The Biden-Harris Administration announced the release of Vision, Needs, and Proposed Actions for Data for the Bioeconomy Initiative, a report on advancing biotechnology; improving U.S. data infrastructure and accessibility; and sustainably growing the bioeconomy across the nation’s climate, energy, biomanufacturing, health, agricultural, and environment sectors.

Coordinated across 13 federal agencies by the Interagency Working Group on Data for the Bioeconomy, the report lays the groundwork for Section 4(a) of President Biden’s Executive Order on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy, as part of the National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative (NBBI). The NBBI aligns with the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office’s (BETO) priorities to advance biotechnology and biomanufacturing by developing a strong foundation for the necessary data and computational capacity of our growing bioeconomy.

The report outlines the current landscape of data and infrastructure supporting U.S. biotechnology and biomanufacturing and identifies the current obstacles to and proposed actions required for accelerating the bioeconomy. The Data for the Bioeconomy Initiative, for which this report services, will ensure biotechnology developers and researchers have streamlined access to high-quality, secure, and wide-ranging biological data sets that can provide insight into solutions to critical global issues.

A thriving U.S. bioeconomy requires strategic investments and coordination of resources to ensure the data and computational infrastructure has continued support, the data are accessible, and the infrastructure is flexible enough to respond to rapidly evolving data sources and applications. Investment in and coordination of this data infrastructure are critical to meeting the Executive Order’s Bold Goals for U.S. Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing.

The report outlines a whole-of-government approach to streamlining access to high quality data and maintaining a robust data infrastructure that will empower a flourishing U.S. bioeconomy.

Learn more about the initiative and download the report.