The Issue Biosecurity—protecting humans, animals, and plants from biological threats—is an essential government mission, the importance of which has been dramatically highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The government’s pandemic response has been enabled by the emerging bioeconomy, which provides core biosecurity capabilities that are essential to the success of the mission. The government’s engagement with the bioeconomy has grown in recent years, encompassing a range of agencies with a focus on laboratory and product safety and an emphasis on supporting research and development (R&D). However, the government lacks mechanisms for providing a broader strategic focus that integrates priorities, including biosecurity, in partnering with the bioeconomy. As a result, the government’s engagement with the bioeconomy remains insufficient to support the translation and integration of R&D into the delivery of biosecurity capabilities. The government is often not able to fully capitalize on the innovations happening throughout the bioeconomy, especially those developing outside the sphere of government-sponsored research. Today’s imperative toward better preparing for future pandemics must be leveraged to produce a true strategic engagement with the bioeconomy across multiple levels of government and critical agencies in the biosecurity community of interest.