Ecosystems & Entrepreneurship
day one project

Enabling Federal Agencies to Tackle Complex Problems with the Help of Makers-In-Residence

01.19.21 | 1 min read | Text by Dorothy Jones-Davis & Stephanie Santoso

Summary

Across the U.S., there are approximately 2,000 makerspaces and Fab Labs where makers with a broad and diverse set of skills have developed innovative approaches to solving pressing problems in their communities. The next administration should implement a Maker-In-Residence (MIR) fellowship program that allows federal agencies to leverage the incredible skills and knowledge of the American maker community to address complex problems specific to their missions.

Implementation of the MIR fellowship program would enable American makers and innovators to:

  1. Contribute their knowledge and unique and diverse skill sets to fulfilling the missions of federal agencies while learning first-hand about federal policy and the policymaking process
  2. Utilize their learnings to solve complex societal problems and affect policy change in their local communities.