M-25-34 NSTM-2 Memo Outlines FY2027 Federal R&D Budget Priorities
19 June 2026 | ZEROGeoengineering.com | “Digital tools, data sets, and data sharing and communications infrastructure underpin the enabling research infrastructure for emerging technologies and support Gold Standard Science efforts.”
A joint Executive Branch memo was issued by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Vought and Director of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Kratsios, outlining federal research and development (R&D) priorities for FY27. Federal priorities include Artificial Intelligence, quantum technologies, digital twins, remote sensing, advanced sensors, Microelectronics, 5G/6G and beyond wireless networks, infrastructure and testbeds, unmanned and autonomous systems, space systems, Golden Dome, and private sector investment in the research enterprise.
According to the report, “The private sector plays an increasingly central role, not only in late-stage development and commercialization, but also in applied research, bringing speed and scale to turn basic research into real-world products and platforms.”
Artificial Intelligence:
Areas of emphasis include AI architectural advancements; data-efficient and high-performance AI techniques and systems; the interpretability, controllability, and steerability of AI systems; and AI adversarial robustness, resilience, and security. Applied AI priorities include AI for the acceleration of scientific discovery; nuclear fission and fusion for energy production; quantum information science; advanced space analytics, remote sensing, and navigation; and embodied AI (autonomous robotics, drones, self-driving cars, and advanced sensors).
Advanced Communications Networks: 5G, 6G, and beyond wireless networks…
Targeted Federal investments in those and additional R&D priority areas in national security will lead to robust and flexible capabilities for mitigating and responding to evolving challenges posed by strategic competitors and adversarial threats, as well as natural hazards.
Agencies should advance R&D for AI-enabled intelligence collection, surveillance, and reconnaissance…
space weather hazard prediction and mitigation
Digital tools, data sets, and data sharing and communications infrastructure underpin the enabling research infrastructure for emerging technologies and support Gold Standard Science efforts. Agencies should prioritize efforts that advance and share new paradigms for research,
including the expansion of autonomous experimentation facilities that can accelerate R&D efforts.
Agencies should increase interagency collaboration, including through the National Science and Technology Council, to strengthen coordination on existing and new partnerships to fully leverage whole-of-government efforts. Agencies should coordinate and collaborate with each other and non-Federal stakeholders to drive discovery and innovation in high priority research areas by leveraging research infrastructure, including tools, platforms, and protocols.
Link To M-25-34-NSTM-2-Fiscal-Year-FY-2027-Administration-Research-and-Development-Budget-Priorities-and-Cross-Cutting-Actions
Below is highlighted from page 26 of the United Nations document, “The Pact for the Future.” The report outlines the goal to “transform global governance” and was adopted by all member nations in September 2024:
Five permanent UN members: China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States
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