Contents

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General Notes

Data Tables

Appendix A. Technical Notes

Appendix B. Agencies: Volumes 29-62

Appendix C. Notes Associated with Agencies: Volumes 29-62

Appendix D. FFRDCs, by Agency and Type of Administration

Suggested Citation, Acknowledgments

 

Appendix A. Technical Notes

Scope and Method

During the period March–September 2013, data were collected from a total of 28 federal agencies (15 federal departments and 13 independent agencies) in response to the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) annual Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development (Federal Funds Survey). Because, in some cases, multiple subdivisions of a federal department were requested to complete the survey, for the FYs 2012–14 cycle, overall data were collected for 72 agency-level offices (5 federal departments, 54 department subdivisions, and 13 independent agencies). Within these agency-level offices, 207 program-level offices, 190 field-level offices, and 128 branch-level offices provided data. The agencies reported their data as obligations and outlays incurred or expected to be incurred, regardless of when funds were appropriated or whether they were identified in the respondents' budgets as specifically being for R&D activities.

Only those agencies that had obligations in the variables presented in a particular table appear in that table. Obligations are amounts for orders placed, contracts awarded, services received, and similar transactions during a given period, regardless of when funds were appropriated and when future payment of money is required. Outlays are amounts for checks issued and cash payments made during a given period, regardless of when funds were appropriated.

A complete list of definitions appears at the end of appendix A.

Appendix B provides a complete list of the federal agencies that have been included in the Federal Funds Survey. See appendix C for additional notes associated with these agencies.

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Survey Instrument

There were no significant changes to the content of the FY 2012–14 survey from the previous survey cycle.

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Limitations of the Data

Funds for R&D were reported on a 3-year basis, comparable with the 2014 federal budget, on which the data were based. The amounts reported for each year are the obligations or outlays incurred in that year, regardless of when funds were authorized or received by agencies and regardless of whether the agencies' budgets identified these funds as specifically being for research, development, R&D plant, or some combination of the three. The respondents reconciled the data reported to the Federal Funds Survey with the amounts for R&D they reported under Max Schedule C to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the president's 2014 budget.

Some agencies are not able to report the full costs of R&D. For example, the headquarters costs of planning and administering R&D programs of the Department of Defense (DOD), estimated at a fraction of 1% of the agency's R&D total, are excluded because this agency has stated that identification of the amounts is impracticable.

R&D plant data are also underreported to some extent because of the difficulty encountered by some agencies, particularly DOD, in identifying and reporting these data. DOD respondents report obligations for R&D plant funded under the agency's construction appropriation, but they are able to identify only a small portion of the R&D plant support that is within R&D contracts funded from DOD's appropriation for research, development, testing, and evaluation.

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Revisions to the Data

When completing the current year's survey, agencies revise their estimates for the latest 2 years of the previous report—in this case, FYs 2012 and 2013. Such revision is part of the budgetary cycle. From time to time, survey submissions also reflect reappraisals and revisions in classification of various aspects of agencies' R&D programs. When such revisions occur, NSF requests that the agencies provide revised prior-year data to maintain consistency and comparability with the most-recent R&D concepts.

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Historical Changes

The scope of the survey has changed over time, and the survey instrument has been revised accordingly. Agency reporting methods have also changed over time, and survey data are not directly comparable for all years. The most recent changes are summarized below.

Scope

FYs 2009–11 and FYs 2010–12. Questions relating to ARRA funding were added for the volume 59 and 60 data collections. The survey collected separate outlays and obligations for ARRA and non-ARRA sources of funding, by performer and geography.

FYs 2005–07. Before the volume 55 survey cycle, NSF updated the list of foreign performers in the Federal Funds Survey to match the list of countries and territories in the Department of State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research fact sheet of Independent States in the World and fact sheet of Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty. Area and country lists in volume 55 data tables and later may differ from those in previous reports.

November 2002. On 25 November, President Bush signed the Homeland Security Act of 2002, establishing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

FYs 1996–98. The lines on the survey instrument for the special foreign currency program and for detailed field of science and engineering (S&E) were eliminated beginning with the volume 46 survey cycle. A special flier was included in the volume 46 packet mailing that listed the data items that were no longer required. Two tables depicting data on foreign performers, by region, country, and agency, that were removed before publication of volume 43 were reinstated with volume 46.

FYs 1994–96. During the volume 44 survey cycle, the Director for Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E) at DOD requested that NSF further clarify the true character of DOD's R&D program, particularly as it compares with other federal agencies, by adding more detail to development obligations reported by DOD respondents. Specifically, DOD requested that NSF allow DOD agencies to report development obligations in two separate categories: advanced technology development, and major systems development.

An excerpt from a letter written by Robert V. Tuohy, Chief, Program Analysis and Integration at DDR&E, to John E. Jankowski, Program Director, Research and Development Statistics Program, Division of Science Resources Statistics, NSF, explains the reasoning behind the DDR&E request:

The DOD's R&D program is divided into two major pieces, Science and Technology (S&T) and Major Systems Development. The other federal agencies' entire R&D programs are equivalent in nature to DOD's S&T program, with the exception of the Department of Energy and possibly NASA. Comparing those other agency programs to DOD's program, including the development of weapons systems such as F-22 Fighter and the New Attack Submarine, is misleading.

FYs 1993–95. Before publication of volume 43, NSF removed 54 tables that provided data on two items slated for elimination: the special foreign currency program, and detailed field of S&E for estimates for FYs 1994 and 1995. Data were collected from federal agencies for these two items through volume 45 (FYs 1995–97) but were not published. NSF also removed two tables depicting data on foreign performers, by region, country, and agency.

FYs 1992–94. Volume 42 was distributed with a flier notifying data users that NSF was considering eliminating several items from future volumes of the document. Data users were asked to review the list of affected tables shown on the flier and comment on the proposed eliminations.

FYs 1990–92. Since volume 40, DOD has reported research obligations and development obligations separately. Tables reporting obligations for research, by state and performer, and obligations for development, by state and performer, were specifically created for DOD. Circumstances specific to DOD are (1) DOD funds the preponderance of federal development, and (2) DOD development funded at institutions of higher education is typically performed at university-affiliated nonacademic laboratories, which are separate from universities' academic departments, where university research is typically performed.

Reporting

FYs 2012–14. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration began reporting International Space Station Obligations as research.

FYs 2011–13. To enable complete reporting of R&D (both unclassified and classified) from DOD), DOD subagencies other than the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are reported as an aggregate total under other defense agencies. Consequently, DOD began reporting additional classified R&D not previously reported by its subagencies.

The Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service revised its data for FY 2009.

FYs 2010–12. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) resumed reporting International Space Station obligations as R&D plant.

FY 2009. During the volume 60 survey cycle for FYs 2010–12, it was discovered that the Department of the Air Force (AF) incorrectly reported its FY 2009 data. AF overreported its basic research by $4.7 million and its applied research by $9.7 million. In addition, AF overreported its advanced technology development by $206.9 million and substantially underreported its major systems development by $8.0 billion. AF has corrected its FY 2009 data.

FYs 2000–09. Beginning in FY 2000, AF did not report Budget Activity (BA) 6.7 Operational Systems Development data because the agency misunderstood the reporting requirements. During the volume 57 data collection cycle, AF edited prior-year data for FYs 2000–07 to include BA 6.7 Operational Systems Development data. These data revisions were derived from FY 2007 distribution percentages that were then applied backward to revise data for FYs 2000–06.

FY 2007. NASA's R&D obligations decreased by $1 billion between FYs 2006 and 2007. Of this amount, $850 million was accounted for by obligations for operational projects that NASA excluded in FY 2007 but reported in FY 2006. The remainder was from an overall decrease in obligations between FYs 2006 and 2007.

The Department of the Army (DA) overstated preliminary industry federally funded research and development centers' (FFRDCs') totals (major systems development, development, and R&D) reported in volume 56 of the Federal Funds series and understated industry totals. DA misreported approximately $3.2 billion of major systems development obligations to industry FFRDCs rather than to industry. The aggregate estimated totals in volume 56 were accurate, but the receiving sector was not. Actual FY 2007 data reported here correct this error.

FY 2006. NASA reclassified as operational costs funding for Space Operations, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, and the James Webb Space Telescope previously reported as R&D plant.

FY 2005. The Transportation Security Laboratory was moved from the Transportation Security Administration of DHS to the Science and Technology Directorate of DHS.

FYs 2004–06. NASA implemented a full-cost budget approach, which includes all of the direct and indirect costs for procurement, personnel, travel, and other infrastructure-related expenses relative to a particular program and project. NASA's data for FY 2004 and later years may not be directly comparable with its data for FY 2003 and earlier years.

FY 2004. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) revised its financial database; beginning with FY 2004, NIH records no longer contain information on the field of S&E. Data for FY 2004 and later years are not directly comparable with data for FY 2003 and earlier years.

FYs 2003–05. DHS was unable to determine adequate estimates for its R&D by the categories collected by the survey; therefore, NSF was not able to include DHS data in the volume 53 tables. Obligations that DHS was able to provide are shown below.

	Dollars in millions
Department of Homeland Security component	FY 2003 actual	FY 2004 preliminary	FY 2005 preliminary
Transportation Security Administration	49.2	137.9	175.3
U.S. Coast Guard	15.0	23.7	NA
U.S. Secret Service	1.0	1.1	1.1
Science and Technology Directorate	NA	912.8	1,039.3

NA = not available.

FY 2003. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reclassified some of its funding categories as non-R&D that had been considered R&D in prior years.

FY 2000. NASA reclassified the Space Station as a physical asset, reclassified Space Station Research as equipment, and transferred funding for the program from R&D to R&D plant. Also in FY 2000, NIH reclassified as research the activities that it had previously classified as development. For more information on the classification changes at NASA and NIH, refer to Classification Revisions Reduce Reported Federal Development Obligations (InfoBrief NSF 02-309), February 2002, available at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf02309/.

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Definitions

Definitions are essentially unchanged from those used in past surveys.

1. Agency and subdivision. An agency is an organization of the federal government whose principal executive officer reports to the president. The Library of Congress is also included in the survey, even though its chief officer reports to Congress. Subdivision refers to any organizational unit of a reporting agency, such as a bureau, division, office, or service.

2. Obligations and outlays. Obligations represent the amounts for orders placed, contracts awarded, services received, and similar transactions during a given period, regardless of when funds were appropriated and when future payment of money is required. Outlays represent the amounts for checks issued and cash payments made during a given period, regardless of when funds were appropriated. Obligations and outlays cover all transactions that occurred in FY 2012 and those estimated for FYs 2013 and 2014.

Obligations and outlays reported are consistent with figures shown for FYs 2012–14 appearing in the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2014. The R&D data that agencies submit to OMB and to the Federal Funds Survey are based on the same definitions and are reconcilable.

The data include all federal funds available to an agency that the agency received or expects to receive from direct appropriations, trust funds, special account receipts, corporate income, or other sources, including funds appropriated to the president.

The amounts shown for each year reflect obligations or outlays for that year, regardless of when funds were originally authorized or received and whether they were appropriated, received, or identified in the agency's budget specifically for research, development, or R&D plant.

In reporting its obligations or outlays, each agency includes the amounts transferred to other agencies for support of R&D. The receiving agencies do not report funds transferred to them. Similarly, a subdivision of an agency that transfers funds to another subdivision within that agency reports such obligations or outlays as its own.

Obligations and outlays for R&D performed for an agency in foreign countries include all funds available to the agency for this purpose, including funds separately appropriated for special foreign-currency programs.

Funds reported for R&D reflect full-cost coverage, which includes the costs of specific R&D and the applicable overhead costs. The amounts reported include the costs of planning and administering R&D programs, laboratory overhead, pay of military personnel, and departmental administration.

3. Fiscal year. The accounting period for the federal government begins 1 October of a given year and ends 30 September of the following year; thus, FY 2012 began 1 October 2011 and ended 30 September 2012

4. Research, development, and R&D plant. Amounts for R&D and R&D plant include all direct, incidental, or related costs resulting from, or necessary to, performance of R&D and costs of R&D plant as defined below, regardless of whether R&D is performed by a federal agency (intramurally) or by private individuals and organizations under grant or contract (extramurally). R&D excludes routine product testing, quality control, mapping and surveys, collection of general-purpose statistics, experimental production, and the training of scientific personnel.

a. Research is defined as systematic study directed toward fuller scientific knowledge or understanding of the subject studied. Research is classified as either basic or applied, according to the objectives of the sponsoring agency.

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.

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.

b. 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.

To better differentiate between the part of the federal R&D budget that supports science and key enabling technologies (including technologies for military and nondefense applications) and the part that primarily supports testing and evaluation (mostly of defense-related systems), NSF collects development dollars from DOD in two categories: advanced technology development and major systems development.

DOD uses service codes 6.1–6.7 to classify data into the survey categories. Within DOD's research categories, basic research is classified as 6.1, and applied research is classified as 6.2. Within DOD's development categories, advanced technology development is classified as 6.3. Major systems development is classified as 6.4–6.7 and includes component developmental prototypes, demonstration and development of management support, and operational systems development.

c. Demonstration includes amounts for activities that are part of R&D (i.e., that are intended to prove or to test whether a technology or method does in fact work). Demonstrations intended primarily to make information available about new technologies or methods are excluded.

d. R&D plant is defined as R&D facilities and fixed equipment, such as reactors, wind tunnels, and particle accelerators. Amounts include acquisition of, construction of, major repairs to, or alterations in structures, works, equipment, facilities, or land for use in R&D activities at federal or nonfederal installations. Excluded from the R&D plant category are costs of expendable or movable equipment (e.g., spectrometers, microscopes) and office furniture and equipment. Also excluded are the costs of predesign studies (e.g., those undertaken before commitment to a specific facility). These excluded costs are reported under "total conduct of research and development." Obligations for foreign R&D plant are limited to federal funds for facilities that are located abroad and used in support of foreign R&D.

5. Fields of science and engineering. In this survey, there are eight broad field categories, each comprising a number of detailed fields. The broad fields are computer sciences and mathematics, engineering, environmental sciences, life sciences, physical sciences, psychology, social sciences, and other sciences not elsewhere classified (nec). The following list presents the broad fields and their associated detailed fields, together with illustrative disciplines within detailed fields.

The illustrative disciplines are intended to be guidelines, not sharp definitions; they represent examples of disciplines generally classified under each detailed field. A discipline under one detailed field may be classified under another detailed field when the major emphasis is elsewhere. Research in biochemistry, for example, might be reported as biological, agricultural, or medical, depending on the focus of the project. Human biochemistry would be classified under biological, but animal biochemistry or plant biochemistry would fall under agricultural. In no case is the research reported under more than one field. No double counting is intended or allowed.

a. Computer sciences and mathematics and computer sciences employs logical reasoning with the aid of symbols and is concerned with the development of methods of operation using such symbols or with the application of such methods to automated information systems. It comprises the detailed fields of computer sciences and mathematics. Examples of disciplines in these detailed fields are as follows:

Computer sciences: computer and information sciences (general); design, development, and application of computer capabilities to data storage and manipulation; information sciences and systems; programming languages; systems analysis

Mathematics: algebra, analysis, applied mathematics, foundations and logic, geometry, numerical analysis, statistics, topology

Other computer sciences and mathematics

b. Engineering is concerned with developing engineering principles or making specific principles usable in engineering practice. Engineering in this survey is divided into eight detailed fields: aeronautical, astronautical, chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical, metallurgy and materials engineering, and other engineering. Examples of disciplines in these detailed fields are as follows:

Aeronautical engineering: aerodynamics

Astronautical engineering: aerospace, space technology

Chemical engineering: petroleum, petroleum refining process

Civil engineering: architectural, environmental, hydraulic, hydrologic, marine, sanitary, and structural engineering; transportation

Electrical engineering: communication, electronic engineering, power

Mechanical engineering: engineering mechanics

Metallurgy and materials engineering: ceramic engineering, mining, textile engineering, welding

Other engineering: agricultural engineering, bioengineering, biomedical engineering, industrial and management engineering, nuclear engineering, ocean engineering, systems engineering

c. Environmental sciences (terrestrial and extraterrestrial) is, with the exception of oceanography, concerned with the gross nonbiological properties of the areas of the solar system that directly or indirectly affect human survival and welfare. Obligations for studies pertaining to life in the sea or other bodies of water are reported as support of oceanography, not biology. Environmental sciences comprises the detailed fields of atmospheric sciences, geological sciences, oceanography, and other environmental sciences. Examples of disciplines in these detailed fields are as follows:

Atmospheric sciences: aeronomy, extraterrestrial atmospheres, meteorology, solar science, weather modification

Geological sciences: engineering geophysics, general geology, geodesy and gravity, geomagnetism, hydrology, inorganic geochemistry, isotopic geochemistry, laboratory geophysics, organic geochemistry, paleomagnetism, paleontology, physical geography and cartography, seismology

Oceanography: biological oceanography, chemical oceanography, marine geophysics, physical oceanography

Other environmental sciences

d. Life sciences is concerned with the scientific study of living organisms and their systems. It comprises five detailed fields: agricultural sciences, biological sciences (excluding environmental biology), environmental biology, medical sciences, and other life sciences. Examples of disciplines in these detailed fields are as follows:

Agricultural sciences: agronomy, animal sciences, food science and technology, fish and wildlife, forestry, horticulture, phytopathology, phytoproduction, plant sciences, soils and soil science, general agriculture

Biological sciences (excluding environmental biology): anatomy, biochemistry, biology, biometry and biostatistics, biophysics, botany, cell biology, entomology and parasitology, genetics, microbiology, neuroscience (biological), nutrition, physiology, zoology

Environmental biology: ecosystem sciences, evolutionary biology, limnology, physiological ecology, population and biotic community ecology, population biology, systematics

Medical sciences: dentistry, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, pathology, pediatrics, pharmacology, pharmacy, preventive medicine, psychiatry, radiology, surgery, veterinary medicine

Other life sciences

e. Physical sciences is concerned with understanding of the material universe and its phenomena. It comprises the detailed fields of astronomy, chemistry, physics, and other physical sciences. Examples of disciplines in these detailed fields are as follows:

Astronomy: laboratory astrophysics; optical astronomy; radio astronomy; theoretical astrophysics; x-ray, gamma-ray, and neutrino astronomy

Chemistry: inorganic, organic, organometallic, and physical chemistry

Physics: acoustics, atomic and molecular physics, condensed-matter physics, elementary particle physics, nuclear structure, optics, plasma physics

Other physical sciences

f. Psychology deals with behavior, mental processes, and individual and group characteristics and abilities. Psychology in this survey is divided into three categories: biological aspects, social aspects, and other psychological sciences. Examples of disciplines in these categories are as follows:

Biological aspects: animal behavior, clinical psychology, comparative psychology, ethology, and experimental psychology

Social aspects: development and personality; educational, personnel, and vocational psychology and testing; industrial and engineering psychology; social psychology

Other psychological sciences

g. Social sciences is concerned with an understanding of the behavior of social institutions and groups and of individuals as members of a group. Social sciences comprises the detailed fields of anthropology, economics, political science, sociology, and other social sciences. Examples of disciplines in these detailed fields are as follows:

Anthropology: applied anthropology, archaeology, cultural anthropology and personality, social anthropology and ethnology

Economics: econometrics and economic statistics; economic systems and development; economic theory; history of economic thought; industrial, labor, and agricultural economics; international economics; macroeconomics; microeconomics; public finance and fiscal policy

Political science: area or regional studies, comparative government, history of political ideas, international relations and law, national political and legal systems, political theory, public administration

Sociology: comparative and historical sociology, complex organizations, culture and social structure, demography, group interactions, social problems and social welfare, sociological theory

Other social sciences: linguistics, research in education, research in law (e.g., attempts to assess impact on society of legal systems and practices), socioeconomic geography

h. Other sciences nec is used for multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary projects that cannot be classified within one of the broad fields of science already listed.

6. Performer. A performer is either an intramural group or an organization carrying out an operational function or an extramural organization or a person receiving support or providing services under a contract or grant.

a. Intramural performers are the agencies of the federal government. The work of these agencies is carried out directly by agency personnel. Obligations reported under this category are for activities performed or to be performed by the reporting agency itself or are for funds that the agency transfers to another federal agency for performance of work, as long as the ultimate performer is that agency or any federal agency. If the ultimate performer is not a federal agency, funds transferred are reported by the transferring agency under the appropriate extramural performer category (universities and colleges, other nonprofit institutions, or industrial firms).

Intramural activities cover not only actual intramural R&D performance but also the costs associated with planning and administration of both intramural and extramural programs by federal personnel. Intramural activities also include the costs of supplies and off-the-shelf equipment (equipment that has gone beyond the development or prototype stage) procured for use in intramural R&D. For example, an operational launch vehicle purchased from an extramural source by NASA and used for intramural performance of R&D is reported as a part of the cost of intramural R&D.

b. Extramural performers are organizations outside the federal sector that perform R&D with federal funds under contract, grant, or cooperative agreement. Only those costs associated with actual R&D performance are reported, but these costs would include costs of materials and supplies to carry out R&D activities. Note, however, that the costs of off-the-shelf supplies and equipment required to support intramural R&D and procured from extramural suppliers are considered part of the costs of intramural performance and not part of the costs of extramural performance. Extramural performers are identified as follows:

(1) Industrial firms—organizations that may legally distribute net earnings to individuals or to other organizations.

(2) Universities and colleges—institutions of higher education in the United States that offer at least 1 year of college-level study leading toward a degree. Included are colleges of liberal arts; schools of arts and sciences; professional schools, such as schools of engineering and medicine, including affiliated hospitals and associated research institutes; and agricultural experiment stations.

(3) Other nonprofit institutions—private organizations other than educational institutions whose net earnings in no part inure to the benefit of a private stockholder or individual and other private organizations organized for the exclusive purpose of turning over their entire net earnings to such nonprofit organizations.

(4) FFRDCs—R&D-performing organizations that are exclusively or substantially financed by the federal government and are supported by the federal government either to meet a particular R&D objective or in some instances to provide major facilities at universities for research and associated training purposes. Each center is administered by an industrial firm, a university, or another nonprofit institution. (A complete list of FFRDCs is provided in appendix D.)

In general, an organization included in the FFRDC category meets all the following criteria:

(a) Its primary activities include one or more of the following: basic research, applied research, development, or management of R&D (specifically excluded are organizations engaged primarily in routine quality control and testing, routine service activities, production, mapping and surveys, and information dissemination).

(b) It is a separate operational unit within the parent organization or is organized as a separately incorporated organization.

(c) It performs actual R&D or R&D management either upon direct request by the federal government or under a broad charter from the federal government but, in either case, under the direct monitoring by the federal government.

(d) It receives its major financial support (70% or more) from the federal government (usually from one agency).

(e) It has or is expected to have a long-term relationship with its sponsoring agency (about 5 years or more), as evidenced by specific obligations assumed by it and the agency.

(f) Most or all of its facilities are owned by or are funded under contract with the federal government.

(g) It has an average annual budget (operating and capital equipment) of at least $500,000.

(5) State and local governments—state and local government agencies, excluding state or local universities and colleges, agricultural experiment stations, medical schools, and affiliated hospitals. (Federal R&D funds obligated directly to such state and local institutions excluded in this category are included under the universities and colleges category in this report.) R&D activities under the state and local governments category are performed either by the state or local agencies themselves or by other organizations under grants or contracts from such agencies. Regardless of the ultimate performer, federal R&D funds directed to state and local governments are reported only under this sector.

(6) Foreign performers—foreign citizens, foreign organizations, or foreign governments, as well as international organizations (such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization; and the World Health Organization), performing R&D work abroad financed by the federal government. Excluded from the survey are U.S. agencies, organizations, or citizens performing R&D abroad for the federal government. The survey does not seek information on offshore payments. An exception in the past was made in the case of U.S. citizens performing R&D abroad under special foreign-currency funds; these activities were included under the foreign performers category but have not been collected since the mid-1990s.

(7) Private individuals—When an R&D grant or contract is awarded directly to a private individual, obligations incurred are placed under the category industrial firms.

7. Federal obligations for research performed at universities and colleges, by detailed field of science. Only seven agencies are required to respond to the portion of the survey covering federal funding of research at universities and colleges, by detailed field of science. These seven agencies—the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security; NASA; and NSF—represented over 97% of the federal research obligations to universities and colleges in FY 2012.

8. Geographic distribution of FY 2011 R&D obligations. Only the 11 largest R&D funding agencies are required to respond to the portion of the survey covering the geographic distribution of obligations for R&D and R&D plant. These 11 agencies—the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, the Interior, and Transportation; the Environmental Protection Agency; NASA; and NSF—accounted for over 98% of total federal R&D and R&D plant obligations in FY 2012.

a. For actual FY 2012 data, respondents were asked to provide the principal location (state or outlying area) of the work performed by the primary contractor, grantee, or intramural organization. When this information was not available, respondents were asked to assign the obligations to the location (state, outlying area, or U.S. offices abroad) of the headquarters of the U.S. primary contractor, grantee, or intramural organization.

b. Obligations for basic research, applied research, and development were reported as a combined R&D amount for non-DOD agencies. However, DOD agencies break out development obligations by advanced technology development and major systems development. Therefore, obligations for basic research, applied research, advanced technology development, and major systems development were reported as a combined R&D amount for DOD agencies.

Geographic distribution of DOD development funding to industry reflects only the location of prime contractors, not the location of the numerous subcontractors who perform most of the R&D.

c. Specifically omitted from the geographic portion of the survey were R&D obligations to foreign performers and support of foreign performers. Foreign performer data, by country, are reported in a separate section of the Federal Funds Survey.