This annual report contains information on Federal funding
of the research and development (R&D) components of agency
programs, as proposed by the administration for fiscal year
(FY) 1996. R&D data in this report are classified into the
same Federal budget function categories used in the Budget
of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 1996. Proposed
FY 1996 funding levels are for budget authority (defined
below), which is the basis for initial congressional action.
Detailed data are also included on actual Federal funding of
R&D in FY 1994 and on estimated funding of R&D in FY 1995.
REPORT ORGANIZATION
These notes introduce the basic budget terms and concepts
used in this report. The rest of the report is divided into
three sections:
Research and Development in the 1996 Budget: An Overview
provides an overview of Federal Funding of R&D within the
context of requested total Federal budget authority. This
section consists of five tables. Tables 1,2, 4, and 5 provide an overview of Federal R&D funding within the
context of requested total Federal budget authority. Table
3 details Federal R&D funding for national defense and
civilian programs in current and constant 1987 dollars for
FYs 1955-96.
R&D by Specific Budget Function summarizes activities
conducted within each budget function. Programs within the
five functional categories that account for 90 percent of
the R&D sponsored by the Federal Government are discussed
briefly; data on R&D activities within the remaining
functional categories are presented in tabular form only.
This section consists of 19 tables (tables 6 through 24)
which provide a summary of R&D activities conducted within
each Federal budget function.
Historical Tables presents two historical data series:
(1) Federal R&D funding by function for fiscal years 1955-96
(tables 25a through 25g) and (2) Federal funding of basic
research for fiscal years 1978-96 (tables 26a through 26c).
DEFINITIONS
Research and Development
As used in this report, R&D refers to research-both basic
and applied-and development activities in the sciences and
engineering.
Research is systematic study directed toward fuller
scientific knowledge or understanding of the subject
studied. Research is classified as either basic or applied
according to the objective of the sponsoring agency.
- In basic research the objective of the sponsoring
agency is to gain fuller knowledge or understanding of the
fundamental aspects of phenomena and of observable facts
without specific applications toward processes or products
in mind.
- In applied research the objective of the sponsoring
agency is to gain knowledge or understanding necessary for
determining means by which a recognized and specific need
may be met.
Development is the systematic use of the knowledge or
understanding gained from research directed toward the
production of useful materials, devices, systems, or
methods, including design, development, and improvement of
prototypes and new processes. It excludes quality control,
routine product testing, and production.
Funds for conducting R&D include those for personnel,
program supervision, and administrative support directly
associated with R&D activities. Expendable or movable
equipment needed to conduct R&D-e.g., microscopes or
spectrometers-is also included.
This report does not include data on R&D plant funds-i.e.,
funds for R&D facilities such as reactors, wind tunnels, or
particle accelerators or for the construction, repair, or
alteration of such facilities. Also excluded are all non-
R&D activities performed within budget functions that
conduct R&D and all functions in which no R&D is conducted.
Budget Authority, Obligations, and Outlays
The Federal R&D funding data presented here are, with a
few noted exceptions, provided in budget authority. Budget
authority is used because it is the initial budget parameter
for congressional action on the President's proposed budget.
Budget authority imposes a ceiling on obligations and
outlays; obligations and outlays flow from budget authority.
- "Budget authority" is the primary source of legal
authorization to enter into obligations that will result in
outlays. Budget authority is most commonly granted in the
form of appropriations by the congressional committees
assigned to determine the budget for each function.
- "Obligations" represents the amounts for orders
placed, contracts awarded, services received, and similar
transactions during a given period, regardless of when the
funds were appropriated and when the future payment of money
is required.
- "Outlays" represents the amounts for checks issued
and cash payments made during a given period, regardless of
when the funds were appropriated or obligated.
BUDGET FUNCTIONS
All activities covered by the Federal budget, including
R&D, are classified into 20 broad functional categories. The
Federal budget total comprises funding for these 20
functions. An agency's activities are not necessarily
included in only one function. Instead, the programs of one
agency typically are distributed across functions, and each
function often includes programs from multiple agencies. No
overlap occurs between functions or between the various
agency programs within those functions. In a few cases
components of a major national effort are funded through
multiple functions, such as the Human Genome mapping effort
(health and energy).
Notably, each specific R&D activity is assigned to only
one function area, consistent with the official codes used
in budget documents, even though the R&D activity may
address several functional concerns. For example, except
for those of the Army Corps of Engineers, all R&D activities
sponsored by the Department of Defense (DOD) are classified
as defense, even though some activities have secondary
objectives such as space or health. Moreover, only R&D
funded by the Department of Health and Human Services and
the Department of Labor is classified in the "health"
function category. Yet some R&D funding, from at least
three agencies-DOD and the Departments of Energy and
Veterans Affairs-has a major health component.
The functional categories and definitions used in this
report are the same as those used in the Federal budget,
with one exception. R&D activities categorized as "general
science, space, and technology" (function 250) are reported
separately here. Subfunction 251 contains R&D activities
for general science and basic research, and subfunction 252
contains R&D activities for space research and technology.
Not all federally sponsored basic research is categorized in
function 251, however; some basic research is included in
the remaining 19 functional categories.
Five Federal budget functions-Medicare (function 570),
social security (function 650), net interest (function 900),
allowances (function 920), and undistributed offsetting
receipts (function 950)-have no R&D components.
Consequently, they are not discussed in this report, except
where R&D is described as a proportion of total Federal
budget authority. (There is no R&D in the "general
Government" (800) function for fiscal years 1994 through
1996, but the historical data include past R&D funding under
this function).
The Agency/Function Crosswalk on the following page
lists-by name and function code-the 16 individual R&D
functions funded by agencies.
DATA SOURCES
Within the overall Federal Budget there is no
separately identified R&D budget as such; nor are most
appropriations for R&D so labeled except in the case of
certain program areas, such as in defense, energy, health,
and environment. Consequently, most funds for R&D are not
line items in an agency's budget submission but are included
within general program funding. To determine funding for
Federal R&D, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
requires agencies whose annual R&D funding is greater than
$10 million to submit data on their R&D programs as part of
their annual budget submissions. Specifically, the agencies
provide data-reported, in accordance with OMB Circular A-11,
on an Exhibit 44A, "Research and Development Activities"-on
funding levels for basic research, applied research,
development, R&D facilities, and R&D support to universities
and colleges.
The data in this report represent agencies' best estimates
of actual and proposed Federal funding for R&D collected
during the period February 7 through May 15, 1995. These
data are based primarily on information provided to OMB by
21 agencies and account for more than 99 percent of all
federally sponsored R&D activities. Also incorporated in
this report is R&D information that became available from
the individual agencies after the administration's budget
was prepared and reported in the Budget of the United States
Government. Such information consists of agency budget
justification documents submitted to Congress and
supplemental, program-specific information obtained from
agency budget and program staff through mid-May 1995.
Therefore, budget numbers for individual activities,
programs, or agencies may differ slightly from those
published in the President's budget or agency budget
documents.
