AAAS R&D Program - Guide to R&D Funding Data

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R&D Budget and Policy Program

GUIDE TO R&D FUNDING DATA -
R&D IN THE FY 2006 BUDGET

Current Headlines

Congress Finishes FY 2006 Appropriations, Caps a Disappointing Year for R&D Funding

Note: Information on the FY 2007 budget will be available here on February 8.
Links to Agency Budget Briefings and Agency Budget Documents

On December 30, nearly three months into the fiscal year, President Bush signed the last two FY 2006 appropriations bills into law, bringing the FY 2006 appropriations process to a close. AAAS estimates that the federal R&D portfolio totals $134.8 billion in 2006, a $2.2 billion or 1.7 percent increase. But 97 percent of the increase goes to just two areas: defense weapons development and human space exploration technologies. Funding for all other federal R&D programs collectively will barely increase, and will fall nearly 2 percent after adjusting for inflation. Leaving out large federal investments in development, congressional appropriations for basic and applied research total $57.0 billion, an increase of $1.0 billion or 1.8 percent over 2005. But NASA applied research on human space flight technologies accounts for a majority of the increase, leaving most agency research portfolios with modest increases falling short of inflation, or cuts.

Many flagship federal science agencies have disappointing budgets in 2006: the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget falls for the first time in 36 years; the National Science Foundation (NSF) wins a small increase but has less in real terms for its research portfolio than in any of the last three years; the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science budget declines, and despite big increases in development funding the Department of Defense (DOD)’s basic research funding declines.

For several measures of the federal R&D investment, final FY 2006 appropriations represent another year on a downward slope from the highs of a few years ago. For trend after trend, big increases leading up to 2003 flattened out more recently, and now funding is headed down in real terms.

Details of final FY 2006 appropriations of R&D are now available in the FY 2006 appropriations wrap-up, a preview of the AAAS publication Congressional Action on R&D in the FY 2006 Budget.

AAAS R&D Funding Updates on final FY 2006 R&D appropriations are also available on the AAAS R&D web site for the 12 top R&D funding agencies.

- updated January 6, 2006

March 22 (revised) - AAAS Analysis of R&D in the FY 2006 Budget

"R&D Programs Face Another Rough Year in 2006;
Cuts for Many, Gains for Space and Homeland Security" (HTML)

(PDF version - 12 pp)

This analysis is a preview of AAAS Report XXX: R&D FY 2006, a comprehensive look at the President's budget for R&D in FY 2006. All figures in this analysis are revised estimates of R&D in the FY 2006 budget, different from figures in the preliminary analysis of February 10 and revised since a March 9 release. Supplemental information on R&D in the FY 2006 budget is available below; individual agency updates and additional tables and charts have been added. For information on R&D in the current fiscal year (FY 2005), go to the FY 2005 R&D page.

-Table 1. R&D in the FY 2006 Budget by Agency
-Table 2. Research in the FY 2006 Budget
-Table 3. R&D by Appropriations Subcommittee (new structure)
-Table 4. Homeland Security R&D by Agency
-Table 5. Interagency Science and Technology Initiatives

Updated links to agency FY 2006 budget documents

Agency Updates for FY 2006:

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA; March 3)
"USDA Boosts Competitive Grants, Cuts Earmarks and Formula Grants (HTML)" - (PDF)

Department of Commerce (DOC; March 9)
"2006 Budget Cuts NOAA and NIST R&D, Eliminates ATP (HTML)" - (PDF)

Department of Defense (DOD; Feb. 23)
"DOD 'S&T' Plummets in 2006 Budget; R&D Funding Stays Flat (HTML)" - (PDF)

Department of Energy (DOE; March 1 revised March 18)
"DOE R&D Down in 2006 Budget, With Cuts to Office of Science (HTML)" - (PDF)

Department of Homeland Security (DHS; Feb. 25)
"DHS Moderates Budget Growth, Consolidates R&D Programs in 2006 (HTML)" - (PDF)

Department of the Interior (DOT; March 2)
"USGS R&D Faces Cuts in 2006 (HTML)" - (PDF)

Department of Transportation (DOT; March 2)
"DOT Plans Increases in Highway Research (HTML)" - (PDF)

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA; March 3 revised March 18)
"VA Plans Flat Funding for Medical Research (HTML)" - (PDF)

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; March 2)
"EPA Boosts Homeland Security Research, Proposes Modest Increases for R&D Programs (HTML)" - (PDF)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA; March 9 revised March 18)
"NASA Wins Budget Increase, But Faces Tough Choices in 2006 (HTML)" - (PDF)

National Institutes of Health (NIH; March 4)
"NIH Budget Barely Increases in 2006, Lags Inflation for First Time Since Early '80s (HTML)" - (PDF)

National Science Foundation (NSF; Feb. 28)
"NSF Research Flat Again in 2006, Education Programs Face Steep Cuts (HTML)" - (PDF)

Special Update:

Homeland Security-Related R&D (March 4)
"Homeland Security R&D Funding Levels Off in 2006 (HTML)" - (PDF)

Tables on FY 2006 R&D Request by character of work (PDF):
(Data below were revised March 22, and differ from the figures in the Preliminary Analysis of February 10.)

-Table. Total R&D by Agency (revised 3/05)
-Table. Basic Research by Agency (revised 3/05)
-Table. Applied Research by Agency (revised 3/05)
-Table. Research in the FY 2006 Budget (revised 3/05)
-Table. Development by Agency (revised 3/05)
-Table. Conduct of R&D by Agency (revised 3/05)
-Table. R&D Facilities and Capital Equipment by Agency (revised 3/05)

Agency tables (from AAAS Report XXX: R&D FY 2006)

-Charts. The first pie chart shows that the top seven federal sponsors of R&D provide 96 percent of all federal support for R&D, with DOD the largest sponsor. The second pie chart shows that in basic research, NIH is by far the largest sponsor. For all research, the picture is similar. Another chart shows proposed changes for FY 2006 and the relative sizes of the R&D budgets in the seven largest agencies. The fifth chart shows the proposed R&D budget for FY 2006 by character of work; the character of work is quite different for defense and nondefense R&D. Development is by far the largest component of defense R&D; by contrast, basic research is the largest category in nondefense R&D. The remaining charts illustrate the tables above.

-Chart. FY 2006 R&D by Agency (revised 3/05)
-Chart. FY 2006 Basic Research by Agency (revised 3/05)
-Chart. FY 2006 Research by Agency (revised 3/05)
-Chart. R&D in the "Big Seven" Agencies, FY 2004-2006 (revised 3/05)
-Chart. Defense and Nondefense R&D by Character of Work, FY 2006 (revised 3/05)
-Chart. FY 2006 R&D by Function (revised 3/05)
-Chart. R&D by Appropriations Subcommittee FY 2006 (revised 3/05)
-Chart. FY 2006 R&D Request, Percent Change from FY 2005 (revised 3/05)

There is a chart comparing the FY 2006 request to FY 2005. The chart shows percentage changes between FY 2005 and FY 2006 for the 12 largest R&D funding agencies.

-Chart. FY 2006 R&D Request, Percent Change from FY 2005 (revised 3/05)

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