by Christopher Pece[1]
State government agency expenditures for research and development totaled $2.3 billion in FY 2016, an increase of 3.1% from FY 2015 (table 1). Five state governments (California, New York, Texas, Florida, and Ohio) accounted for 64% of all state government R&D in FY 2016 (table 2). This InfoBrief presents summary statistics from the FY 2016 Survey of State Government Research and Development, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES).
a Intramural performers include employees within the same state department or agency and services performed by others in support of internal R&D projects. b Includes government functions for corrections, criminal justice, education, forensic sciences, labor, public safety, and social services. NOTE: R&D plant includes acquisition of land, facilities, major equipment, and major building renovations intended primarily for R&D use. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of State Government Research and Development. |
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Characteristic | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | % change |
---|---|---|---|
All R&D and R&D plant expenditures | 2,282,136 | 2,342,383 | 2.6 |
All R&D plant expenditures | 34,896 | 25,257 | -27.6 |
All R&D expenditures | 2,247,240 | 2,317,126 | 3.1 |
Source of funds | |||
Federal government | 482,540 | 509,519 | 5.6 |
State government and other nonfederal sources | 1,764,700 | 1,807,607 | 2.4 |
Performer | |||
Intramurala | 585,026 | 635,546 | 8.6 |
Extramural | 1,662,214 | 1,681,580 | 1.2 |
Academic institutions | 915,042 | 868,260 | -5.1 |
Companies and individuals | 448,394 | 481,871 | 7.5 |
Other | 298,778 | 331,449 | 10.9 |
Intramural by type of R&D | |||
Basic research | 110,327 | 89,951 | -18.5 |
Applied research | 461,695 | 531,509 | 15.1 |
Experimental development | 13,003 | 14,087 | 8.3 |
R&D project by government function | |||
Agriculture | 102,116 | 109,191 | 6.9 |
Energy | 383,146 | 368,028 | -3.9 |
Environment and natural resources | 416,121 | 437,315 | 5.1 |
Health | 936,278 | 964,865 | 3.1 |
Transportation | 246,570 | 264,596 | 7.3 |
Otherb | 163,009 | 173,130 | 6.2 |
a Intramural performers include employees within the same state department or agency and services performed by others in support of internal R&D projects. b Extramural performers include academic institutions, companies and individuals, and other non-internal performers. c U.S. total reflects all 50 states and the District of Columbia. NOTE: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of State Government Research and Development, FY 2016. |
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Intramural performersa | Extramural performersb | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
State | All R&D expenditures |
Amount | Percent | Amount | Percent | ||
United Statesc | 2,317,126 | 635,546 | 27.4 | 1,681,580 | 72.6 | ||
Alabama | 24,799 | 11,439 | 46.1 | 13,360 | 53.9 | ||
Alaska | 10,073 | 7,792 | 77.4 | 2,281 | 22.6 | ||
Arizona | 15,680 | 5,939 | 37.9 | 9,741 | 62.1 | ||
Arkansas | 17,243 | 577 | 3.3 | 16,666 | 96.7 | ||
California | 573,989 | 94,756 | 16.5 | 479,233 | 83.5 | ||
Colorado | 16,648 | 7,733 | 46.5 | 8,914 | 53.5 | ||
Connecticut | 49,460 | 20,919 | 42.3 | 28,541 | 57.7 | ||
Delaware | 2,695 | 1,672 | 62.0 | 1,023 | 38.0 | ||
District of Columbia | 4,060 | 1,380 | 34.0 | 2,680 | 66.0 | ||
Florida | 156,058 | 44,255 | 28.4 | 111,803 | 71.6 | ||
Georgia | 13,093 | 2,304 | 17.6 | 10,790 | 82.4 | ||
Hawaii | 18,032 | 8,896 | 49.3 | 9,137 | 50.7 | ||
Idaho | 14,501 | 6,576 | 45.3 | 7,925 | 54.7 | ||
Illinois | 16,935 | 1,251 | 7.4 | 15,684 | 92.6 | ||
Indiana | 13,029 | 620 | 4.8 | 12,409 | 95.2 | ||
Iowa | 12,297 | 3,797 | 30.9 | 8,500 | 69.1 | ||
Kansas | 6,392 | 2,818 | 44.1 | 3,574 | 55.9 | ||
Kentucky | 29,411 | 697 | 2.4 | 28,714 | 97.6 | ||
Louisiana | 27,268 | 12,536 | 46.0 | 14,732 | 54.0 | ||
Maine | 11,430 | 2,970 | 26.0 | 8,459 | 74.0 | ||
Maryland | 26,448 | 328 | 1.2 | 26,120 | 98.8 | ||
Massachusetts | 23,433 | 12,614 | 53.8 | 10,819 | 46.2 | ||
Michigan | 17,121 | 1,250 | 7.3 | 15,871 | 92.7 | ||
Minnesota | 22,861 | 2,195 | 9.6 | 20,666 | 90.4 | ||
Mississippi | 2,339 | 191 | 8.2 | 2,149 | 91.9 | ||
Missouri | 14,724 | 7,873 | 53.5 | 6,850 | 46.5 | ||
Montana | 17,990 | 2,676 | 14.9 | 15,315 | 85.1 | ||
Nebraska | 7,644 | 466 | 6.1 | 7,178 | 93.9 | ||
Nevada | 5,716 | 5 | 0.1 | 5,711 | 99.9 | ||
New Hampshire | 1,521 | 368 | 24.2 | 1,153 | 75.8 | ||
New Jersey | 30,483 | 1,704 | 5.6 | 28,780 | 94.4 | ||
New Mexico | 4,773 | 1,391 | 29.1 | 3,382 | 70.9 | ||
New York | 404,833 | 237,318 | 58.6 | 167,515 | 41.4 | ||
North Carolina | 37,142 | 17,853 | 48.1 | 19,289 | 51.9 | ||
North Dakota | 8,470 | 588 | 6.9 | 7,882 | 93.1 | ||
Ohio | 99,329 | 2,096 | 2.1 | 97,233 | 97.9 | ||
Oklahoma | 33,461 | 2,394 | 7.2 | 31,067 | 92.8 | ||
Oregon | 24,831 | 10,188 | 41.0 | 14,643 | 59.0 | ||
Pennsylvania | 73,189 | 6,452 | 8.8 | 66,737 | 91.2 | ||
Rhode Island | 3,372 | 175 | 5.2 | 3,197 | 94.8 | ||
South Carolina | 30,512 | 24,854 | 81.5 | 5,658 | 18.5 | ||
South Dakota | 4,512 | 433 | 9.6 | 4,079 | 90.4 | ||
Tennessee | 7,040 | 2,732 | 38.8 | 4,309 | 61.2 | ||
Texas | 255,133 | 4,290 | 1.7 | 250,843 | 98.3 | ||
Utah | 31,466 | 18,168 | 57.7 | 13,298 | 42.3 | ||
Vermont | 1,041 | 369 | 35.4 | 673 | 64.6 | ||
Virginia | 33,556 | 13,596 | 40.5 | 19,960 | 59.5 | ||
Washington | 35,183 | 14,446 | 41.1 | 20,737 | 58.9 | ||
West Virginia | 8,233 | 2,456 | 29.8 | 5,778 | 70.2 | ||
Wisconsin | 13,442 | 5,783 | 43.0 | 7,659 | 57.0 | ||
Wyoming | 4,234 | 1,369 | 32.3 | 2,865 | 67.7 |
The FY 2016 survey presents the most recent NCSES statistics of R&D activities performed and funded by state government agencies in each of the 50 states, as well as the municipal government of the District of Columbia. Survey data are available by state and by individual state agency. Further details are also available on R&D performer (intramural and extramural), source of funding, type of R&D (basic research, applied research, and experimental development), and R&D by government function (agriculture, energy, environment and natural resources, health, transportation, and other).
State government agency R&D expenditures in FY 2016 totaled $2.3 billion, of which 78% came from state and other nonfederal sources (table 1). Seventy-three percent of the states' R&D expenditures went to extramural R&D performers (i.e., performers other than state agencies) in FY 2016. Academic institutions were the primary recipients of these expenditures (52% of all extramural funding in FY 2016, excluding direct state appropriations to colleges and universities), followed by companies and individuals (29% in FY 2016). Intramural performers, the state agencies themselves, performed $636 million of R&D in FY 2016, a 9% increase from FY 2015.
Health-related R&D projects made up the largest share of state agencies' R&D expenditures (42% in FY 2016). R&D projects related to the environment and natural resources accounted for 19% of total state government R&D expenditures in FY 2016. Energy, transportation, agriculture, and all other projects' shares of total R&D expenditures in FY 2016 were 16%, 11%, 5%, and 7%, respectively. Energy-related R&D decreased 4% from FY 2015. R&D projects related to environment and natural resources and to health increased by 5% and 3%, respectively, from FY 2015. Agriculture- and transportation- related R&D increased by 7% each.
Expenditures for R&D plant (construction projects, major building renovations, major equipment purchases, and land and building acquisitions intended primarily for R&D use) totaled $25.3 million in FY 2016, a 28% decrease from the $34.9 million reported in FY 2015.
Individual state government expenditures on R&D (including funds from federal, state, and other sources) in FY 2016 varied widely, ranging from $1 million in Vermont to nearly $575 million in California (table 2). Similarly, the range of state governments receiving federal funds for R&D projects ranged from under $1 million in the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Utah, and Vermont to more than $143 million in New York. Combined, the five largest state governments to receive federal funds for R&D (New York, Texas, California, Florida, and South Carolina) accounted for 46% of the total $510 million in federal funds provided to all state governments for R&D activities.
Five states accounted for 66% of the $636 million of intramural R&D performed by state agencies in FY 2016 (table 2): New York ($237 million), California ($95 million), Florida ($44 million), South Carolina ($25 million), and Connecticut ($21 million). In FY 2016, 40% ($254 million) of state agency intramural R&D performance was funded by the federal government. The share of federal support for intramural R&D ranged from nearly 100% in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Illinois to less than 1% in Utah and Nevada.
The majority (84%) of state government intramural R&D performance is directed toward applied research ($532 million), whereas basic research constitutes approximately 14% of intramural R&D and experimental development is 2% (figure 1). All state governments, except for Arkansas, Nebraska, and Nevada, reported a portion of their intramural R&D as applied research; 32 state governments reported some intramural R&D as basic research; and 24 reported some intramural R&D as experimental development. Eleven state governments reported all intramural R&D as applied research. New York's intramural R&D ($237 million) constitutes 37% of all state governments' intramural R&D activities, with $63 million directed toward basic research, $170 million toward applied research, and $4 million toward experimental development (figure 1).
Five states accounted for 66% of the $1.7 billion in FY 2016 state government funding for extramural R&D performance (table 2): California ($479 million), Texas ($251 million), New York ($168 million), Florida ($112 million), and Ohio ($97 million). However, states varied in how they funded extramural R&D. For example, Texas state agencies directed the majority of this funding toward academic institutions ($158 million, or 63%), whereas Ohio state agencies directed the bulk of their funding for extramural performance toward companies and individuals ($84 million). In addition to Texas, state agencies in California ($195 million), Florida ($41 million), New York, ($93 million), and Pennsylvania ($40 million) combined accounted for 61% of the total support to academic institutions ($868 million) in FY 2016. Similarly, state agencies in California ($187 million), Ohio ($84 million), Texas ($56 million), New York ($38 million), and Connecticut ($13 million) combined accounted for 78% of the total R&D support from state governments to companies and individuals ($482 million) in FY 2016.
Most states reported a broad mix of R&D projects related to state government functions: agriculture, energy, environment and natural resources, health, transportation, and other (table 3). All states reported R&D expenditures in at least two of these governmental function categories, and 17 states reported R&D expenditures across all functions in FY 2016. Some R&D functions are highly concentrated within a handful of states. For example, in FY 2016, a total of 37 state governments reported some expenditures for energy-related R&D, yet 90% of all state government R&D expenditures for energy-related R&D was concentrated in five states: California ($251 million), New York ($51 million), Ohio ($15 million), Hawaii ($8 million), and Georgia ($6 million). Similarly, 35 states reported expenditures for health-related R&D in FY 2016, yet 83% of all state government agency expenditures on health-related R&D was reported by agencies in five states: New York ($269 million), Texas ($212 million), California ($200 million), Florida ($72 million), and Pennsylvania ($51 million).
a U.S. total reflects all 50 states and the District of Columbia. NOTES: Includes state agency funding from all sources for both intramural and extramural performance. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of State Government Research and Development, FY 2016. |
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State | Total | Agriculture | Energy | Environment and natural resources |
Health | Transportation | Other |
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United Statesa | 2,317,126 | 109,191 | 368,028 | 437,315 | 964,865 | 264,596 | 173,130 |
California | 573,989 | 7,475 | 251,116 | 57,770 | 199,523 | 38,341 | 19,763 |
New York | 404,833 | 4,885 | 50,959 | 21,339 | 269,493 | 10,571 | 47,587 |
Texas | 255,133 | 1,761 | 0 | 13,099 | 212,223 | 28,049 | 0 |
Florida | 156,058 | 17,066 | 2,371 | 51,313 | 72,374 | 12,933 | 0 |
Ohio | 99,329 | 200 | 14,931 | 46,303 | 7,565 | 12,713 | 17,617 |
Pennsylvania | 73,189 | 1,587 | 2,604 | 9,043 | 51,365 | 3,889 | 4,700 |
Connecticut | 49,460 | 3,943 | 240 | 10,527 | 26,313 | 2,370 | 6,068 |
North Carolina | 37,142 | 12,225 | 1,970 | 5,490 | 6,900 | 6,865 | 3,693 |
Washington | 35,183 | 12,386 | 1,917 | 11,992 | 0 | 5,607 | 3,282 |
Virginia | 33,556 | 3,142 | 549 | 7,583 | 3,724 | 16,692 | 1,866 |
All others | 599,254 | 44,520 | 41,372 | 202,855 | 115,386 | 126,566 | 68,555 |
The five state governments with the most R&D expenditures for agriculture, environmental and natural resources, and transportation were somewhat less concentrated in their shares of the respective national totals than were the states with the largest shares of energy R&D and health R&D. For instance, 37 states reported some R&D expenditures for agriculture, but the five largest states—namely, Florida ($17 million), Washington ($12 million), North Carolina ($12 million), Arkansas ($8 million), and California ($7 million)—make up 52% of all state government spending on agriculture-related R&D. In the case of environment and natural resources, all states except Illinois and South Dakota reported some R&D expenditures. However, five states accounted for 46% of the total in FY 2016: California ($58 million), Florida ($51 million), Ohio ($46 million), South Carolina ($25 million), and New York ($21 million). Transportation-related R&D projects were conducted by all state governments except for Massachusetts, with California ($38 million), Texas ($28 million), Virginia ($17 million), Minnesota ($13 million), and Florida ($13 million) accounting for 41% of total transportation-related R&D expenditures.
Data presented in this InfoBrief are in current dollars and have not been adjusted for inflation. All 50 states, and the District of Columbia participated in the FY 2016 survey, and 589 of the 621 selected agencies (95%) responded to the survey. Puerto Rico agencies did not report to the survey for FY 2016. Data for the FY 2016 survey were collected for NCSES by the U.S. Census Bureau under an interagency agreement.
Most states' fiscal year begins on 1 July and ends the following 30 June. For example, FY 2016 begins on 1 July 2015 and ends on 30 June 2016. There are, however, five exceptions to the 30 June fiscal year end: New York (ends 31 March), Texas (ends 31 August), and Alabama, Michigan, and the District of Columbia (ends 30 September). Data presented in this InfoBrief are for each of the respective fiscal year period as defined by each state.
Terms such as state, state government, and state agencies have equivalent meaning and are used interchangeably throughout this InfoBrief. The amounts reported here are for R&D expenditures of state government departments, agencies, public authorities, institutions, and other dependent entities that operate separately or somewhat autonomously from the central state government. State government R&D totals can display considerable volatility between survey years due to several national and state-specific factors. Large changes are not unusual, especially for discretionary spending items such as R&D. Amounts reported do not include direct appropriations from state legislatures to universities, colleges, and private organizations. As a result, the $868 million in FY 2016 expenditures reported by state agencies to support R&D performance by academic institutions differs from the figure reported by universities and colleges in FY 2016 ($4.0 billion) for expenditures on R&D activities that were funded from state and local government sources. (See National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. 2016. Higher Education Research and Development: Fiscal Year 2016. Data Tables. Alexandria, VA. Available at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvyherd/#tabs-2.)
State- and agency-specific data not available in this InfoBrief will be available in the full set of detailed tables from this survey in the report State Government Research and Development: FY 2016, at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvystaterd/#tabs-2. Individual detailed tables from the FY 2016 survey may be available in advance of the full report. For further information, contact the author.
[1] Christopher Pece, Research and Development Statistics Program, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Ave, Suite W14200, Alexandria, VA 22314 (cpece@nsf.gov; 703-292-7788).