The Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) was established by Congress in 1991 as a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) under the name Critical Technologies Institute. In 1998, Congress re-named the Institute and assigned the following duties:
- Assembly of timely and authoritative information regarding significant developments and trends in science and technology research and development in the United States and abroad.
- Analysis and interpretation of the information with particular attention to the scope and content of the Federal science and technology research and development portfolio as it affects interagency and national issues.
- Initiation of studies and analyses of alternatives available for ensuring the longterm strength of the United States in the development and application of science and technology.
- Provision, upon the request of the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), of technical support and assistance to—
- committees and panels of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology, and
- interagency committees and panels of the Federal Government concerned with science and technology