Title : Federal Share of Academic R&D Climbed to 60 Percent in FY 1993 Type : 1995 Data Briefs NSF Org: SBE / SRS Date : February 16, 1995 File : sdb95301 --------------------------------------------- Note: The companion binary file to this text file is an Adobe Acrobat .PDF (Portable Document Format) file. This version will print correctly only to a non-PostScript printer. In order to view and print this file, you must use the Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Acrobat reader is available from Adobe via Ftp. Ftp to ftp.adobe.com anonymous <------User email name <------Password Change the directory to: pub/adobe/applications/acrobat/Windows <----Windows reader or pub/adobe/applications/acrobat/mcintosh <----MacIntosh reader or pub/adobe/applications/acrobat/unix <----Unix reader Download the relevant Acrobat Reader file, entitled ACROREAD.EXE. You may freely distribute the reader program. ----------------------------------------------- by M. Marge Machen ____________________ Federally financed academic R&D growth rate in FY 1993 outpaced nonfederal growth 5 to 1 after adjusting for inflation. ____________________ Total academic expenditures for separately budgeted research and development (R&D) in science and engineering (S&E) fields climbed to $19.9 billion in FY 1993. This amount represents a 6-percent increase from the $18.8 billion spent in FY 1992. Adjusted for inflation, the FY 1993 R&D increase was 3 percent. Federally financed spending for separately budgeted R&D at universities and colleges reached $11.9 billion in FY 1993, up nearly 8 percent over 1992 levels; nonfederal support reached $7.9 billion, up 3 percent above that in the previous year. Adjusted for inflation, Federal dollars rose 5 percent and nonfederal expenditures, less than 1 percent. The 60-percent share of academia's R&D total provided by the Federal Government in 1993 indicates an upturn after a period of slow decline over the last decade from a 63-percent share in 1983 to a low of 58 percent in 1991. The fastest growth rates in academic R&D support since the early 1980s, however, have occurred among nonfederal sponsors. For example, industrial support averaged increases of 10 percent per year since 1983, even after adjusting for inflation, and now accounts for a 7-percent share of academia's 1993 R&D total. Universities' own funds, the largest nonfederal source, have averaged 7 percent per year real growth. Cost sharing and underrecovery of indirect costs account for over one-half of the university contribution toward research activities. The remainder of institutional funds represents separately budgeted projects financed from discretionary or unrestricted university accounts. In constant dollars, State and local governments and all other sources, including foundations and voluntary health agencies, each averaged 6-percent growth per year during the 1983-93 period (table 1). Table 1. R&D expenditures at universities and colleges, by source of funds: FY 1983, 1992, and 1993 [Millions of dollars] Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal Source and field year year year 1993 1992 1983 Total.........................19,911 18,794 7,881 (In 1987 dollars)1/...........16,122 15,623 9,059 Source of funds: Federal Government............11,957 11,090 4,989 State and local governments... 1,559 1,491 626 Industry...................... 1,374 1,291 389 Institutional funds........... 3,552 3,527 1,302 All other sources............ 1,469 1,395 576 Character of work: Basic research.............. 13,270 12,504 5,303 Applied research and development........... 6,641 6,290 2,578 1/ Based on gross domestic product implicit price deflator. SOURCE: National Science Foundation/SRS Academic spending for basic research activities in 1993 totaled $13.3 billion, representing growth of 6 percent (3 percent in 1987 dollars) over 1992 levels. The Federal share, $8.4 billion, accounted for 63 percent of the basic research total. Expenditures in 1993 for applied research and development combined were approximately $6.6 billion, up 6 percent (3 percent in real terms) over the previous year. The relative proportion of total academic R&D expenditures for basic research has remained relatively stable over the last 18 years-- accounting for 65 to 69 percent of the annual academic R&D totals. Academic R&D spending in all major science fields outpaced the 3-percent inflation rate from 1992 to 1993. R&D growth ranged from a low of 4 percent in the physical sciences to a high of 19 percent in the "all other sciences" category, which primarily represents multidisciplinary research. Engineering R&D increased 3 percent, to $3.2 billion, in 1993 with mechanical engineering reflecting the largest gain, 6 percent, over 1992. Among all major S&E fields over the past decade, R&D spending has increased at the most rapid rate in computer sciences (12 percent in constant dollars). R&D activities are highly concentrated within the academic sector. Separately budgeted academic R&D spending for the leading 20 research institutions in 1993 totaled $6.4 billion, representing 32 percent of total and 35 percent of federally funded R&D spending, respectively (table 2). The 100 largest academic performers expended $16.0 billion, accounting for 80 percent of the R&D total and 83 percent of federally financed expenditures, similar to shares reported during the past decade. Table 2. Twenty institutions reporting the largest R&D expenditures in the sciences and engineering: FY 1992-93 [Millions of dollars] Total Federal Institution Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal year year year year 1993 1992 1993 1992 Total 1/........................... 19,911 18,794 11,957 11,090 Total, leading 20 institutions.......6,441 6,218 4,234 3,992 1. Johns Hopkins U 2/............... 746 736 674 667 2. University of Michigan........... 426 393 250 223 3. U WI Madison..................... 372 353 234 200 4. MA Institute of Tech............. 366 324 267 238 5. University of Washington......... 335 314 269 258 6. University of Minnesota.......... 332 317 175 166 7. Texas A&M University............. 323 305 123 113 8. U CA San Francisco............... 315 296 210 202 9. Cornell University............... 311 299 195 180 10. U CA San Diego................... 307 282 243 220 11. Stanford University.............. 307 368 254 266 12. U CA Berkeley.................... 284 285 156 149 13. Pennsylvania State U............. 283 278 160 152 14. U CA Los Angeles................. 278 271 189 181 15. Harvard University............... 257 253 182 175 16. University of IL Urbana.......... 253 252 141 129 17. U TX Austin...................... 249 229 140 125 18. University of Arizona............ 236 222 113 106 19. U of Pennsylvania................ 234 222 174 160 20. U MD College Park................ 229 219 85 82 Total, all other institutions.......13,470 12,576 7,723 7,098 NOTE: Data may not add to totals due to rounding. 1/ Data do not include R&D performed by university-administered federally funded research and development centers. 2/ For FY 1993, includes Applied Physics Laboratory with $447 million in total and $431 million in federally financed R&D expenditures. SOURCE: National Science Foundation/SRS This Data Brief was prepared by 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.