r&d

Research and Development (R&D) is an essential component of innovation and economic growth, where higher education institutions play a key role. However, with these institutions being responsible for funding just a quarter of all HERD expenditures, it is important to see the influence of outside funding sources on the fields of R&D. For example, Health and Human Services (HHS) has long been the largest contributor of funding into higher education R&D, which is reflected in life sciences being the R&D field with the most significant funding levels.

Institutions of higher education spent $97.8 billion on research and development (R&D) activities in fiscal year (FY) 2022, an increase of nearly 9% over the prior year’s $89.8 billion. Over the past decade of available data, from FY 2013-2022, higher education R&D expenditures have increased 46%, from $67.1 to $97.8 billion. However, when adjusted for inflation, the growth is more modest at 17%.

The 2021 BERD dataset reveals the highest level of business R&D spending on record. Since 2015, R&D expenditures have increased by 69% from $356 to $602 billion, representing an average annual growth of $41 billion or 9%. But what industries are contributing the most to this trend? The growth of business R&D in nonmanufacturing industries has far outpaced that of manufacturing industries since 2016, with an average growth of 15% per annum, compared to 6% for manufacturing industries. Nonmanufacturing R&D expenditures have been driven by massive increases in the information sector, among other industries, while chemicals—specifically pharmaceuticals and medicines—have led manufacturing. While nonmanufacturing industries have higher growth rates in their R&D expenditures, they still lag behind manufacturing industries in actual expenditures, but the gap is rapidly closing.

The Department of Defense recently awarded six Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program (DMCSP) grants totaling approximately $30 million from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC). The DMCSP invests long-term in critical skills, facilities, workforce development, research and development, and small business support to strengthen the national security innovation base.

Despite the pandemic and accompanying global economic slowdown in 2020 and 2021, U.S. business spending on research and development (R&D) activities increased by nearly $65 billion (12%), rising from $538 billion in 2020 to $602 billion in 2021. This increase was led by a $61 billion, or 13% increase, in R&D paid for by the company, compared to a $3 billion, 5% increase, in R&D paid for by others.

SBA recently announced its 2023 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition Stage Two prize winners. The 35 award-winning accelerator partnerships will receive $150,000 each in unrestricted funds.

The Internal Revenue Service recently published new interim guidance for companies to use when amortizing research or experimental expenditures — a new requirement for tax year 2022 created in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The law’s changeover from allowing deductions to requiring amortization was expected to create significant tax burdens for small businesses, which could prove particularly destructive to newer companies funded primarily through nonfungible grants or contracts. According to an initial analysis by Grant Thorton, the proposed rules provide additional direction to help companies identify the appropriate costs for amortization but also could require further accounting method changes. A notable clarification in the rules seems to state that companies providing research services must amortize only those research expenditures that either entail financial risk to the company or would allow the company to use any resulting product for its business. Congress has proposed legislation allowing companies to return to deducting their research expenses, but these rules have not moved forward despite widespread support.

The United States' 42 federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) received a record $26 billion in federal government funding in fiscal year 2022 — a nearly 6% increase compared to the previous year. FFRDCs expended $26.5 billion on R&D in FY 2022, marking the ninth consecutive year of nominal growth. On average, FFRDCs have increased R&D expenditures by 1.3% per annum since 2012. Yet when looking at only the three most recent years of available data, from FY 2020-2022, this average drops to just 0.4%.

A memo sent out last week by the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy outlines this year’s R&D priorities. Federal science agencies will use this memo to design their budget requests for the fiscal year 2025.

With a GDP of over $23 trillion in 2021, the United States has the world's largest economy, according to the latest available data from the World Bank. Yet, the U.S. falls behind such countries as Israel and Korea when it comes to how much is spent on research and development (R&D) in proportion to GDP. For example, Israel and Korea spend 5.56% and 4.93% of their GDP on R&D compared to the U.S.’ 3.46%.