Tech & Economic Sovereignty & Security

The technologies that will reshape geopolitical competition over the next decade are emerging now, often in research domains that receive limited policy attention until breakthroughs force reactive responses. Quantum computing threatens to upend current encryption standards. Advanced AI architectures may transform military operations in ways we are only beginning to understand. Space is becoming an increasingly contested domain where technological capabilities determine strategic positioning. The INNOVATE workstream tracks these frontier developments, analyzing their trajectories and translating their implications for policymakers before they become crises.

Our analysis focuses on technologies where early strategic positioning could yield lasting advantages or where failure to anticipate developments could create dangerous vulnerabilities. INNOVATE examines not just what is technically possible but what is strategically consequential, identifying the governance frameworks, investment priorities, and international cooperation mechanisms needed to ensure emerging technologies develop in alignment with democratic values and U.S. interests.

America's technological advantages face unprecedented threats from strategic competitors, criminal enterprises, and systemic vulnerabilities embedded in globally distributed supply chains. Nation-state actors probe critical infrastructure, intellectual property flows to adversaries through espionage and coerced technology transfer, and dependencies on foreign-controlled chokepoints create leverage that can be weaponized in crisis. The SAFEGUARD workstream confronts these challenges, providing analysis that is both technically rigorous and strategically actionable. We examine vulnerabilities across domains, including cybersecurity, supply chain resilience, data protection, and critical infrastructure security, identifying where U.S. defenses fall short and what policy interventions can close the gaps.

Our approach avoids both techno-utopianism and doomerism, instead offering realistic, grounded assessments of threats and practical pathways to address them. SAFEGUARD analysis translates complex technical vulnerabilities into policy imperatives that decision-makers can understand and act upon. Whether mapping the tactics of APTs, evaluating cybersecurity incentive structures, or assessing supply chain dependencies, this workstream provides the foundation for protecting America's technological position in an era of intensifying competition.

Innovation alone does not guarantee strategic advantage. The United States excels at breakthrough research, but often struggles to translate discoveries into deployed capabilities at the speed and scale that competition demands. The gap between laboratory success and manufactured reality is where promising technologies stall and competitors catch up. The SCALE workstream addresses this critical middle phase, examining the workforce pipelines, institutional arrangements, international partnerships, and infrastructure investments that determine whether innovations become strategic assets or missed opportunities.

This workstream analyzes the bottlenecks that constrain technology diffusion and the catalysts that accelerate it. We examine how public-private partnerships can bridge the valley of death between research and commercialization, how workforce development strategies can address critical talent shortages, and how regulatory frameworks can enable rather than impede scaling. SCALE provides policymakers with insights on strengthening the foundations that allow the United States and its allies to move from invention to implementation faster than adversaries, ensuring that technological leadership translates into lasting strategic advantage.