these
is
the
fundamental,
curiosity-driven
inquiry
that
has
been
a
hallmark
of
the
American
research
enterprise
and
a
powerful
driver
of
unexpected,
new
technology." It also says, "Agencies should explain in their budget submissions how they are redirecting available resources from lower-priority areas to science and technology activities that address the priorities described below."
These memos are important for the statistical community to monitor because they provide opportunities to state how statisticians can contribute to national research priorities. In the past several months, three ASA groups released whitepapers relating to three national research priorities: the BRAIN Initiative, the Big Data R&D Initiative and the climate change research priority. The ASA whitepapers are described in this July Amstat News article, Statistical Scientists Advance Federal Research Initiativesand can be found here:
ASA's whitepaper approach is an attempt to model the success of the Computing Community Consortium, which has had profound impact on OSTP initiatives and NSF CISE programs. For more on this, see the November 2013 Amstat News article, Influencing Federal Research Funding Policy—White Papers?, and this corresponding blog entry, Influencing Federal Research Funding Policy through White Papers. If you have an idea for a whitepaper on any of the FY16 OMB-OSTP research priorities, please contact me.
The FY16 OMB-OSTP memo priorities are:
- Advanced manufacturing
- Clean energy
- Earth Observations
- Global climate change
- Information technology and high-performance computing
- Innovation in life sciences, biology, and neuroscience
- National and homeland security
- Research and development for informed policymaking and management
The memo also provides this STEM Education guidance:
Investments
in
STEM
education
should
adhere
to
the
priorities
outlined
in
the
Federal
STEM
Education
5-Year
Strategic
Plan,
by
the
Committee
on
STEM
Education
(CoSTEM)
under
the
NSTC,
and
should
continue
to
pursue
the
goals
of
reducing
program
fragmentation
and
enhancing
program
effectiveness
that
were
supported
in
the
past
two
budgets.
This
includes
giving
priority
to
programs
that
use
evidence
to
guide
program
design
and
implementation
or
that
build
evidence
about
what
works
in
STEM
education,
using
appropriate
metrics
and
improving
the
measurement
of
outcomes.
Agencies
should
also
ensure
that
programs
are
designed
to
identify
and
effectively
meet
the
needs
of
those
we're
trying
to
serve
-
students,
teachers,
schools,
districts
and
post-secondary
institutions.
The
2016
Budget
proposals
should
align
STEM
education
investments
with
the
Strategic
Plan,
with
attention
to
initiatives
presented
in
the
President's
Council
of
Advisors
on
Science
and
Technology
(PCAST)
reports
Prepare
and
Inspire
and
Engage
to
Excel
and
be
coordinated
with
other
Administration
priorities.
The FY16 priorities listed above are very similar to the FY15 priorities with the addition of Earth Observations and the removal of Innovation and Commercialization. As the AAAS analysis of the FY16 memo points out, "when an item makes its way onto the OMB/OSTP priorities list, it doesn't always guarantee a funding boost."
See other ASA Science Policy blog entries. For ASA science policy updates, follow @ASA_SciPol on Twitter. For more on ASA science policy, see http://amstat.org/policy/.