“I am calling upon you to blaze a trail to the next frontiers of science. We have the 
opportunity to cement America’s global technological leadership and 
usher in the Golden Age of American Innovation.”
President Donald J. Trump

Executive Order 14303, signed by President Donald J. Trump on May 23, 2025, titled “Restoring Gold Standard Science,” aims to rebuild public trust in federal scientific research by mandating rigorous, transparent, and reproducible scientific practices across government agencies. It addresses concerns about declining confidence in science due to issues like data falsification, reproducibility concerns, and perceived politicization under prior administrations. This executive order establishes “Gold Standard Science” principles— emphasizing being reproducible, transparent, communicative of error and uncertainty, collaborative and interdisciplinary, skeptical of findings and assumptions, structured for falsifiability of hypotheses, unbiased peer review, and freedom from conflicts of interest— and directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to issue implementation guidance within 30 days, with agencies required to report to the OSTP Director within 60 days on actions taken to align with these standards.

The executive order further mandates that federal agencies prevent scientific misconduct, ensure transparency in data use, and make influential scientific information, including models and analyses, publicly available unless restricted by law. It emphasizes acknowledging uncertainties in scientific data and using a “weight of scientific evidence" approach in decision-making.

On June 23, 2025, OSTP issued guidance to federal agencies on implementing Gold Standard Science, as it pertains to generating science. Generating science is the process of creating new scientific knowledge through systematic inquiry, experimentation, and observation. It involves formulating and testing hypotheses to produce verifiable data and theories that expand our understanding of the world.

This is the first report on how the Department of Commerce is implementing OSTP’s guidance for Gold Standard Science across its bureaus and offices.

Download the Department of Commerce Gold Standard Science Implementation Plan.