What is the Day One Technology Policy Accelerator?
The Day One Project is launching its Technology Policy Accelerator to identify, develop, and publish a set of technology policy ideas that could be implemented by Congress or the Biden-Harris Administration.
The accelerator is a nine-week process, designed to guide each participant as they develop an initial idea into a tailored, actionable set of policy recommendations. Selected participants will have a chance to develop their ideas with guidance from policy advisors, meet with veteran policymakers to learn more about the nuances of policy implementation, hone their ability to craft actionable policy on the federal level, and build a community with their fellow cohort.
We are accepting applications for the third accelerator until Thursday, February 18, 5PM EST. Select candidates will be invited for a short 15-minute interview during the week of February 22. The accelerator will run between March 8th and May 7th, with a weekly time commitment of 4-6 hours.
What kinds of ideas are we looking for?
We are seeking a diverse range of policy proposals that will inform the Federal Government’s technology agenda. Below, we’ve identified a set of key focus areas and a non-exhaustive list of questions that the Federal Government will face in 2021.
These questions should help guide your thinking on potential proposals to submit for the accelerator. We encourage you to share a pitch for an idea that is either related to one of the guiding questions listed here or that is different.
As you develop your idea, please review our list of published proposalsand consider how the idea might intersect administration’s four priority areas: COVID-19, Economic Recovery, Racial Equity, and Climate Change.
Who should apply?
We are looking for policymakers, academics, entrepreneurs, or anyone else with at least one year of professional experience. The ideal candidate will propose an idea based on a deeper expertise of the technology issue at hand. For example:
A technology entrepreneur
A graduate student or academic researcher who has focused on particular technologies
A technology investor or venture capitalist
An activist or leading advocate for change on a technology issue
Women and underrepresented communities are especially encouraged to apply.
We hope that invited accelerator participants will benefit from working with the Day One Project team in three key ways:
Mentorship: You will have access to mentorship and training on government policy levers, technical assistance on proposal development, guidance on engaging policymakers, and other dedicated resources for you to become an empowered advocate for change, regardless of your starting point.
Networking: Not only will you work hand-in-hand with the Day One team, but you will collaborate with our network of experts, your impressive cohort peers, and a group of policymakers convened to hear your ideas in a final showcase event.
Impact: By the end of the accelerator, you will have developed an actionable policy proposal for the Biden-Harris Administration or Congress and be equipped with the tools to champion this policy in the Federal Government.
And from the FAQ:
Can you share more about the kinds of ideas you are looking for?
Disinformation
How can we utilize the expertise of disinformation scholars in developing national disinformation strategy? What insights should shape federal action on the issue?
What actions should the intelligence community, namely the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security agency (CSIA) among others, take to better secure U.S. elections against disinformation and foreign interference?
How should the Federal Government regulate platforms to curtail the spread of polarizing disinformation? Which agency or agencies should lead the charge?
Antitrust/Competition
What market-shaping policy tools or incentives could help new competitors emerge in technology sectors that suffer from a lack of meaningful competition, such as the social media market?
What should be the White House guidance to FTC and DOJ on articulating a non-price-based model for examining and investigating the rise of technology monopolies?
Securing the Internet
How should the Federal Government incentivize countries away from data localization practices, when data is increasingly crucial to national progress?
What actions should the Federal Government take to ensure that a satellite Internet doesn’t become a dragnet for information or an Internet/communications jamming weapon?
Net Neutrality/American Broadband
How could FCC leverage greater authority over the broadband market to advance causes like universal access to meet the modern connectivity needs of low-income families?
What new considerations should be part of any attempt to use legislation to secure net neutrality?
Future of Work
How can the Federal Government upskill Americans to the digital economy?
Are there new categories of work that the government should be accounting for in its labor policies and how should they be regulated?
Racial Equity & Technology Policy
What laws—existing or new—should the White House utilize to advance racial equity in technology policy?
How can the government hold dominant technology companies accountable for the potential future racial prejudices and civil rights issues they perpetuate? What new, specific capacities and expertise are needed in order for the government to uphold equity?
Technology & Trade
What should the future of trade and technology partnerships with U.S. allies look like?
How can the U.S. engage and invest in the half of the world still to come online?
What critical supply-chains and industries should the Federal Government seek to domestically reshore and why?
Autonomous Vehicles (AVs)
What actions should the Federal Government (Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, etc.) take to streamline the rollout of automobiles, drones, and other AVs?
How can the Federal Government ensure pedestrian safety and protect user privacy while balancing the incentives to innovate (e.g. avoiding liability shields when an AV injures a pedestrian)?
Digital Currency
How should the U.S. Treasury build infrastructure to account for the rise of digital currencies around the world?
How should the Federal Government protect the USD in a world of digital currencies, such as China’s Digital Currency Electronic Payment and Facebook’s Libra?
Quantum Information Science (QIS)
How can the Federal Government address the QIS talent gap and promote a quantum-smart workforce?
How can the Federal Government enable high-quality quantum error correction?
Thanks for sharing this! It could be a relevant opportunity for many of the Forum’s readers, and I really appreciate links to resources outside of EA (which are much less likely to end up here than things within our small community).
Thanks for sharing this! It could be a relevant opportunity for many of the Forum’s readers, and I really appreciate links to resources outside of EA (which are much less likely to end up here than things within our small community).