Biotechnology is a critical technology area for NATO and member nations to foster scientific innovation and promise revolutionary changes across healthcare, human performance enhancement, agriculture, environmental management, and industrial processes. This interdisciplinary field merges principles of biology with tools and methodologies derived from chemistry, physics, engineering, and computer science to manipulate biological processes and living systems to modify function or produce valuable products. The core aim being to develop technologies and products that enhance human life and the health of the planet. However, despite its potential, biotechnology’s development is constrained by significant institutional and governance challenges that impede steady and predictable translation of foundational scientific advances into proposed applications. This chapter considers the institutional barriers and challenges to biotechnology modernization, with examples from the United States, as well as initial strategies regarding how to streamline capabilities for funding, decision making, and priority setting as biotechnology matures and applications reach the marketplace.