[IP] Report on Federal Academic R&D Funding
Begin forwarded message:
From: fyi@xxxxxxx
Date: June 9, 2004 4:12:58 PM EDT
To: farber@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: FYI #73: Report on Federal Academic R&D Funding
Reply-To: fyi@xxxxxxx
FYI
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 73: June 9, 2004
Important Questions Raised by New Report on University R&D Funding
Although brief in length, a recent report by the Science and
Technology Policy Institute for the National Science Foundation
raises important questions that will be long discussed about the
conduct of university-based R&D in the United States. "Vital
Assets: Federal Investment in Research and Development at the
Nation's Universities and Colleges" is the first truly comprehensive
data analysis of federal R&D spending at America's institutions of
higher learning. Although primarily a reference document, the
report poses several important science policy and budgetary
questions, chief among them being:
"The profile of federally funded R&D at universities and colleges
that emerges from this analysis raises issues of proportionality.
Specifically, in the current funding profile, approximately
two-thirds of the federal funds going to universities and colleges
for the conduct of R&D is focused on only one field of science -
life science - and federal R&D funding is concentrated at only a few
research universities. These findings raise questions about whether
other critical national needs that have substantial R&D components
(such as environment, energy, homeland security, and education) are
receiving the investment they require and whether the concentration
of dollars at a few institutions is shortchanging science students
at institutions that receive little or no federal R&D funding."
The report's lead author, Donna Fossum, and her colleagues framed
this question after compiling and analyzing a database known as
RaDiUS (Research and Development in the United States.) The
database was developed for the White House Office of Science and
Technology Office by the RAND Corporation, which operated the
Institute, a federally funded research and development center, from
1992 to 2003. As explained in the report, the database tracks, "at
both the aggregate and the detailed level, all the activities that
are supported each fiscal year with the funds officially reported as
paying for (i.e., purchasing) the 'conduct of R&D' in the Budget of
the U.S. Government," for four-year accredited public and private
U.S. colleges and universities.
Using this historical database, the report's authors were able to
make significant conclusions about R&D funding in the United
States. Among them are:
From FY 1996 through FY 2002, total federal discretionary funding
increased by 27.9%. In this same period, total federal R&D funding
increased 20.9%. Also in this period, total federal R&D funding to
universities and colleges increased by 45.7%. (All figures
controlled for inflation.)
In FY 2002, medical schools received 44.9% or $9.6 billion of the
$21.4 billion in federal R&D funds made available to universities
and colleges.
In FY 2002, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
provided 67% of all federal R&D funding to universities (medical and
non-medical school R&D.) Subtracting funding for medical schools
resulted in HHS being the source of 40.6% of federal R&D funds.
Other major sources of federal R&D funding in FY 2002 were the
National Science Foundation at 11%, Department of Defense at 7%,
NASA at 5%, Department of Energy at 4%, and USDA at 3%.
In FY 2002, the top 80 universities and colleges received 71% of
total federal R&D funding to academic institutions.
From FY 1996 to FY 2002, 55% of all federal R&D university funding
went to institutions in nine states (CA, IL, MD, MA, MI, NY, NC, PA
and TX.)
In addition to the 59-page report, there is an appendix containing
detailed state charts listing every university or college receiving
federal R&D funds for research in FY 2002, and the amount received.
The report and the appendix can be viewed at
http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1824/
In the report's conclusions, the authors reiterate four important
questions raised at the outset of the report:
"Are biomedical and health care issues so clearly at the top of the
nation's agenda that they merit two-thirds of all federal funds
provided to universities and colleges for the conduct of R&D?"
"Are other critical national needs that have substantial R&D
components (such as environment, energy, homeland security, and
education) getting the attention they require?"
"Are science and engineering students at universities and colleges
that do not receive a notable share of federal R&D funds receiving a
lower-quality education? Are their career opportunities hampered as
a result?"
###############
Richard M. Jones
Media and Government Relations Division
The American Institute of Physics
fyi@xxxxxxx http://www.aip.org/gov
(301) 209-3094
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