Office of Science and Technology Policy

Share Your Input

June 15-July 15, 2016: RFI period to submit input on the development of the 2017 National Plan for Civil Earth Observations is now CLOSED.

  • On June 15, 2016, OSTP released a Request for Information (RFI) soliciting public input on the development of the second National Plan for Civil Earth Observations (the Plan) through the RFI. The RFI poses questions about current trends and practices in Earth observations and solicits comments regarding the 2014 National Plan for Civil Earth Observations. The public input provided in response to the RFI will inform OSTP and the U.S. Group on Earth Observations as they work with Federal agencies and other stakeholders to develop the second Plan. 
  • Comments provided in response to this RFI will be accepted until July 15, 2016.
  • Responders are encouraged to submit comments by filling out this online form, and emailing it to env_energy@ostp.eop.gov. Responders may also submit comments by:
    • Fax: (202) 456-6071. On the cover page, please state “National Plan for Civil Earth Observations, attn: Timothy Stryker”.
    • Mail: Office of Science and Technology Policy, 1650 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20504. Information submitted by postal mail should be postmarked by July 15, 2016.
  • To view the complete RFI in the Federal Register, click here.
  • For further information, contact Timothy Stryker, Director, U.S. Group on Earth Observations Program, OSTP, 202-419-5487, tstryker@ostp.eop.gov

December 9, 2015-January 15, 2016: RFI period to submit input on the United States Group on Earth Observations Draft Common Framework for Earth-Observation Data is now CLOSED.

  • On December 9, 2015, OSTP released a Request for Information (RFI) soliciting public input on the United States Group on Earth Observations Draft Common Framework for Earth-Observation Data, specifically on (1) How would adoption of this set of recommended standards by Federal agencies affect your discovery, access, and use of government Earth-observation data and data catalogs, if at all? (2) Do you agree that Common Framework-recommended statndards are current, appropriate, and valuable practices for civil Earth observation agencies withinin the Federal Government? Why or why not? (3) Do you wish to share specific examples of how the use of Common Framework-recommended standards have aided or hindered the use of government Earth-observation data or the development of products such as data portals, visualizations, or decision-support tools?
  • Comments provided in response to this RFI will be accepted until January 15, 2016.
  • Responders are encouraged to submit comments by filling out this online form. Responders may also submit comments by:
    • Fax: (202) 456-6071.
    • Mail: Office of Science and Technology Policy, 1650 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20504. Information submitted by postal mail should allow ample time for processing.
  • To view the complete RFI in the Federal Register, click here.
  • To view the Draft Common Framework for Earth-Observation data, click here (pdf).
  • To access the online form for comments, click here.

December 1, 2014 – December 31, 2014: RFI period to submit input on Microsatellite Technologies for Civil Earth Observations is now CLOSED.

  • On December 1, 2014, OSTP released a Request for Information (RFI) soliciting public input on Microsatellite Technologies for Civil Earth Observations, specifically on: (1) the current and near-term state of microsatellite technologies, and (2) whether microsatellite systsems will be capable of meeting current and future civil Earth-observing needs.
  • Comments provided in response to this RFI will be accepted until December 31, 2014. Responders are encouraged to submit comments by filling out the downloadable form. Comments may be submitted in one of three ways:
    • Email: EarthObsStudy@OSTP.gov, with "Microsatellite Technologies for Civil Earth Observations" in the subject line. Comment forms should be included as an attachment.
    • Fax: (202) 456-6071.
    • Mail: Office of Science and Technology Policy, 1650 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20504. Information submitted by postal mail should allow ample time for processing.
  • To view the complete RFI in the Federal Register, click here.
  • To download the comment form, click here (PDF).

October 23, 2014 – November 26, 2014: Request for public comment period period to submit input on the National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Forensic Science report on achieving latent fingerprint interoperability is now CLOSED.

  • On October 23, 2014, OSTP released a Request for Public Comment soliciting public input on the draft report entitled Achieving Latent Fingerprint Interoperability in the United States. This report evolved out of the work of the National Science and Technology Council’s Subcommittee on Forensic Science (SoFS), established in 2010 to assess the challenges of and opportunities for implementing recommendations made by the National Research Council (NRC) in its 2009 report, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward. Among its recommendations, the NRC called on the Federal Government to launch a “broad-based effort to achieve nationwide fingerprint data interoperability.” In response to this recommendation, the SoFS chartered the Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) Interoperability Task Force to coordinate the development of a strategic plan for achieving this goal.  Achieving Interoperability for Latent Fingerprint Identification in the United States describes the current state of latent interoperability among AFIS and identifies a series of actions that can be taken by Federal agencies to implement the standards needed to achieve interoperability, develop an overarching national connectivity strategy and infrastructure, and support State and local agencies in building connections across jurisdictions. 
  • The full Request for Public Comment can be found here.
  • The full draft report: Achieving Latent Fingerprint Interoperability in the United States can be found here (PDF).
  • Comments received in response to the request can be found here (PDF).

March 18, 2014 - April 14, 2014: Request for Information: Interagency Funding for Research and Engineering Projects Conducted by Federal Researchers is now CLOSED.

March 4, 2014 - April 4, 2014: Request for Information soliciting public input on how ‘big data’ will affect how Americans live and work, and the implications of collecting, analyzing and using such data for privacy, the economy, and public policy is now CLOSED.

  • On March 4, 2014, OSTP issued a Request For Information soliciting public input on how ‘big data’ will affect how Americans live and work, and the implications of collecting, analyzing and using such data for privacy, the economy, and public policy. The comment period is now CLOSED.  Comments received by OSTP during the comment period can be found here. To view a specific RFI response within the document, click the hyperlink under its number. 

February 18, 2014 - March 20, 2014: RFI comment period to submit input on ways to provide greater incentives to Federal agencies to relinquish spectrum for wireless broadband or other innovative commercial uses is now CLOSED.

  • On February 18, 2014, OSTP released a Request for Information (RFI) soliciting public input on ways to provide greater incentives to Federal agencies to relinquish spectrum for wireless broadband or other innovative commercial uses. Below are the public comments received by OSTP during the comment period. The Request for Information follows last year’s Presidential Memorandum, Expanding America's Leadership in Wireless Innovation, which aims to promote more efficient use of spectrum by Federal agencies. Among other things, the memorandum directs the Spectrum Policy Team to make recommendations to the President on approaches that could give agencies greater incentive to share or relinquish spectrum, while protecting the mission capabilities of existing and future systems that rely on spectrum use.The full Request for Information can be found here and the new report from the Science and Technology Policy Institute can be found here.
  • Comments on the questions in the RFI were accepted through March 20, 2014. Received comments are presented together, in alphabetical order per the electronic filename of the submission, here.

January 14, 2014 - March 7, 2014: Request for Information soliciting public input to inform policy developments related to high-impact learning technologies is now CLOSED. 

  • On January 13, 2014, OSTP issued a Request for Information (RFI) soliciting public input to inform its policy developments related to high-impact learning technologies and how such policies will affect the design and implementation of “pull mechanisms” for technologies that aim to improve a given learning outcome. The public comment period was open from January 14, 2014 to March 7, 2014.  The comment period is now CLOSED. Comments received by OSTP during the comment period can be found here. The RFI response document begins with a table of contents that shows the names of the organizations that commented and at what page their comment begins. 

November 12, 2013 - December 6, 2013: RFI comment period to submit input related to development of a National Plan for Civil Earth Observations is now CLOSED. Comments on the RFI were accepted through December 6, 2013 and can be found here.