R&D Budget and Policy Program

Overview

Since 1976, the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program has sponsored studies and public meetings on funding and policy issues affecting federal government support of research and development (R&D). The Program's purpose is to contribute to informed public discussion regarding federal support for R&D by providing timely, objective, and accurate information on federal R&D support. The Program provides statistical and analytical perspectives on R&D funding in one printed annual report and numerous web-based analyses. The report, AAAS Report: Research and Development, examines the President's budget proposals for R&D in the coming fiscal year (FY) for key departments and disciplines in collaboration with contributors from other scientific, engineering and higher education societies. The most recent report, AAAS Report XXXVI: Research and Development FY 2012, was published in April 2011.

The Program also publishes occasionally a Science and Technology Policy Yearbook of writings on major issues in science and technology policy for that year. The 2003 Yearbook is the most recent yearbook published.

AAAS R&D Web Site

In 1995, due to heightened interest in Congressional appropriations action, the Program launched the AAAS R&D Web Site providing comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of R&D funding as Congress acts on appropriations. If you are new to this site, you may want to visit our Introduction for New Users page. As the appropriations process moves forward, the Program loads our data tables and analyses on federal R&D, including individual analyses of the largest R&D funding agencies, onto this Web site as soon as they are available. The Program hopes to capture appropriations at all stages of the process: the President's budget; after House action; after Senate action; and after agreement in conference over differences in House and Senate appropriations bills. Currently, we are tracking the FY 2012 proposed budget for R&D. We hope that this service will enable the interested public to track the status of federal R&D at every stage of the appropriations process. The most recent analyses are available in the What's New section.

Other Activities

The AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program also sponsors the annual AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy. Held in Washington each spring, the Forum provides a venue for discussion and debate about budget and policy issues facing the science and technology policy community. Since its beginning in 1976, it has established itself as the major public meeting in the U.S. on science and technology issues. The most recent Forum was May 5-6, 2011, at the International Trade Center in Washington, DC. The next Forum will be April 26-27, 2012, at the same venue.

The Program also sponsors a number of activities related to science and technology policy. They include a series of seminars on science and technology policy issues, and occasional symposia and lectures. We also publish documents on science and technology policy.

The R&D Budget and Policy Program is part of AAAS Science and Policy Programs. It implements AAAS objectives in those areas where science, government, and society intersect. Please click on the link above to find out more about Science and Policy Programs.