Institute for Progress — June 2022 Update

Jul 5, 2022

Hello!

Another month, another new addition to the IFP team!

We are extremely excited to add Heidi Williams, the Charles R. Schwab Professor of Economics at Stanford University, to our team as Director of Science Policy. Heidi has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the economics of science and innovation, and we are thrilled to work with her on advancing a metascience policy agenda in Washington, DC.

🎤 Interviews & Events

We launched a biosecurity forecasting tournament with our friends at Metaculus and Guarding Against Pandemics
Caleb spoke on a panel at Breakthrough Dialogue 2022: Progress Problems
Nikki appeared on the Wharton Moneyball podcast to discuss BARDA
Caleb was interviewed on the Narratives podcast with Will Jarvis on policy change and the pace of progress
Caleb, Heidi, and Matt spoke on a panel at Stanford on the topic of “How Should We Fund Science?”
Jeremy participated in a panel hosted by Institut Ostrom on “Science Without Borders: Towards a Global Talent Visa”
Alec will be speaking about innovation policy at a Niskanen Center event on July 13th

📰 Media

Caleb was cited in The Atlantic on the importance of high-skilled immigration for technology clusters:
- “As Caleb Watney of the Institute for Progress has observed, ‘the advantage to a country that attracts geniuses compounds over time, as clusters form around them—talent attracts more talent—which helps all the individuals and firms in such clusters become more productive than they would be in isolation.’”
Jeremy spoke with Bloomberg Law about declining enrollment of international students:
- “Jeremy Neufeld, a senior immigration fellow at the Institute for Progress, said the Biden administration could also extend the duration of Optional Practical Training, giving workers additional bites at the apple to secure an H-1B visa. And it could expand the criteria for O-1 visas so more individuals can meet the “extraordinary ability” qualifications for the visas, he said. ‘Unless something is done to turn the ship around, sooner or later it’s going to really start putting the squeeze on employers who rely so heavily on international talent,’ he said.”
Nikki spoke with Undark Magazine about why the PREVENT Pandemics Act is a (small) step in the right direction:
- “For people pushing for more comprehensive reform, the bill is welcome — but does not go far enough. ‘I wish there was more,’ said Nikki Teran … ‘I appreciate that they’re thinking about it,’ Teran added. ‘And I suppose that some step in that direction is better than none.’
Jeremy spoke with Computerworld about the importance of high-skilled immigration for reshoring semiconductor manufacturing:
- “Through complacency, the US has let its immigration system collapse under the weight of growing backlogs, ‘interminable wait times’, and unpredictability, according to Jeremy Neufeld, a senior immigration fellow at the Institute for Progress. ‘We haven't updated the caps on immigrant visas in 30 years, and it's increasingly causing global talent to look abroad, all while crippling the ability of startups and other cutting-edge firms to draw on the best and brightest from around the world to push out the technological frontier,’ Neufeld said via email.”

☀️ New Things Under the Sun by IFP Senior Innovation Economist Matt Clancy

🏗️ Construction Physics by IFP Senior Fellow Brian Potter

👀 Progress Is Possible in DC (what we’re watching)

The House Appropriations Committee approved a $100 million budget increase for BARDA this year — $17 million over the Biden administration’s request
Great decision by the FDA: Companies will not be required to submit clinical trial data on COVID vaccines modified to protect against the BA.4 and BA.5 versions of Omicron
The White House made the excellent choice of nominating Dr. Arati Prabhakar to head the Office of Science and Technology Policy
- ICYMI: Caleb made the case for nominating Arati in a Twitter thread back in February

👋 Tweet for the Road

Jeremy Neufeld @JeremyLNeufeld

the great stagnation has been worse than we thought