Survey Highlights FY09 R&D Spending by State Agencies

An InfoBrief from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) provides a preview of the results of NSF's latest survey of R&D activities performed and funded by state government agencies in FY09. Though the InfoBrief is not a comprehensive guide to state R&D spending, the summary sheds some light on state research priorities. A total of $1.2 billion in spending was reported by state agencies, which also were asked about the type of R&D performed with those funds. Unlike past NSF reports on state R&D expenditures, this year's InfoBrief also includes a more detailed breakdown of spending by agency in California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.

NSF's survey results include spending data from 422 agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The FY07 survey, the last survey conducted on state agency spending, included Puerto Rico, but their data was not available for FY09. All spending included in this survey passed through state agency budgets and do not include direct appropriations from state legislatures to universities, colleges and private organizations. Laboratories and experiment stations controlled by state universities, nonprofit organizations and private firms also were omitted. The large number of state-related R&D expenditures left out of the survey make the results more useful at an agency-specific level, than as a thorough examination of state R&D funding. In the past, because of inconsistency in the survey responses, NSF has warned consumers of the data to exercise caution in reviewing the results. To avoid erroneous comparisons, NSF does not provide cross-year tables.

Survey respondents reported $1.2 billion in R&D spending and an additional $102 million in R&D facilities spending. Of the R&D funds, $298 million came to the state from federal agencies, with the remaining $912 million from the states themselves and other sources. States expenditures for basic research totaled $276 million, while applied research spending totaled $935 million. Research into the environment and natural resources was the leading target for state R&D spending, followed by "other," health and transportation.

The InfoBrief provides a more detailed examination of spending in the top five states by R&D expenditures. California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida accounted for about half of all state spending in FY09, according to the survey results. The Ohio Department of Development reported the largest spending level of any agency in those states, with expenditure totaling $111 million. Of that $111 million, $765 million was dedicated to environmental research, $41 million for health, $6 million for transportation and $63 million for "other." Other top R&D agencies include the California Energy Commission, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the New York Energy Research and Development Authority.

Additional data from the survey will be available later this year.

Read the InfoBrief at: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf12324/.