NSF InfoBrief: Federal R&D Obligations Dropped by 9 Percent in FY13

Funding obligated by federal agencies for research and development (R&D) and R&D plant (facilities and fixed equipment) dropped from $141 billion to $127 billion (9 percent decrease) in current dollars from FY12 to FY13, according to a new National Science Foundation (NSF) InfoBrief. NSF researchers found that federal funding for research dropped by 4 percent; support for development efforts dropped by 14 percent; and, R&D plant funds were reduced by 11 percent. They also found that basic research saw a decline of 4 percent ($1 billion in current dollars) and applied research saw a decline of 5 percent ($2 billion). A $10 billion reduction (14 percent decrease in funding) in R&D and R&D plant obligations by the Department of Defense was the driving force behind the overall drop in federal funding. However, the Department of Health and Human Services ($2 billion decrease), NASA ($293 million decrease), NSF ($214 million), and the Department of Energy ($111 million) also reported reductions in their obligations for R&D and R&D plant funding. The author projects that R&D and R&D plant funding are estimated to rise 3 percent ($4 billion in current dollars) in FY14 and 2 percent ($3 billion) in FY15. Read the InfroBrief…