*HomeU.S. Government Accountability Office*
Menu

      close


          
          
                          	
				
				
	
	
					Reports & Testimonies
									
																				
				
				
	
	
								Reports & Testimonies
													
																												
																						
							
																Recommendations Database
							
																												
																						
							
																Month in Review
							
																												
																						
							
																Order Copies
							
																												
																						
							
																Restricted Reports
							
																												
																						
							
																View Topics
							
																												
																						
							
																View Agencies
							
																												
																						
							
																Bid Protests & Appropriations Law
									
																				
				
				
	
	
								Bid Protests & Appropriations Law
													
																												
																						
							
																Bid Protests
							
																												
																						
							
																Appropriations Law
							
																												
																						
							
																Federal Vacancies Reform Act
							
																												
																						
							
																Other Legal
							
																												
																						
							
																About
									
																				
				
				
	
	
								About
													
																												
																						
							
																What GAO Does
							
																												
																						
							
																U.S. Comptroller General
							
																												
																						
							
																Careers
							
																												
																						
							
																Contact UsFor Congress
                                
                          
        
                Press Center
                                
                          
        
                Careers
                                
                          
        
                BlogSearch Breadcrumb
        Home
                            Reports & Testimonies
                            Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics At GAO: September 2022 Update
    Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics at GAO:
                          September 2022 Update **GAO-22-900426**
        Published: Sep 07, 2022. Publicly Released: Sep 07, 2022.Jump To:
    Jump ToElder Abuse
          Services for Older Adults
          State and Local-Level Drivers and Trends
          State and Local Fiscal Projections
          Federal Borrowing
          Managing the Debt
          Summary of Funding Provisions
          Auditing the Government's Books
          Unpacking the Financial Report
          Highlights
          Recommendations
          Background
          About This Work
          About This Work
          Trends
          About the Center
          Why It's High Risk
          What Remains To Be Done
          Key Reports
          Newest COVID-Related Reports
          AI Use Cases
          Flood Insurance
          Past Pandemic-Related Reports
          CARES Act Oversight Reports
          All COVID-19 Reports
          Report Suspected Fraud
          Subjects
          How to Get Notified
          Past Reports
          Public Health Threats
          Explore the FY 2022 and 2023 Funds
          Lessons Learned
          Agency Reports
          Recent Reports
          Recommendations
          Supplemental Material
          Full Report
          Additional Data
          View Decision
          Downloads
          Previously Identified Actions
          Related Pages
          Associated Agencies
          Tough Choices and Opportunities Ahead
          Americas Fiscal Future Key Areas
          Retirement Security Key Areas
          Current List
          About The High Risk List
          Area Ratings
          Previous High Risk Products
          Search Federal Vacancies
          Past Federal Vacancies
          Violation Letters
          About the Yellow Book
          Advisory Council
          Related Resources
          Comment Letters
          Related Publications
          Contacts and Resources
          Major Issues Facing the Nation
          Meeting Strategic Challenges
          Additional Resources
          Resources
          GAO Contacts
          Mission Teams
          Operations and Staff Offices
          Organization Chart
          Why a Career at GAO?
          Am I Qualified?
          Company Culture
          Reasonable Accommodations
          Video Gallery
          Paid Internships
          Student Volunteers
          Professional Development Program
          Advancement
          Executive Candidate Program
          Summer Associates
          Externships
          Benefits
          Contacts
                    Fast Facts
              From smartphones to bioengineered vaccines, scientific and technological advances are changing the world we live in. Adopting these technologies into every day and government use can bring opportunities—for economic growth and improved quality of life—as well as the potential for unintended consequences.

Since 2019, our Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team has provided Congress with in-depth information on the most pressing science and technology issues. Over the next year, we will focus on more issues impacting our nation, such as emerging infectious diseases, artificial intelligence, and the manufacturing supply chain.

Graphic with an arrow going from complex science and tech issues all the way to GAO's STAA work.
Skip to Highlights
Highlights
  STAA by the Numbers

STAA's interdisciplinary STEM expertise provides Congress with timely and relevant analysis of complex science & technology (S&T) issues. Since the team's founding in 2019 it has...

Issued **46** foresight-oriented assessments and short-form explainers on S&T issues
	Testified **10** times on S&T issues and provided S&T support for 25 other GAO S&T-related testimonies
	Issued **28** audit reports with **147** recommendations, **36** of which agencies have implemented
	Provided engineering sciences insight for **78** GAO reports
	Worked with **23** Congressional committees
	Leveraged expertise of **280** leading experts in **19** of our technology assessments
	Collaborated on**2** jointly-issued reports with the National Academy of Medicine, with another in progress
	Spoke at more than **420** external events
	Grew staff from**49** people in fiscal year 2019 to **129** people in July 2022
	Staff collectively hold **100**advanced STEM-related degrees, including 32 PhDs as of July 2022.STAA Key Milestones

**Pre-2019:** GAO issued technology assessments for nearly two decades.
	**2019:** STAA established and began to expand. First joint report issued with the National Academy of Medicine. First STAA testimony on S&T issues. Innovation Lab founded.
	**2020:** First Polaris Council annual meeting. First joint S&T report with another GAO team. Innovation Lab staffed.
	**2021:** Artificial Intelligence Accountability Framework issued. Team reaches 116 staff.
	**2022:** Improper Payment Integrity Simulator deployed. Team expects to reach 149 staff by September 2022.
	**2023:** Continue collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to support technology assessment. Team expects to reach 165 staff.STAA's Plans

Looking to fiscal year 2023, we will focus on a number of S&T issues that will impact our nation. Forthcoming work includes emerging infectious diseases; artificial intelligence applications; nutritional science and equity; energy, environment, and transportation; U.S. manufacturing and supply chain; national research policy, security, and evaluations; and national and homeland security S&T capabilities.

We will also continue to provide innovative ways to more efficiently and effectively communicate with Congress and the federal S&T community through just-in-time technical consultations and externally focused writing or speaking events.

For more information, contact Timothy Persons at personst@gao.gov and John Neumann at neumannj@gao.gov.

Full Report
    Full Report (38 pages)
              Accessible PDF (38 pages)
GAO Contacts
    
      John Neumann
            
            Managing Director
      
            neumannj@gao.gov
      
            (202) 512-6888
    Timothy M. Persons
            
            Chief Scientist
      
            personst@gao.gov
      
            (202) 512-6888
Office of Public Affairs
    
      Chuck Young
            
            Managing Director
      
            youngc1@gao.gov
      
            (202) 512-4800
Topics
    
      GAO Mission and OperationsEngineeringFederal agenciesFederal researchResearch and developmentScience and technologyScientific integrityScientistsTechnology assessmentBest practicesSmall business
                                                      MultimediaIllustration of advanced technology.
          Blog Post
              Full STEM Ahead—Supporting Congressional Decisions in Science and Technology
            Wednesday, September 7, 2022
      
            From smartphones and internet-connected home devices to the bioengineered vaccines that preserve...
 Receive GAO Updates
  Stay informed as we add new reports & testimonies.

    GAO Logo
      U.S. Government Accountability Office


                                   Column 1
                            Press Center
                              Contact Us
                              Inspector General
                              Restricted Reports
                              Column 2
                            Copyright & Terms of Use
                              Privacy Policy
                              Accessibility
                              Sitemap
                              Column 3
                            FOIA Requests
                              Scam Alerts
                              No FEAR Act Data
                              Health Care Advisory Committees