The Foundation for American Innovation today announces the launch of a new science policy program under the direction of Ian Banks, aimed at driving fundamental reforms to revitalize America's scientific enterprise and restore its global competitive edge.
The scientific enterprise that powered American leadership through the 20th century faces converging challenges: declining research productivity, bureaucratic expansion consuming researcher time and budgets, a reproducibility crisis undermining research reliability, diminished public trust following COVID-19, and intensifying competition with China pitting openness against security. These pressures have catalyzed sweeping Trump administration reforms of the American scientific enterprise and congressional efforts to restructure agencies across research portfolios, converging to make this the most significant period for federal science policy in decades.
At this critical juncture, there is a shocking lack of conservative intellectual leadership in science policy, leaving reformers without principled guidance to balance competing priorities of efficiency and excellence. FAI's science policy program will establish the intellectual infrastructure and network on the right for principled engagement in the reform movement, developing actionable proposals that enhance scientific productivity while preserving America's research advantages and resourcing. The initiative will advance reforms across four areas: rebuilding science agencies for the innovation age, developing frameworks to accelerate scientific innovation, restoring scientific integrity through transparency and reproducibility standards, and strengthening the U.S. scientific talent pipeline.
At a time when artificial intelligence is revolutionizing research capabilities, America's scientific leadership depends on institutional modernization. The program aims to ensure that American institutions can harness new avenues for discovery and deployment ahead of global competitors.
The program will be led by Director of Science Policy Ian Banks. Ian has held research roles at C3 Solutions and the American Enterprise Institute, Previously, he also served as a legislative aide to Rep. Bill Posey. He holds a master's degree in Science and Religion from the University of Oxford and a BA in Chemistry from Covenant College. Ian's writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The Hill, RealClearScience, the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, and elsewhere.
If you have questions or are interested in supporting the program, please contact science@thefai.org.
See also:
- Samuel Hammond, “The State of U.S. Science and Technology: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership,” testimony before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
- Kelvin Yu, “America’s Techno-Industrial Crossroads,” Techno-Industrial Policy Playbook
- Dan Lips and Robert Bellafiore, “A Time to Rebuild the Federal Education R&D Enterprise”
- Dan Lips, “The U.S. Should Secure Federally Funded Research,” The SCIF
- Samuel Hammond, “Developing an AI Action Plan,” comment to the National Science Foundation
- Zach Graves, “Returning Science and Technology Assessment to Congress,” Issues in Science and Technology
- Jon Askonas, “Technological Stagnation Is a Choice,” American Affairs
