White House Releases Budget Priorities for R&D for FY 2024

On July 22, the White House released a memorandum outlining the Administration’s priorities for research and development (R&D) for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget cycle. This memorandum, which is traditionally released annually by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), aims to set cross-cutting priorities for all federal research agencies to consider as they develop their budget submissions. The FY 2024 memorandum lists seven such priorities for agencies to consider:

• Preparing for and preventing pandemics;
• Reducing the death rate from cancer in half;
• Tackling climate change;
• Advancing national security and technological competitiveness;
• Innovating for equity;
• Cultivating an equitable STEM education, engagement, and workforce; and
• Promoting open science and community-engaged R&D.

While the priorities listed are similar to those in the White House R&D memorandum for FY 2023, there is notably more attention paid towards cancer research, national security, STEM education, and open science than the previous memorandum. More details can be found in the FY 2024 memorandum.