Managing a high-impact federal research portfolio requires more than funding promising ideas, especially as agencies navigate tighter FY budgets and government-wide directives to advance responsible AI adoption. 

For organizations operating under the ARPA model and other mission-driven R&D frameworks, the challenge is identifying true technical inflection points and justifying bold investments that align to modernization priorities and national competitiveness goals. 

Research leaders are being pushed beyond static reporting and retrospective metrics toward real-time insight that better connects scientific discovery to mission outcomes. Advances in artificial intelligence are creating new opportunities to analyze research activity at scale, assess technology readiness earlier, and strengthen the link between innovation and operational impact.

In this GovExec webcast, public sector research leaders and industry experts will discuss how AI-enabled approaches can help agencies meet evolving transparency and AI governance requirements while still pursuing high-risk, high-reward innovation. The conversation will explore how to:

• Identify emerging research gaps and white space 
• Strengthen the evidence behind major R&D investments 
• Surface technical hurdles earlier 
• Shift from periodic portfolio reviews to more continuous, data-driven monitoring