Between fiscal years (FYs) 2023 and 2024, federal obligations to higher education institutions for the support of science and engineering (S&E) activities experienced a year-over-year decrease. This decrease of $2.1 billion (4.3%) was the first since FY 2014 to FY 2015, reveals new Federal S&E Support Survey data. Data for FY 2024, the most recent available year, indicate that obligations remain much higher than previous years, up 135% since 2020, despite a sharp decline from the prior year in FY 2023.
Note that FYs 2020 through 2022 obligations include additional funding provided by supplemental COVID-19-related appropriations, which accounts for the higher funding amount.
Adjusting for inflation, federal obligations for S&E to higher education institutions dropped nearly 7% from FY 2023 to FY 2024. Since FY 2000, obligations increased a more modest 36% compared to the current dollar 135%. In constant dollars, federal R&D obligations peaked 15 years ago. Figure 1 below shows a dual-line chart of federal obligations, with lines current and constant USD in billions and a recessionary overlay. Note that GDP implicit price deflators (2017 = 1.00000) were used to adjust current dollars for inflation.
Figure 1: Federal obligations for S&E to universities and colleges, billions of current and constant (2017) USD
Beyond the supplemental COVID-19-related appropriations mentioned above, FYs 2009 and 2010 also account for additional funds, this time from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Recovery Act funding provided a much-needed boost to federal spending, which allowed the U.S. to avoid a major decline in research activity, with most of ARRA's support for R&D having targeted toward universities and colleges.
SSTI has long been keeping a close eye on policies like ARRA and continues to do so with newer legislation. For SSTI's original 2009 coverage of the TBED-supporting measures within ARRA, click here, and for a 2012 look back at how the ARRA helped to maintain U.S. R&D spending, especially at universities and colleges, despite the Great Recession, click here.
Most federal obligations for S&E come from HHS
Across the entire span of Federal S&E Support Survey data, Health and Human Services (HHS) had the largest obligations of any agency for S&E to universities and colleges. In FY 2024, HHS accounted for approximately 59% of total federal obligations, followed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) with approximately 15% and the Department of War (i.e. DOD) with 11%.
While most agencies' obligations were lower than the prior fiscal year, NCSES notes that for many agencies funds initially appropriated in FY 2022 were not completely obligated until FY 2023. In other words, FY 2023 obligations included funds from both the FY 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act and some FY 2022 appropriations. This may help explain the large decrease after a strong upward trend, as pandemic relief dollars continued to trickle.
Figure 2 below includes a donut chart for every year of available data, spanning FY 1963 through FY 2024, breaking down many of the top agencies' obligations over time.
Figure 2: Federal obligations for S&E to universities and colleges, by agency, millions of USD
Looking at the same data in a different way, Figure 3 below shows a stacked percentage area chart. Hovering over any agency will display its share of total obligations for that FY. Data are sorted by FY 2024 values.
Figure 3: Federal obligations for S&E to universities and colleges, by agency
Refer to the Federal S&E Support Survey page for more detail on the methodology and any notes, limitations on the data.
In an upcoming issue of the Digest, SSTI will take a deeper dive into the Federal S&E Support Survey, exploring detailed state- and institution-level data. To ensure that you receive the full Digest by email, or if you would like to share the Digest with your friends and colleagues, click here.