Navigating Science and Technology Policy at the White House

In this installment of Science Policy IRL, Kei Koizumi takes us inside the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, or OSTP. As the principal deputy director for policy at OSTP, Koizumi occupies an unusual position at the very heart of science policy in the United States. OSTP provides science and technology advice to the president and executive office, works with federal agencies and legislators to create S&T policy, and helps strengthen and advance American science and technology. Koizumi talks to Issues editor Lisa Margonelli about what he does at OSTP, how he got there, and the exciting developments in S&T policy that get him out of bed every day. 

Are you involved in science and technology policy? From science for policy to policy for science, from the merely curious to full-on policy wonks, we would love to hear from all of you! Please visit our survey page to share your thoughts and provide a better understanding of who science policy professionals are, what they do, and why—along with a sense of how science policy is changing and what its future looks like.

Resources:

• Visit the Office of Science and Technology Policy website to learn more about OSTP’s work. 

• Read Issues’s interview with Arati Prabhakar, current director of OSTP. 

• Also in Issues, learn more about the creation of the National Nanotechnology Initiative from Neal Lane, science advisor to President Clinton.   

• Check out Science’s Uncertain Authority in Policy by John Marburger, science advisor to President George W. Bush, to learn more about the interactions between science and the political process.