The Capacity Challenge: Governing in an Era of Rapid Scientific, Technological, and Economic Change

公众依赖政府来评估广泛使用新技术的前景和潜在风险。这项研究考察了在技术创新步伐如此之快的情况下，联邦机构是如何运作的，这需要新的评估程序和专业知识。例如，使用CRISPR/Cas9技术的医疗应用程序故意改变DNA，引发了新型的伦理和安全问题。自动驾驶汽车要求国家交通和公路安全管理局(NTHSA)建立基于云的技术和网络安全方面的专业知识。这项研究记录了联邦机构如何应对挑战，并在面临新技术时评估机会和障碍。这项研究确定了联邦机构寻求提高绩效、管理新技术的潜在风险和改善科技创新环境的最佳做法。这项研究为如何支持发展足够的公共技术能力以满足当前的科技创新速度提供了新的思考。对几个当前的案例进行了评估，以评估政府机构如何应对快速的技术变革。这项研究借鉴了一项研究，该研究确定了私营部门公司在快速的科学和技术变化领域保持竞争力的做法。公司投资于自己的技术能力，并鼓励接触各种技术领域的创新。这项研究的问题是，投资于内部技术能力和鼓励接触不同技术领域的相同原则是否可以支持联邦机构的创新。由于联邦机构面临不同的情况，这项研究确定了公共组织用来创建和保持技术能力的做法，这些做法与私营部门公司的研究无关。

The public relies on government to evaluate both the promise and potential risks of widespread use of new technologies.  This study examines how federal agencies function given the rapid pace of technological innovation, which requires new evaluation routines and expertise.  For example, health applications using CRISPR/Cas9 technology intentionally alter DNA, posing new types of ethical and safety concerns.  Self-driving cars require the National Traffic and Highway Safety Administration's (NTHSA) to build expertise in cloud-based technologies and cyber-security. The study documents how federal agencies meet challenges, and assess opportunities and barriers when faced with new technologies. The study identifies best practices for federal agencies seeking to improve performance, manage the potential risks of new technologies and enhance the environment for scientific and technological innovation. This research contributes new thinking about how to support the development of sufficient public technical capacity in order to meet the current pace of scientific and technological innovation.  Several current cases are evaluated to assess how government agencies are responding to rapid technological change. This study draws from research that identifies the practices private sector firms use to remain competitive in fields of rapid scientific and technological change. Firms invest in their own technical capacity and encourage exposure to innovations across a variety of technical domains. This study asks whether the same principles of investing in internal technical capacity and encouraging exposure to diverse technical domains can support innovation in federal agencies. Because federal agencies face distinct circumstances, the study identifies practices that public organizations use to create and maintain technical capacity that are not relevant in studies of private sector firms.