About the Committee

OSA Public Policy Priorities

Public Policy Committee members, past and present, at the 2007 OSA Leadership Conference.

The OSA Public Policy Committee focuses its efforts on promoting the importance of basic research and federal R&D funding and raising awareness of optics and photonics among key Congressional offices. Following are the Committee's current priorities and areas of emphasis.

• Strengthen member involvement in OSA Public Policy activities—Recruit and retain additional OSA member participation in key policy activities, such as Congressional Visits Day, the Congressional Fellows program and advocacy efforts, through newsletters, articles, and specific policy emails.
• Build a larger presence on Capitol Hill and develop stronger organizational contacts in key Congressional offices—Target key Congressional offices with visits to both Capitol Hill and district offices, providing strong optics and photonics leave-behind materials. Speak with one voice on relevant issues so that OSA is a recognizable entity.
• Better coordinate with Coalitions and other societies’ public policy efforts as appropriate—Continue current coordinated efforts and investigate possible future collaborations with other scientific societies and Coalitions so as to make a larger impact on policy.
• Monitor developments in the National Innovation Initiative (NII) and the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation and identify ways for OSA to become involved as appropriate—Support legislation and work with the Council on Competitiveness as well as other societies to highlight the issue of innovation and competitiveness as the US competes in the global technology field.