GUIDE TO R&D FUNDING DATA-
R&D AT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Current Headlines

Federal R&D at Universities Shows Slight Increase in 2005

After tremendous growth during the NIH doubling campaign between 1998 and 2003, federal support of R&D at colleges and universities flattened out in FY 2004 and edged up only slightly in 2005. The latest NSF data show that federal R&D at universities and colleges reached $25.4 billion in FY 2005, up from $24.2 billion the previous year or a 2.0 percent gain after adjusting for inflation. Growth in the NIH budget slowed down in FY 2004 and 2005, and other federal R&D agencies also barely increased their support of academic R&D. NIH continues to dominate with a 63 percent share of all federal R&D funds going to academia. After the real cuts in federal research funding for 2006 and 2007 are distributed among the various performers of federal R&D, federal support for academic R&D is expected to show real declines after 2005.

- October 17, 2007

Detailed historical data and data on federal R&D by institution, discipline, etc., and data on other funding sources for university R&D are collected by the National Science Foundation's Division of Science Resources Statistics. Please refer to their publications Federal Funds for Research and Development, Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions and Academic Science and Engineering: R&D Expenditures.

The chart below provides a historical view of federal agency support of R&D at colleges and universities. Federal R&D at colleges and universities has increased steadily over the past four decades, especially NIH support.

-Chart. Federal R&D to Colleges and Universities by Agency, 1963-2005 (10/07) - Data Table

In addition to federal support, funding for R&D performed at colleges and universities comes from a variety of other funding sources. The table shows that the federal government funds 64 percent of R&D at colleges and universities. The chart shows that this ratio has been fairly consistent over time, but increasing slightly in recent year. Industry funding of academic R&D fell for three years to 2004, but increased 8 percent in 2005 to reach $2.3 billion. Still, industry funding supports only 5 percent of all R&D performed at academic institutions.

-Table I-10. R&D Expenditures at Colleges and Universities, FY 2006 (10/07)
-Chart. Sources of Academic R&D Funding by Sector, 1953-2006 (10/07) - Data Table

The chart below shows that total R&D performed by colleges and universities has increased dramatically over time.

-Chart. R&D at Colleges and Universities by Source of Funds, 1953-2006 (2/08) - Data Table

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