August 2026
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released “Science: A New Golden Age” on July 21. The report outlines recommendations for reshaping federal investments and priorities in scientific research. OSTP and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) also issued guidance to federal research agencies for developing FY 2028 budget priorities aligned with the report.
The report focuses on four themes:
Across these areas, OSTP recommends focusing research support more directly on individual scientists rather than institutions, broadening the range of institutions and organizations receiving federal funding, and testing alternative funding mechanisms. These include prizes, expedited grants, and a “golden ticket” process that would provide avenues beyond traditional peer review to advance high-risk, high-reward proposals.
The report also calls for expanding the STEM talent pipeline by strengthening career pathways outside of academia, modernizing apprenticeships, and integrating hands-on training into STEM education. Other recommendations emphasize the use of artificial intelligence in scientific research and the administration’s Gold Standard Science principles, including reproducibility, transparency, and falsifiability.
The accompanying FY 2028 guidance directs agencies to prioritize funding for foundational research to physical, mathematical, and biological sciences. It also calls for research and development priorities that support a broader range of institutions, expand the use of fast grants for exploratory projects, and test emerging funding mechanisms.
Some of these approaches are already being implemented at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The agency’s X-Labs initiative launched earlier this year supports independent, interdisciplinary research teams through milestone-based funding. NSF also recently announced a $47 million pilot initiative designed to provide more than 250 doctoral students with hands-on experience in industry research and development as part of a new four-year PhD model.
In conjunction with the report’s release, OSTP Director Michael Kratsios testified before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee on July 22. Kratsios discussed the report and the administration’s continued emphasis on Gold Standard Science. Responding to questions from members of both parties about OMB’s proposed rule on federal grantmaking, he described OSTP’s role in encouraging agencies to integrate Gold Standard Science principles into their grantmaking processes. Several Democratic committee members also questioned Kratsios about potential White House involvement in grant decisions at NSF. He said he was not aware of OSTP officials participating in those decisions. House Science, Space, and Technology Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and committee member George Whitesides (D-CA) followed up with a letter to Kratsios on August 6 seeking clarification on his testimony.