Shutterstock
Science and Technology Innovation Program
The Science and Technology Innovation Program (STIP) brings foresight to the frontier. Our experts explore emerging technologies through vital conversations, making science policy accessible to everyone.
Connect With Us
Our Blogs
Report: Open RAN and 5G: Looking Beyond the National Security Hype
Open RAN, which is championed by consortiums such as the O-RAN Alliance and the Open RAN Policy Coalition, has become increasingly politicized in the U.S. These technical standards have been framed as a national security imperative and an important tool for keeping untrusted vendors (namely Huawei and ZTE) out of 5G networks at home and abroad. But, can Open RAN live up to the national security hype? What are the potential solutions Open RAN presents -- and the potential pitfalls?
Learn moreLandmark Initiatives
Earth Challenge 2020
April 22, 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. In recognition of this milestone Earth Day Network, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the U.S. Department of State are launching Earth Challenge 2020 as the world’s largest coordinated citizen science campaign.
Wilson Center Congressional Technology Labs
The Wilson Center's Technology Labs provide the knowledge foundation for core science and technology policy topics through a six-week seminar themes series. Open to mid- to senior-level Congressional staff.
THING Tank
From DIY microscopes made from paper and household items, to low cost and open microprocessors supporting research from cognitive neuroscience to oceanography, to low cost sensors measuring air quality in communities around the world, the things of science -- that is, the physical tools that generate data or contribute to scientific processes -- are changing the way that science happens.
The Fiscal Ship Game
Can you captain us out of national debt? Play the Fiscal Ship to learn about the federal budget and fiscal sustainability.
The Plastic Pipeline
Global Mosquito Alert
The Global Mosquito Alert Consortium is a new citizen science initiative that aims to leverage networks of scientists and volunteers for the global surveillance and control of the mosquito species known to carry the following diseases: Zika, yellow fever, chikungunya, dengue, malaria and the West Nile virus. The Global Mosquito Alert will be an open, common set of protocols and toolkit that is augmented with modular components created to meet both global and local research and management needs.
Policy Briefs
Building Blocks for Better Science: Case Studies in Low-Cost and Open Tools for Science
Tools (as well as the research they enable) are not just developed by and for the professional scientific research community, but by a wide range of commercial, academic, nonprofit, and community enterprises operating at a range of scales. Here, we outline 16 tools for science that are causing us to rethink the boundaries of scientific research. Looking across these tools and their individual impact on science and society, we begin to ask questions about their collective impact. How do low-cost tools impact science? Do these tools accelerate scientific progress or expand access, and to what extent? Finally, is the impact, and potential impact, of these tools incremental, or potentially revolutionary?
Read more
Beyond Bans: Policy Options for Facial Recognition and the Need for a Grand Strategy on AI
Recognizing the current pace of innovation, there is an urgent and compelling opportunity to move beyond bans to proactively explore a grand strategy or national action plan for AI. Such a strategy should include an ethical framework for AI that begins with high-level principles and becomes progressively more concrete.
Learn more
Filling Data Gaps: A Citizen Science Solution
Policymakers need data to make informed decisions. Local governments need data to justify policies like bans on single-use plastics. Federal agencies need information to set the conservation guidelines that protect endangered species. Data are also required to report on progress towards international policy targets, like the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Learn moreFresh From CTRL + Forward, a blog of the Science and Technology Innovation Program
Explore STIP's Focus Areas
STIP Director @megkingdc & @shull_aaron write for @CIGIonline's essay series on digital threats. "These principles,… t.co/TU7ZdE4MnT
See our newest content first.
Subscribe for updates about new events, articles, videos, and more from the Science and Technology Innovation Program