In 2010, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) conducted a major review of the Federal government’s $4B multi-agency research and development program in networking and information technology (NITRD) – information here.

In 2012, PCAST asked a small Working Group (Susan Graham, Peter Lee, and David Shaw) to review progress since the 2010 report and also to make further recommendations in response to the activities and advances since 2010.  The results of the Working Group’s efforts were presented at a public event in November (slides here).  This week, the full PCAST report resulting from this effort was released and forwarded to the President.  The report is available here (the Executive Summary is quick and important reading); a blog post from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is here.

In its new report, PCAST concludes that progress has been made toward addressing a number of the recommendations made in the 2010 report, including “big data,” health IT, robotics, and cybersecurity.

The report also notes that many important areas have received less attention and investment than is needed, making recommendations (summarized on page xi) for stronger efforts in educational technology, data privacy, energy, transportation, and other important sectors.  Among other recommendations, PCAST proposes development of new initiatives to catalyze innovation in high-performance computing, understanding of collective online human activity, surface and air transportation, and learning sciences.  PCAST also recommends measures to strengthen the Nation’s NIT workforce through training programs, continuing education opportunities, and other mechanisms.

PCAST recommends establishment of a high-level standing PCAST sub-committee that would focus on providing ongoing strategic advice in this domain.