our work
About the Day One Project
The Federation of American Scientists’ Day One Project is dedicated to democratizing the policymaking process by working with new and expert voices across the science and technology community, helping to develop actionable policies that can improve the lives of all Americans.
Ready Promising Science And Tech Policy Ideas For Action
The current moment offers an important opportunity for the science and technology community to inform agenda-setting by developing innovative proposals.
Through policy workshops, accelerators, and conversations, we work to engage the broader science, technology and innovation community to develop and share promising policy ideas.
Help the Next Generation of S&T Leadership Find Opportunities to Serve
The value of deep scientific and technical expertise in government can be dramatic, but many federal positions where technical experts can have the greatest impact are overlooked and not recruited against.
FAS' Day One Project has crowdsourced a list of key leadership roles across the Federal Government where scientific & technical expertise is most critical.
After the devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a group of atomic researchers, deeply concerned about the use of science for harm, decided to create an organization committed to using science and technology to benefit humanity. The group they created – the Federation of Atomic Scientists – mobilized to transform policy with scientific expertise. In 1946, the group rebranded as the Federation of American Scientists in recognition of the hundreds of scientists across diverse disciplines who joined together to advance science policy and counter scientific misinformation.
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Over 75 years later, we are still working to minimize the risks of significant threats – arising from nuclear weapons, biological and chemical agents, and climate change – as well as addressing a broad suite of contemporary issues and challenges where science, technology, and innovation policy can deliver dramatic progress and prevent catastrophic harm. We are committed––both in principle and in practice––to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for all individuals interested in this work.
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In particular, we hope to increase the participation and raise the profile of non-traditional voices in science policy, as well as normalize and exemplify fair labor practices within the field. A key pillar of our work is aimed at democratizing the research and policymaking process. We recognize the critical role that diverse voices play in contributing to and shaping science policy, and seek to intentionally represent those voices in our process, ensuring a range of perspectives and ideas are captured and represented in our work.
Our strategy for implementing these goals includes pledges that we have committed to through the Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy program, as well as through our own initiative, including commitments to reduce bias and improve accessibility in our hiring practices, diversify our board and senior research staff, and offer equitable employee policies.
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In these ways, we hope to make the field of science policy a better and more accessible place to work, particularly for individuals who have traditionally been shut out of the community because of their accessibility status, age, color, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, marital status, military service status, national origin, parental status, physical appearance, race, religion, socioeconomic status, sex, or sexual orientation. We also intend to take concrete steps towards addressing racial and social justice within the organization, in addition to our longstanding commitment to transition away from a mostly male leadership team.
We recognize that we have a long way to go before claiming success, but FAS is committed to this journey for the long run.
With Support From:
