The AAAS Board of Directors, in accordance with Association policy, has approved publication of this report as a contribution to the understanding of an important process. The interpretations and conclusions are those of the authors and do not purport to represent the views of the Board or the Council of the Association.

This project is funded by grants from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Carnegie Corporation and Burroughs Wellcome are not responsible for any statements or views expressed in this report.

In 1996, the AAAS Center for Science, Technology, and Congress began a series of state and regional profiles of research and development (R&D) with an emphasis on the impacts of federal R&D spending. The goal of this project is to help state, local, and federal policymakers and opinion leaders as well as members of the research community better understand and appreciate the scope and importance of R&D in their state or region, and especially the current and future contributions of federal funding. The first of the reports was published in May 1996. Subsequent reports have covered nearly half of the 50 United States. This, the tenth in the series, covers Arizona. 

When this series began, the U.S. research community was facing sharp declines in R&D spending in coming years, due to efforts to balance the federal budget. At this writing, in March 1998, things look considerably brighter. Stronger economic growth, coupled with fiscal discipline, low interest rates, and slower growth in entitlements, has apparently brought the federal budget into balance several years earlier than expected. Rather than a one-third reduction in nondefense R&D over seven years, as was projected in the congressional budget resolution of mid-1995, Congress and the President are now proposing scenarios calling for significant increases in R&D spending. Understanding the role that R&D plays in a state or region’s economy and its importance for the future of that state or region as well as for the nation as a whole is no less critical in good budgetary times than it is in difficult times. The prospect of reduced federal funding for research, although diminished, has not disappeared. The ability of the research community to compete for limited resources—and they are limited even in the best of times—depends on an informed public and on decision-makers who understand the value of research. This report is intended to contribute to the knowledge base that supports such an understanding. 
  
In gathering information for The Future of Science and Technology in Arizona: Trends and Indicators, we used the most recent data available from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Because of the complexity of collecting information on a state-by-state basis, especially with regard to industry spending, the most recent NSF data detail obligations from FY 1995. We have augmented the NSF data with additional research and with projections of future government spending based on outyear funding projections from the President’s FY 1999 budget request and the balanced budget agreement. The report provides a statistical portrait of Arizona’s R&D activity; examines the distribution of federal R&D within the state; discusses university-based research, federal laboratories, and industry-based research; and assesses the potential future impacts of trends in R&D spending. 

We are grateful to the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund for supporting the Center and to our Advisory Board for their guidance and advice. We would also like to thank Kei Koizumi and Bob Rich for providing statistical data, Kimberly Loui for researching the report, and Matt Zimmerman for drafting it. 

 

Albert H. Teich Director AAAS Science and Policy Programs

Joanne Padrón Carney Assistant Director AAAS Center for Science, Technology, and Congress