On February 1, 2018, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) hosted a meeting of senior federal agency officials to discuss the future of the interagency National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). Established in 1993, the NSTC coordinates science policy across the federal government, and has produced multi-agency reports on a variety of topics.
Following the meeting, on February 6, 2018, a White House spokesperson announced that the NSTC will be restructured to ensure its work “is best aligned with the priorities of the administration.” The spokesperson indicated that the NSTC’s top-level committees will likely remain intact, but that changes could be made to the subgroups within each committee. OSTP has reportedly requested feedback from 20 federal agencies on what changes should be made.