Analysis Useful for Assessing University Federal R&D Funding

A new report assessing 2002 federal research and development (R&D) funding in U.S. universities and colleges finds 45 percent of all federal R&D funds went directly to the nation’s 126 medical schools. This striking discovery, the authors contend, raises the question of whether other areas having substantial R&D funding needs such as environment, energy, homeland security and education are receiving the attention they require.

The federal government's investment in university R&D has grown considerably in recent years, according to the report, and represents a pivotal part of the U.S. innovation system. The analysis from the Science and Technology Institute for the National Science Foundation, is the first of its kind to assess state-by-state trends in R&D funding for institutions of higher education. Vital Assets: Federal Investment in Research and Development at the Nation’s Universities and Colleges, draws upon FY 1996-02 data from the Research and Development in the U.S. (RaDiUS) database. Highlights from the report include:

• Total R&D funds appropriated to universities and colleges increased 45.7 percent between FY 1996-02, from $12.8 billion to $21.4 billion;
• 55 percent of all federal R&D university funding went to institutions in nine states: California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas;
• Approximately two-thirds of federal R&D funding was focused on only one area of science--life science;
• In FY 2002, 71 percent of total federal R&D funding went to the top 80 universities and colleges; and,
• Funding was primarily concentrated at only a few research universities.

Universities and colleges have always lacked long-term, consistent data to enable them to measure their success at acquiring R&D funding, according to the report, and this analysis will allow them access to accurate information on various funding issues. For example, all universities and colleges with federal R&D activity will be able to know where they stand relative to others in ability to obtain funding. Also, having access to information on funding mechanisms the federal government uses to transmit R&D funds to them, universities and colleges can better assess intellectual property issues that arise from R&D.

Other questions arise from the findings of the analysis regarding where funding is being distributed and why. According to the authors, the report is also intended to stimulate and enable further research of state trends, priorities, and resource allocations of federal R&D funding in order to answer these questions.

Vital Assets: Federal Investment in Research and Development at the Nation’s Universities and Colleges is available from the RAND Corp. at: http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1824/