U.S. Sources Funded More Than 80% of Worldwide Industrial R&D in 2011
U.S. companies performed over $294 billion in research and development (R&D) in 2011, according to the Business R&D and Innovation Survey (BRDIS) – a business survey conducted annually by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Science Foundation. Companies funded an overwhelming majority of the industrial R&D conducted in the U.S. (81.2 percent, approximately $238.8 billion). Approximately $55.3 million of industrial R&D (18.8 percent) was funded by other sources, predominately from the federal government ($31.3 billion). U.S.
Underrepresented Minorities’ Share of PhDs in S&E Stagnated 2002-2012, NSF Reports
Underrepresented minorities' share of Science and Engineering (S&E) bachelor's and master's degrees has been rising since 1993, but their share of doctorates in these fields has flattened at about 7 percent from 2002 to 2012, according to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2015 report.
NSF Announces Funding to Establish, Sustain I-Corps Nodes
The National Science Foundation (NSF) released a solicitation to establish and sustain Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Nodes as part of I-Corps’ National Innovation Network that builds upon fundamental research to guide the output of scientific discoveries closer to the development of technologies, products, processes and services that benefit society. NSF will commit up to $8.5 million to support seven I-Corps Nodes to foster understanding on how to:
White House Announces Four Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs
As a part of the Obama administration’s Big Data Research and Development Initiative, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced four awards this week, totaling more than $5 million, to establish four Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs (BD Hubs). The four BD Hubs divide the U.S. into regional collaborations, each focused on different Big Data challenges:
NSF, NIST Commit $5.8M to Establish National Consortium on Advanced Manufacturing
On National Manufacturing Day, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced they will commit $5.8 million over the next three years to establish and sustain a consortium focused on the identification of new, emerging areas of advanced manufacturing.
NSF Launches New Inclusion Initiative to Broaden Participation in STEM
The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that it would commit up to $12.5 million in pilot grants to test novel ways of broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Useful Stats: Federal Support for Science, Engineering at U.S. Universities, FY2001-11
Federal funds for science and engineering at American universities grew steadily from 2001 to 2008, jumped in 2009 and 2010 due to the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), and more or less returned to its original trajectory in 2011, according to survey data from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Federal S&E funding in most states followed a similar pattern. A few states, including Minnesota and Delaware, managed to sustain their level of federal S&E support after the Recovery Act funds ceased.
Federal R&D Spending Rises in FY 2014, But Does Not Keep Pace With Economy
Though federal support for R&D increased in FY14, federal spending on research and R&D facilities is currently at its lowest point in a decade, according to new data from the National Science Foundation (NSF). After hitting an all-time high in FY09, U.S. federal funding for R&D slid downward for the four years. By FY13, funding for R&D, and R&D plant (buildings and fixed equipment), had fallen by 19.4 percent. Federal funds only began to tick back upward in FY14, when increased support for basic research, agriculture and natural resources led to a 2.4 percent increase.
U.S. R&D Spending Remained Steady Through Recession, With Help From ARRA
The National Science Foundation (NSF) National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NSCES) has released a series of InfoBriefs that track U.S. R&D spending from 2009-10, as the country endured and began to recover from the recession. In 2009, U.S. R&D spending suffered its first decline since the 1950s, though that decline was minimal (0.6 percent) and much smaller than the drop in U.S. GDP (2.5 percent). After adjusting for inflation, the $400.5 billion spent on R&D in 2009 represents a slightly larger decrease (1.7 percent) than in current dollars.
NSF Analyzes Federal Funding for R&D from 2008 to 2010
The National Science Foundation (NSF) released a report on federal research and development (R&D) spending — Federal Funds for Research and Development: Fiscal Years 2008–10. It percents data collected from NSF surveys sent to all 27 federal agencies that were conducting R&D programs in early 2008. Total R&D spending is reported as both outlays and obligations for those three fiscal years (FY). In this report, the basis for reporting is determined by fiscal year:
M-List Recognizes High-Quality Advanced Manufacturing Universities
The Manufacturing Institute, in partnership with the National Science Foundation, has released an inaugural roster for the “M-List,” which includes academic institutions training workers up to industry standards in advanced manufacturing. M-List schools have designed their curriculums to compliment industry standards and provide their students with credentials through the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System.
NSF Report Shows National Inequality of High-Knowledge Workers
A new report by the National Science Foundation (NSF) portrays science and engineering employment in the United States as highly concentrated in a small number of states and metro areas. Most states reflected a lower S&E employment intensity than the United States as a whole. As noted in the report, the availability of a skilled workforce is an important predictor of a region’s population, productivity, and technological growth.
NSF Made Changes to New Grant-Submission Rules
On January 14, 2013, the National Science Foundation (NSF) instituted several key changes in the NSF's Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide. The new rule changes will affect several areas of the proposal process, especially for those applying online via FastLane, including a revised project summary process and review criteria.
NSF ‘Exploring’ the Establishment of National Network of Big Data Hubs
With a recent request for information (RFI), the National Science Foundation began soliciting comments on the potential establishment of a national network of big data regional innovation hubs. These hubs will help to continue and scale up the activities and partnerships launched under the National Big Data R&D Initiative and also serve as a catalyst for economic prosperity by supporting the growth of the U.S. big data industry.
NSF Launches Competitions for Community College Students to Provide Solutions for Real World Problems
The National Science Foundation (NSF) launched Community College Innovation Challenge – a Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics (STEM)-focused competition for teams comprised of up to five community college students, a faculty mentor, and a community/industry partner. Teams should propose innovative STEM-based solutions for real world problems within one of the five themes: big data; infrastructure security; sustainability; broadening participation in STEM; and, improving STEM education.
NSF: Federal Support for Academic Basic Research Remains Steady
Federal funding for basic research performed at universities and colleges decreased 0.3% between FY11 and FY12, according to a new National Science Foundation (NSF) Infobrief. In FY12, basic research at universities and colleges accounted for 11.4% of total R&D obligations, and is estimated to increase to 11.8 percent of total R&D obligations in FY13, and to 12.5 percent in FY14.
Knowledge-Intensive Industries Produce Nearly Quarter of U.S. GDP, Pay Higher Wages
Commercial knowledge and technology-intensive (KTI) industries produced nearly one-fourth of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012 ($3.8 trillion), according to a recently released National Science Foundation (NSF) Infobrief using Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
NSF Invites Universities and Colleges to Join I-Corps
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is soliciting proposals from institutions of higher education to join a network of Innovation Corps (I-Corps) regional nodes that will work cooperatively to establish, utilize and sustain a national innovation ecosystem that further enhances the development of technologies, products and processes that benefit society. NSF intends to commit approximately $2 million to establish four regional nodes that will be diverse in research areas, resources, tools, programs, capabilities, and in geographic locations.
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.
Defense, Health Lead in Federal R&D Funding
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a breakdown of federal research and development (R&D) funding by research area. The report includes FY10 spending, FY11 preliminary spending levels and proposed FY12 levels. In 2010, national defense led the list of research priorities, receiving 59 percent of all U.S. R&D spending. Health research captured another 21.5 percent of spending. NSF provides tables for each research area that separate spending by federal agency and program.
Intra-University R&D Collaboration on the Rise
Research collaborations between institutions of higher education are becoming an increasingly important facet of U.S. R&D, according to the National Science Foundation (NSF). A new NSF InfoBrief reveals that pass-through funds, R&D expenditures transferred from one institution to another, represented seven percent of total expenditures in 2009. In 2000, they represented only five percent of expenditures.
NSF Intends to Commit $14M for Two I-Corps Programs in 2013
The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that it is accepting applications for the establishment of Innovation Corps (I-Corps) teams and sites. These programs are intended to provide additional funding and other services to help researchers commercialize NSF-funded scientific discoveries at institutions of higher education.
Federal Agencies Award Nearly $50M for Robotics Research, Release Second Call for Proposals
The National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with NASA, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded nearly $50 million to grantees for the development and use of robots that cooperatively work with people to enhance individual human capabilities, performance and safety.
Specter of Budget Sequestration Looms Over November's Elections
Unless Congress and the White House take action by the end of the year, across-the-board spending reductions will go into effect for all federal agencies as a result of provisions in the Budget Control Act of 2011. The budget sequestration would reduce defense discretionary funding by 9.4 percent and non-defense funding by 8.2 percent from the 2011 baseline.
NSF Awarded $6.8B for Research, STEM Education in FY14
The National Science Foundation (NSF) was appropriated $7.2 billion in FY14 (not including mandatory accounts) of which over $6.8 billion (nearly 95 percent of NSF’s total appropriations) was used to support research and education awards. Over 1,800 institutions of higher education and other organizations received funding from NSF including 11,000 competitively reviewed awards according to a report released by the NSF. Other highlights include: