Data from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges indicate that while federally funded academic research and development (R & D) expenditures increased by 2.9% from FY 2005 to FY 2006, when adjusted for inflation, expenditures declined 0.1%.

The Department of Health and Human Services provided the majority of federal R & D funding to universities and colleges in FY 2006, primarily for medical and biological sciences. NSF provided the second largest amount of federal R & D funding ($3.6 billion) and was the biggest contributor to the computer sciences, environmental sciences, mathematical sciences, and physical sciences. Federally funded R & D expenditures for the social sciences totaled $711 million.

Total R & D expenditures at universities and colleges for social sciences grew by 1.1% (from $1,685 million in FY 2005 to $1,703 million in FY 2006), but funding for political science R & D dropped by 2.2% (from $324 million in FY 2005 to $317 million in FY 2006): R & D expenditures for economics grew by 4.3% (from $324 million in FY 2005 to $339 million in FY 2006); and R & D expenditures for sociology grew by 7.9% (from $370 million in FY 2005 to $400 million in FY 2006).

Overall, universities and colleges reported science and engineering R & D expenditures of $47.8 billion for FY 2006, a 1.2% increase when adjusted for inflation. State and local government R & D expenditures grew by 2.5% in FY 2006.  Industry R & D funding continued to increase for the second year in a row, growing 5.8% to $2.4 billion in FY 2006.  R & D funding from institutions increased 9.7% in FY 2006 to $9.1 billion.

Information for this report is from the September 2007 InfoBrief.