Science Resources Studies Division DATA BRIEF Vol. 1996, No. 1, February 2, 1996 Academic R&D Expenditures Outpace Inflation in FY 1994 by M. Marge Machen Federally financed academic R&D growth held firm in FY 1994. Academic expenditures for total separately budgeted research and development (R&D) activities in the sciences and engineering (S&E) reached $21 billion dollars in FY 1994_an increase of nearly 6 percent from 1993 levels. When adjusted for inflation, academic R&D spending grew almost 4 percent, matching the average annual rate of real growth during the last 5 years. Federally financed spending for separately budgeted R&D expenditures increased by almost 6 percent (4 percent in constant dollars) in 1994 to a total of $12.7 billion. The Federal Government provided 60 percent of the research dollars expended at universities and colleges in FY 1994, the same proportion reached in 1993, indicating a leveling after a period of slow decline since 1983, when the Federal share was 63 percent of total. R&D spending from non-Federal sources reached $8.4 billion in FY 1994, an increase of more than 5 percent (3 percent in constant dollars). Non-Federal sources, while accounting for only two- fifths of all academic R&D spending, have for years experienced the fastest rates of growth of all spending sources. Gains in institutional funds and in the catchall "all other sources" category (including private foundations and voluntary sources) each rose 7 percent, whereas funding from industry rose 5 percent. Of all the non-Federal sources, only State and local governments reported little growth in university R&D support (less than 0.5 percent) in FY 1994 (table 1). Table 1. R&D expenditures at universities and colleges, by source of funds [Millions of dollars] Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal Source and field Year Year Year 1994 1993 1984 Total......... $21,081 $19,940 $8,620 (In 1987 dollars)1/.... 16811 16211 9483 Source of funds: Federal Government.... 12661 11956 5431 State and local governments... 1562 1559 690 Industry...... 1430 1361 475 Institutional funds......... 3838 3578 1411 All other sources....... 1590 1486 613 Character of work: Basic research...... 14095 13302 5733 Applied research and development... 6986 6638 2887 1/ Based on the gross domestic product implicit price deflator. NOTE: Because of rounding, figures may not add to the total shown. SOURCE: National Science Foundation/SRS, Survey of Scientific and Engineering Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, Fiscal Year 1994 Academic institutions have historically devoted approximately two-thirds of their R&D efforts to the performance of basic research, a trend that was uninterrupted in 1994. Academic basic research funds rose 6 percent in 1994 (4 percent in constant dollars), to $14.1 billion. The Federal share_$8.9 billion_accounted for 63 percent of the basic research total. Combined applied research and development activities totaled $7.0 billion, up 5 percent between 1993 and 1994. R&D expenditures increased faster than the 3-percent rate of inflation in five of the eight major science and engineering fields for which data are available. Rates of growth range from a high of 9 percent in computer sciences to a low of 2 percent in physical sciences (chart 1). Federal funding in all fields but mathematical sciences kept pace with inflation in 1994. Academic spending in engineering rose 5 percent, to $3.3 billion in 1994, with civil engineering increasing the most, by nearly 7 percent. R&D spending for the leading 20 university performers in FY 1994 totaled $6.7 billion, and constituted a 32-percent and 36-percent share of total and federally funded spending, respectively (table 2). The largest 100 academic R&D performers expended $16.9 billion, and accounted for 80 percent of the R&D total and 83 percent of federally financed expenditures. These 1994 shares are similar to those reported during the past decade. Table 2. Twenty institutions reporting the highest academic R&D expenditures in the sciences and engineering: FY 1993-94 [Millions of dollars] Total FederalInstitution Fiscal year Fiscal year Fiscal year Fiscal year 1994 1993 1994 1993 Total all institutions 1/.........21_081 19_940 12_661 11_956 Total, Leading 20 institutions...6_679 6_417 4_540 4_311 1. Johns Hopkins U 2/.........784 746 712 674 2. University of Michigan...431 426 265 250 3. U WI Madison...............393 372 225 214 4. MA Institute of Tech.....364 366 271 267 5. Texas A&M University...356 323 137 123 6. University of Washington....344 335 281 269 7. U CA San Diego................332 307 266 243 8. Stanford University..........319 307 269 254 9. University of Minnesota..318 332 181 175 10. Cornell University.......313 311 194 195 11. U CA San Francisco....312 315 213 210 12. Pennsylvania State U..303 283 169 160 13. U CA Berkeley............290 284 153 156 14. U CA Los Angeles......280 278 190 189 15. Harvard University....278 e 257 190 182 16. University of Arizona 270 236 146 113 17. U TX Austin...............261 249 150 139 18. U of Pennsylvania.......251 234 186 174 19. University of IL Urbana...245 253 139 141 20. Columbia University.......236 205 203 183 Total, all other institutions...14_402 13_523 8_121 7_645 1/ Data do not include R&D performed by university-administered federally funded research and development centers.2/ Data for the Johns Hopkins University include the Applied Physics Laboratory, which reported $459 million in total and $447 million in federally funded R&D expenditures for 1994 and $447 million in total and $431 million in federally financed expenditures for 1993. NOTE: Because of rounding, figures may not add to the total shown. KEY: e-estimate SOURCE: National Science Foundation/SRS, Survey of Scientific and Engineering Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, Fiscal Year 1994Charts shown in printed form, for copies: Contact M. Marge Machen, National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Studies, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 965, Arlington, VA 22230. For a free copy, write to the above address, call 703-306-1773, or send e-mail to srspubs@nsf.gov.