by Michael Yamaner [1]
Current-dollar federal obligations for research increased 6% from FY 2013 to FY 2014, from $59.2 billion to $62.9 billion. Research is estimated to remain relatively flat at $63.4 billion in FY 2015 and is projected to increase by $2.7 billion (4%) to $66.2 billion in FY 2016 (table 1).
a To better differentiate between the part of the federal R&D budget that supports science and technologies (including technologies for military and nondefense applications) and the part that primarily supports development, testing, and evaluation of defense-related systems, the National Science Foundation collects data on development dollars from the Department of Defense in two categories: advanced technology development and major systems development. NOTES: Gross domestic product implicit price deflators for 2009 were used to convert current to constant dollars. Detail may not sum to total due to rounding. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development. |
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Current $millions | Constant 2009 $millions | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type of R&D | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | Preliminary 2015 |
Projected 2016 |
2012 | 2013 | 2014 | Preliminary 2015 |
Projected 2016 |
|
All R&D and R&D plant | 140,629 | 127,291 | 132,496 | 132,752 | 140,479 | 134,393 | 119,837 | 122,898 | 121,058 | 125,765 | |
R&D | 138,483 | 125,386 | 130,279 | 129,435 | 137,659 | 132,342 | 118,044 | 120,841 | 118,033 | 123,240 | |
Research | 61,945 | 59,198 | 62,909 | 63,420 | 66,169 | 59,198 | 55,732 | 58,352 | 57,833 | 59,238 | |
Basic | 30,959 | 29,779 | 31,588 | 31,925 | 33,042 | 29,586 | 28,035 | 29,300 | 29,113 | 29,581 | |
Applied | 30,986 | 29,419 | 31,321 | 31,495 | 33,127 | 29,612 | 27,696 | 29,052 | 28,721 | 29,657 | |
Development | 76,538 | 66,188 | 67,370 | 66,015 | 71,489 | 73,144 | 62,312 | 62,490 | 60,200 | 64,001 | |
Science and technology | 14,878 | 13,471 | 14,313 | 14,659 | 14,973 | 14,218 | 12,682 | 13,276 | 13,368 | 13,405 | |
Major systemsa | 61,660 | 52,717 | 53,057 | 51,356 | 56,516 | 58,926 | 49,630 | 49,213 | 46,832 | 50,596 | |
R&D plant | 2,146 | 1,905 | 2,218 | 3,317 | 2,820 | 2,051 | 1,793 | 2,057 | 3,025 | 2,525 |
Total federal R&D obligations increased 4% to $130.3 billion from FY 2013 to FY 2014. R&D obligations were estimated to decrease 1% to $129.4 billion in FY 2015 and were projected to increase 6% to $137.7 billion in FY 2016 (table 1).
Data are from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) at the National Science Foundation (NSF). Figures for FY 2014 are actual amounts; for FY 2015, preliminary; and for FY 2016, projected.
In FY 2014, research accounted for 47% of all federal obligations for R&D and R&D plant. Obligations for research by all federal agencies increased by $3.7 billion to $62.9 billion from FY 2013 to FY 2014 (table 1). This increase was primarily driven by a $1.3 billion increase in research funding by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (table 2).
DOD = Department of Defense; DOE = Department of Energy; HHS = Department of Health and Human Services; NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration; NSF = National Science Foundation; USDA = Department of Agriculture. NOTES: Gross domestic product implicit price deflators for 2009 were used to convert current to constant dollars. Detail may not sum to total due to rounding. Other agencies includes the following: Department of Commerce, Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of the Interior, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of the Treasury, Department of Veterans Affairs, Agency for International Development, Appalachian Regional Commission, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Smithsonian Institution, and Social Security Administration. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development. |
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Current $millions | Constant 2009 $millions | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agency | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | Preliminary 2015 |
Projected 2016 |
2012 | 2013 | 2014 | Preliminary 2015 |
Projected 2016 |
|
All agencies | 61,945 | 59,198 | 62,909 | 63,420 | 66,169 | 59,198 | 55,732 | 58,352 | 57,833 | 59,238 | |
Basic | 30,959 | 29,779 | 31,588 | 31,925 | 33,042 | 29,586 | 28,035 | 29,300 | 29,113 | 29,581 | |
Applied | 30,986 | 29,419 | 31,321 | 31,495 | 33,127 | 29,612 | 27,696 | 29,052 | 28,721 | 29,657 | |
HHS | 31,124 | 29,315 | 30,587 | 30,888 | 31,857 | 29,744 | 27,598 | 28,371 | 28,167 | 28,520 | |
Basic | 15,977 | 15,288 | 16,005 | 16,061 | 16,505 | 15,269 | 14,393 | 14,846 | 14,646 | 14,776 | |
Applied | 15,147 | 14,026 | 14,582 | 14,827 | 15,353 | 14,475 | 13,205 | 13,526 | 13,521 | 13,745 | |
DOE | 7,361 | 7,333 | 8,092 | 8,419 | 9,232 | 7,035 | 6,904 | 7,506 | 7,677 | 8,265 | |
Basic | 3,957 | 3,851 | 4,075 | 4,088 | 4,245 | 3,782 | 3,625 | 3,780 | 3,728 | 3,800 | |
Applied | 3,404 | 3,482 | 4,017 | 4,331 | 4,987 | 3,253 | 3,278 | 3,726 | 3,949 | 4,465 | |
DOD | 6,663 | 5,955 | 6,704 | 6,902 | 6,760 | 6,368 | 5,606 | 6,218 | 6,294 | 6,052 | |
Basic | 2,036 | 1,863 | 2,074 | 2,236 | 2,144 | 1,946 | 1,754 | 1,924 | 2,039 | 1,919 | |
Applied | 4,627 | 4,093 | 4,631 | 4,666 | 4,616 | 4,422 | 3,853 | 4,296 | 4,255 | 4,132 | |
NSF | 5,170 | 4,956 | 5,403 | 5,562 | 5,864 | 4,941 | 4,666 | 5,012 | 5,072 | 5,250 | |
Basic | 4,652 | 4,362 | 4,725 | 4,834 | 5,062 | 4,446 | 4,107 | 4,383 | 4,408 | 4,532 | |
Applied | 517 | 594 | 678 | 728 | 802 | 494 | 559 | 629 | 664 | 718 | |
NASA | 5,100 | 5,422 | 5,336 | 4,868 | 5,094 | 4,874 | 5,105 | 4,949 | 4,439 | 4,560 | |
Basic | 2,606 | 2,824 | 3,023 | 2,934 | 3,180 | 2,490 | 2,659 | 2,804 | 2,676 | 2,847 | |
Applied | 2,494 | 2,598 | 2,313 | 1,934 | 1,914 | 2,383 | 2,446 | 2,145 | 1,764 | 1,714 | |
USDA | 1,964 | 1,868 | 2,060 | 2,214 | 2,404 | 1,877 | 1,759 | 1,911 | 2,019 | 2,152 | |
Basic | 851 | 844 | 908 | 964 | 1,040 | 813 | 795 | 842 | 879 | 931 | |
Applied | 1,113 | 1,024 | 1,152 | 1,250 | 1,364 | 1,064 | 964 | 1,069 | 1,140 | 1,221 | |
Other | 4,563 | 4,349 | 4,727 | 4,568 | 4,959 | 4,361 | 4,094 | 4,385 | 4,166 | 4,440 | |
Basic | 879 | 747 | 778 | 808 | 867 | 840 | 703 | 722 | 737 | 776 | |
Applied | 3,685 | 3,602 | 3,948 | 3,761 | 4,092 | 3,522 | 3,391 | 3,662 | 3,430 | 3,663 | |
Basic research obligations accounted for 24% of total projected R&D and R&D plant in FY 2014. Basic research obligations increased 6% to $31.6 billion from FY 2013 to FY 2014 (table 1). HHS, NSF, and the Department of Energy (DOE) combined accounted for 72% of the $1.8 billion increase in FY 2014 (table 2). Basic research was estimated to increase 1% to $31.9 billion in FY 2015 and was projected to increase 3% to $33.0 billion in FY 2016 (table 1).
Applied research obligations accounted for 24% of the total federal R&D and R&D plant budget in FY 2014. Applied research obligations increased 6% to $31.3 billion in FY 2014 (table 1). HHS, DOE, and the Department of Defense (DOD) combined accounted for 86% of the $1.9 billion increase in FY 2014 (table 2). Applied research was estimated to increase by 1% in FY 2015 and projected to increase by 5% in FY 2016 (table 1).
HHS's obligations for research rose 4% to $30.6 billion from FY 2013 to FY 2014. HHS has accounted for about one-half of all agency-funded research since FY 2012 and has maintained a 52%-to-48% split between basic and applied research over the same time frame (table 2). Nearly all (96%) of the HHS research total ($30.6 billion) is obligated by the National Institutes of Health (table 3); 84% ($25.7 billion) of FY 2014 HHS research funding is planned in support of the life sciences (table 4).
NOTES: Not all agencies supporting research are listed here. Detail may not sum to total due to rounding. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development. |
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Agency | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | Preliminary 2015 |
Projected 2016 |
2014 % distribution within agency |
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---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All agencies | 61,945 | 59,198 | 62,909 | 63,420 | 66,169 | - | |||||
Department of Agriculture (USDA) | 1,964 | 1,868 | 2,060 | 2,214 | 2,404 | 100 | |||||
Agricultural Research Service | 981 | 913 | 1,010 | 1,030 | 1,072 | 49 | |||||
National Institute of Food and Agriculture | 614 | 546 | 657 | 777 | 924 | 32 | |||||
Forest Service | 272 | 301 | 277 | 284 | 281 | 13 | |||||
Other USDA agencies | 97 | 108 | 117 | 123 | 127 | 6 | |||||
Department of Defense (DOD) | 6,663 | 5,955 | 6,704 | 6,902 | 6,760 | 100 | |||||
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency | 1,496 | 1,268 | 1,537 | 1,554 | 1,589 | 23 | |||||
Department of the Air Force | 1,726 | 1,502 | 1,574 | 1,631 | 1,683 | 23 | |||||
Department of the Army | 1,333 | 1,257 | 1,418 | 1,457 | 1,346 | 21 | |||||
Department of the Navy | 1,414 | 1,296 | 1,483 | 1,449 | 1,452 | 22 | |||||
Other DOD agencies | 693 | 633 | 693 | 812 | 691 | 10 | |||||
Department of Energy (DOE) | 7,361 | 7,333 | 8,092 | 8,419 | 9,232 | 100 | |||||
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy | 441 | 530 | 540 | 512 | 823 | 7 | |||||
National Nuclear Security Administration | 2,339 | 2,404 | 2,770 | 3,150 | 3,492 | 34 | |||||
Defense Programs | 2,143 | 2,148 | 2,519 | 2,974 | 3,316 | 31 | |||||
Nuclear Nonproliferation | 195 | 256 | 251 | 176 | 176 | 3 | |||||
Nuclear Energy | 336 | 236 | 296 | 387 | 365 | 4 | |||||
Office of Science | 3,940 | 3,848 | 4,085 | 4,008 | 4,167 | 50 | |||||
Other DOE agencies | 306 | 315 | 400 | 363 | 385 | 5 | |||||
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) | 31,124 | 29,315 | 30,587 | 30,888 | 31,857 | 100 | |||||
National Institutes of Health | 29,877 | 28,215 | 29,400 | 29,637 | 30,617 | 96 | |||||
Other HHS agencies | 1,247 | 1,099 | 1,188 | 1,251 | 1,240 | 4 | |||||
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 5,100 | 5,422 | 5,336 | 4,868 | 5,094 | 100 | |||||
National Science Foundation | 5,170 | 4,956 | 5,403 | 5,562 | 5,864 | 100 | |||||
DOD = Department of Defense; DOE = Department of Energy; HHS = Department of Health and Human Services; NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration; NSF = National Science Foundation; nec = not elsewhere classified; USDA = Department of Agriculture. a "Other sciences nec" is used for multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary projects that cannot be classified within one of the broad fields of science. NOTES: Detail may not sum to total due to rounding. Other agencies includes the following: Department of Commerce, Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of the Interior, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of the Treasury, Department of Veterans Affairs, Agency for International Development, Appalachian Regional Commission, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Smithsonian Institution, and Social Security Administration. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development. |
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Field | All agencies | HHS | DOD | DOE | NSF | NASA | USDA | Other | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All fields | 62,909 | 30,587 | 6,704 | 8,092 | 5,403 | 5,336 | 2,060 | 4,727 | |||
Life sciences | 30,668 | 25,683 | 866 | 400 | 685 | 309 | 1,616 | 1,109 | |||
Engineering | 11,888 | 1,445 | 2,966 | 3,531 | 876 | 2,023 | 79 | 968 | |||
Physical sciences | 6,483 | 140 | 795 | 2,699 | 867 | 1,415 | 103 | 465 | |||
Environmental sciences | 4,366 | 343 | 337 | 336 | 1,220 | 1,215 | 38 | 877 | |||
Computer sciences and mathematics | 3,883 | 231 | 1,292 | 959 | 1,048 | 93 | 10 | 250 | |||
Other sciences neca | 2,218 | 806 | 346 | 164 | 487 | 260 | 0 | 155 | |||
Psychology | 1,968 | 1,770 | 42 | 0 | 35 | 21 | 0 | 100 | |||
Social sciences | 1,435 | 169 | 61 | 2 | 186 | 1 | 213 | 803 | |||
DOE's obligations for research rose 10% to $8.1 billion from FY 2013 to FY 2014. DOE research obligations for FY 2014 were rather evenly split between basic and applied (table 2). Most of the department's FY 2014 research dollars were obligated by the Office of Science ($4.1 billion) and various defense programs ($2.5 billion). These two components account for 81% of the department's projected total FY 2014 research obligations (table 3). Most of the money is slated to support research in engineering ($3.5 billion) and in the physical sciences ($2.7 billion), which together account for more than three-fourths of the department's total research budget (table 4).
Federal research dollars obligated by DOD increased by 13% ($0.7 billion) from FY 2013 to 2014, are estimated to increase 3% in FY 2015, and are projected to decrease by 2% in FY 2016. DOD's share of total agency-funded research was 11% ($6.7 billion) in FY 2014 (table 2).
The Departments of the Air Force, Army, and Navy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency account for most (90%) of DOD research dollars (table 3). Of the total FY 2014 DOD research funding, 44% ($3.0 billion) is planned in support of engineering (table 4).
NSF obligations for research grew by 9% in FY 2014 after declining 4% from FY 2012 to FY 2013 (table 2). Of the total FY 2014 NSF research funding ($5.4 billion), 23% is planned in support of environmental sciences ($1.2 billion), 19% for computer science and mathematics ($1.0 billion), 16% for engineering ($876 million), 16% for physical sciences ($867 million), and 13% for life sciences ($685 million) (table 4).
Federal funds obligated for research by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) decreased by 2% to $5.3 billion between FY 2013 and FY 2014. Research obligations are estimated to decrease another 9% in FY 2015. NASA provided 87% of its total FY 2014 research funding in support of engineering ($2.0 billion), physical sciences ($1.4 billion), and environmental sciences ($1.2 billion) (table 4).
The data presented here are from the NCSES, NSF Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development. The 28 federal agencies that report R&D obligations to the survey submitted actual obligations for FY 2014, preliminary data for FY 2015, and projected data for FY 2016. Data were requested from agencies beginning in February 2015. Agencies later revise the preliminary data based on actual changes in the funding levels of R&D programs, and agencies may provide changes in prior-year data to reflect program reclassifications or other data corrections.
Applied research is defined as systematic study to gain knowledge or understanding necessary to determine the means by which a recognized and specific need may be met.
Basic research is defined as systematic study directed toward fuller knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and of observable facts without specific applications toward processes or products in mind.
Development is defined as systematic application of knowledge or understanding that is directed toward the production of useful materials, devices, and systems or methods, including design, development, and improvement of prototypes and new processes to meet specific requirements.
Obligations represent the amounts for orders placed, contracts awarded, services received, and similar transactions during a given period, regardless of when the funds were appropriated and of when future payment of money is required.
The full set of detailed tables from this survey will be available in the report Federal Funds for Research and Development: Fiscal Years 2014–16 at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/fedfunds/. Individual detailed tables from the FYs 2014–16 survey may be available in advance of the full report. For more information, please contact the author.
[1] Michael Yamaner, Research and Development Statistics Program, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 965, Arlington, VA 22230 (myamaner@nsf.gov; 703-292-7815).