Innovation governance

Support for government accountability shouldn’t be a casualty of impeachment drama

February 14, 2020 | Zach Graves

This article was authored by Lincoln Network head of policy Zach Graves and Fix the System co-founder Nilmini Rubin. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) usually works hard to avoid political controversy. But the agency’s recent legal decision vaulted the nonpartisan agency into the center of impeachment politics. The GAO asserted that the White House Office

Governance Over Ideology

February 12, 2020 | Zach Graves

Replying to Marco Rubio’s “American Industrial Policy and the Rise of China” Read the full article at the Claremont Institute’s American Mind.

February 11, 2020 | Zach Graves

This one pager was written to compliment Zach Graves and Daniel Schuman’s recent paper with the Harvard Ash Center on building science and technology capacity in Congress.

Symposium on Technology Assessment

February 1, 2020 | Zach Graves

In July of last year, Lincoln Network announced a call for papers on the future of technology assessment and science advice for Congress. The following papers from the first round of this series are available below. “Legislative Science Advice in Europe and the United Kingdom,” by Chris Tyler, University College London “The Many Meanings of

January 30, 2020 | Zach Graves

Lincoln head of policy Zach Graves discusses tech and innovation policy with Schmidt Futures’ Kumar Garg at the Day One Project conference at the National Academies of Sciences.

January 17, 2020 | Ryan Khurana

The American AI Initiative, created by the Trump Administration in February 2019, highlighted the White House’s priorities to make artificial intelligence a pivotal asset in shaping America’s future. While the initial plan was criticized for a lack of specifics, on January 7th the Office of Management and Budget released its “Guidance for Regulation of Artificial

December 5, 2019 | Zach Graves

The following letter was sent to the House Committee on Science, Space, & Technology on December 5, 2019. Click here for the full PDF version. Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson, ChairwomanHon. Frank Lucas, Ranking MemberHouse Committee on Science, Space, & Technology2321 Rayburn House Office BuildingWashington, DC 20515 Re: Options for Improved Science and Technology Advice for

November 26, 2019 | Garrett Johnson

Increasing science and technology advice would be an important first step Technological advancements are rapidly changing the American economy and workforce. At the same time, lawmakers increasingly appear to lack the capability to understand and respond effectively to this transformation. Flip phone-wielding lawmakers may have been cutting edge in the 1990s, but not in today’s Congress, which routinely grapples

November 25, 2019 | Dan Lips

Government Watchdogs Can Use Data Analytics to Identify Billions in Taxpayer Savings While impeachment hearings and the 2020 election dominate the political headlines, several encouraging bipartisan efforts to reform Washington and improve governance are making progress below the radar. The result could be billions in taxpayer savings. This month, the House of Representatives extended the

September 30, 2019 | Zach Graves

The article, “Incorporating Ethics Into Technology Assessment,” was co-authored by Zach Graves and Robert Cook-Deegan. It appears in the Fall 2019 issue of Issues in Science and Technology. Visit the Issues website here, or click here to read the full version of the article.

September 29, 2019 | Zach Graves

The following one pager was co-authored by Lincoln Network’s Zach Graves and Demand Progress’s Daniel Schuman. Click here to download a printer-friendly PDF version. The Office of Technology Assessment From 1974-1995, the Office of Technology Assessment served as a legislative branch support agency tasked with providing Congress with technology assessments: multi-disciplinary, authoritative analyses of science

July 25, 2019 | Zach Graves

The Supreme Court may soon finally start to rein in the sprawling administrative state, returning authority to make laws to Congress. Conservatives have dreamed of this restoration of the Constitution’s separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches. But Congress clearly isn’t equipped to decide the hard questions that lawmakers have simply left to

Lincoln’s approach to policy

July 21, 2019 | Zach Graves

Make the future happen sooner. The mission of Lincoln’s policy project is to bridge the gap between innovators, technologists, and policymakers, and leverage that position to advance policy discussions that will help create a better, freer, and more abundant future. In the face of increasing backlash against science and technology, we are optimistic about the

June 13, 2019 | Zach Graves

The following article, co-authored by Lincoln Network head of policy Zach Graves and R Street Institute vice president of policy Kevin R. Kosar, originally ran at RealClearPolicy. They are the authors of the policy study, “Bring in the Nerds: Reviving the Office of Technology Assessment.” Barely one in five Americans approve of the way Congress is operating. It

Podcast roundup on OTA

June 6, 2019 | Zach Graves

I appeared on several podcasts over the past few months to discuss improving S&T expertise in government, reviving the Office of Technology Assessment, and related issues. Check them out here: Cato Institute’s Building Tomorrow Podcast Federal News Radio’s Federal Drive with Tom Temin Techdirt Podcast Harvard University Ash Center’s AshCast

June 3, 2019 | Ryan Radia

I submitted the following comments to the Federal Trade Commission on May 31, 2019 regarding Docket FTC-2018-0098, “Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in 21st Century: Consumer Privacy.” Click here for the PDF version (which includes my footnotes). Mr. Donald S. ClarkFederal Trade Commission Office of the Secretary600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580 Re:

May 24, 2019 | Ryan Radia

I submitted the following written testimony to Senate appropriators on strengthening technical expertise at the FTC. The Honorable John Kennedy United States Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Christopher Coons United States Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Washington, DC

May 23, 2019 | Zach Graves

Looking through former Rep. Rush Holt’s (D-NJ) archives, I found this curious letter from Newt Gingrich to Rep. Amo Houghton (R-NY) on the Office of Technology Assessment dated January 10, 2006. In it he writes: “I agree with your thoughts about the essential nature of the OTA, and I am very interested in finding new

May 9, 2019 | Zach Graves

The following bipartisan coalition letter, organized by Lincoln Network and Demand Progress, was sent to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, on Thursday, May 9, 2019. Click here for a PDF version. Hon. Cindy Hyde-Smith, ChairmanHon. Chris Murphy, Ranking MemberU.S. Senate, Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on the Legislative BranchRoom S-128, The

Reboot American Innovation Conference

May 6, 2019 | Lincoln Policy

Check out all the videos from Lincoln Network’s Reboot American Innovation conference. Additional information about the speakers and program can be found here. Agenda 8:15 AMREGISTRATIONContinental breakfast 8:45 AMWELCOME & OPENING REMARKSGarrett Johnson, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Lincoln Network; Aaron Ginn, Co-Founder, Lincoln Network. 9:00 AMOPENING KEYNOTEDr. Robert Zubrin, President, Pioneer Astronautics; and Contributing Editor, The

April 3, 2019 | Zach Graves

On April 2, 2019, I testified before the U.S. House Appropriations Committee’s Legislative Branch Subcommittee on improving S&T expertise in Congress. At hand was the ongoing discussion on building-out technology assessment capabilities (modeled on the defunct Office of Technology Assessment) within the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The following is an excerpt of the testimony (available

February 2, 2019 | Zach Graves

Last week the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced the formation of a new office to aid Congress in understanding science and technology matters. This office will be organized as a 15th mission team under GAO’s organization chart called “Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics” (STAA). Its work will focus on four key areas: Conducting technology assessments and providing technical services

Reboot 2018 Conference

October 24, 2018 | Lincoln Network

Check out all the videos from Lincoln Network’s Reboot 2018 conference in San Francisco, CA. Additional information about the program and speakers can be found here.

October 5, 2018 | Zach Graves

The following article by Lincoln Network head of policy Zach Graves and Demand Progress policy director Daniel Schuman originally ran at Techdirt: When Mark Zuckerberg was called to testify earlier this year, the world was shocked by Congress’s evident lack of basic technological literacy. For many, this performance illustrates the institution’s incompetence. After all, if our elected representatives

September 25, 2018 | Zach Graves

The following policy study by Lincoln Network head of policy Zach Graves was published by the R Street Institute on September 25, 2018. Click here to read it.

May 20, 2018 | Zach Graves

I co-organized the following coalition letter urging Congress to takes steps to improve its in-house expertise on science and technology. The letter argues: The dearth of technological expertise in the legislative branch makes it difficult for Congress to properly evaluate the divergent claims of executive agencies, academic centers, interest groups and lobbyists. This circumstance is