Trends in Federal Support of Research and Graduate Education (2001) / Chapter Skim
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2 Field Trends in Federal Research Support
2 Field Trends in Federal Research Support
Pages 21-48
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From page 21... ...
The Foundation nevertheless approaches changes cautiously to minimize discontinuities in the time series. In view of the increased concern about the overall and individual agency research portfolios, the field taxonomy in the Federal Funds Survey deserves even more attention.
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From page 23... ...
is of course a distinguishing characteristic in international comparisons.4 RECENT TRENDS IN RESEARCH FUNDING As the STEP Board observed in its previous report, although the overall level of federal research funding in 1997 was about the same as in 1993, there were markedly divergent trends among fields of research, with 12 of the 22 fields experiencing a decline in federal funding (four of them by margins of 20 percent or more) while other fields prospered (one computer science by more than 20 percent)
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From page 24... ...
Basic engineering research fared well compared with overall research in engineering. While total engineering research was just 2.0 percent more in 1999 than in 1993 in real terms, basic engineering research was 21.7 percent more.
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From page 25... ...
As a result, the share of federally funded engineenng research performed by universities increased slightly, from 16.1 to 16.7 percent.8 From 1993 to 1999, federal funding of university research increased by a larger percentage than federal funding of total research or decreased by a smaller percentage in most fields of engineenng: aeronautical (24.5 vs. 20.9 percent)
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From page 26... ...
The university sharein 1999 was larger 37.6 percent if we assume that NSF changes are a function of the 1996 reclassification and the agency supported mechanical engineering to the same extent in 1999 as in 1993. Federal funding of basic engineering research at universities also increased, from $647.4 million in 1993 to $725.2 million in 1999, although that increase of 12.0 percent was less than the increase of 21.7 percent in overall federal funding of basic engineering.
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From page 27... ...
In summary, universities, which play a relatively small role in performing federally funded engineering research, fared relatively well compared with other performers in most fields during the period of budget cuts and recovery, and within universities, basic research did better than applied research in most fields. Nevertheless, there is less funding in two of the seven fields in 1999 than there was in 1993 (electrical and mechanical engineering)
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From page 28... ...
University-Performed Research. Federal obligations for university research in the physical sciences increased by $14 million (1.1 percent)
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From page 29... ...
The university role in astronomy research increased the most, because federal funding of astronomy research at universi ties had increased substantially despite an overall decrease in federal support for astronomy research. Universities conducted 26.0 percent of all federally funded astronomy research in 1999, compared with 17.5 percent in 1993.
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From page 30... ...
Since 1996, funding for university research increased each year while overall funding stayed flat. Thus in 1999, federal funding of university research in the physical sciences was larger than in 1993 by 1.1 percent, while overall federal funding of the physical sciences remained 17.7 percent less.
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From page 31... ...
This occurred mostly because, although cutting its overall level of support, DOD increased support of applied mathematics, while other agencies increased support of basic and applied research about the same. Although federal funding of basic computer science research increased by 38.1 percent from 1993 to 1999 (from $317.4 million to $438.3 million)
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From page 32... ...
Federal obligations for medical sciences research increased from $4.9 billion in 1993 to $6.8 billion in 1999, iiMost NIH R&D 87 percent in 1999 is research, not development. TRENDS IN FEDERAL SUPPORT OF RESEARCH AND GRADUATE EDUCATION or 38.3 percent.
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From page 33... ...
Federal obligations for research and basic research at universities increased in every field of the life sciences from 1993 to 1999, more in some than others. In two cases, university funding increased by a greater percentage than total research funding for all performers.
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From page 34... ...
The pattern was similar for basic research. In medical sciences, NIH is the largest funder, accounting for 92.1 percent of all federal funding at universities.
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From page 35... ...
However, oceanography is another field substantially affected by a change in NSF's criteria for classifying research in 1996.~2 NSF funding of the field increased from $84.5 million in 1995 to $209.4 million in 1996. If NSF support is held constant at the 1995 level, assuming that only the classification of the research changed and not the nature of the research funded, there was no change in the overall level of federal funding (+0.1 percent)
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From page 36... ...
At the same time, NSF funding of basic geology research dropped by $60.7 million and basic atmospheric research by $8.6 million. If we assume that NSF changed its classification criteria rather than what it funded, and hold its
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From page 37... ...
In the same time penod, federal funding of oceanography research at universities increased by 46.9 percent (from $163.8 to $240.6 millions. Since this was almost all basic research, funding of basic research increased by nearly the same percentage: 44.1 percent.
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From page 38... ...
Although USDA and DOD reduced support of basic research, DHHS maintained its support while NSF increased its by 89.6 percent. As a result, university basic research funding increased by 15.7 percent.
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From page 39... ...
These include DOE physics support and DOD electrical engineenng support. But other fields whose dominant funder had less research funding overall nevertheless have enjoyed increased funding, e.g., DOD computer science support and DOD metallurgy/matenals engineenng support.
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From page 40... ...
Despite funding cuts, DOD maintained its support of computer science research (2 percent more in 1999 than in 1993 in real terms) ; but more important, a number of other agencies increased their support substantially.
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From page 41... ...
NIH provided 81 percent of the federal funding of biology research in 1999, compared with 80 percent in 1993. It did increase somewhat its share of federal funding of research in medical sciences, to 82 percent in 1999, compared with 79 percent in 1993.
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From page 42... ...
Although the percentages did not change much in 1999, overall research funding was 26 percent less in 1999 than in 1993 because all the funders but EPA and USDA reduced their support, including DOD (-55 percent) , DOE (-19 percent)
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From page 43... ...
-53.9% -37.4% -61.1 % -40.5% -36.8% -60.8% Metallurgy/materials 1.5% 78.6% -39.5% 7.7% 43.6% -55.3% Engineering other 25.1% 50.5% 20.1% 36.1% 58.9% 16.8% Physical Sciences, total -17.7% -4.8% -42.4% 1.1% 6.9% -22.9% Astronomy -1.1% -3.0% 54.7% 46.9% 39.9% 126.8% Chemistry -13.4% -8.6% -22.1 % -2.0% -7.5% 33.1 % Physics -24.6% -5.2% -54.4% -7.4% 8.4% -50.4% Life Sciences, total 28.3% 31.0% 24.4% 31.8% 28.5% 39.0% Biological Sciences 21.2% 17.8% 28.1% 39.9% 32.7% 60.2% Environmental Biology 16.0% 12.5% 18.4% 8.7% 4.7% 17.0% Agricultural Sciences 6.7% 11.1% 2.7% 21.7% 18.7% 24.6% Medical Sciences 38.3% 48.9% 25.9% 20.5% 21.0% 19.5% Math/Computer science, total 44.8% 28.8% 56.3% 21.2% 23.2% 16.1% Mathematics 6.4% 2.6% 18.6% -13.5% -16.5% 58.9% Computer science 64.4% 38.1% 78.2% 34.3% 39.3% 25.2% Environmental Sciences, total 6.3% -5.6% 23.3% 5.6% 4.6% 23.5% Atmospheric 7.1% -5.3% 29.8% 13.7% 11.1% 62.7% Geological -25.9% -33.5% -8.4% -31.6% -26.5% -95.1 % Oceanography* 25.9% 66.0% -6.1% 46.9% 44.1% 238.4% Social Sciences, total 13.5% 13.8% 13.4% -4.0% 15.7% -24.3% Psychology, total 2.9% 26.1% -15.9% 1.5% 20.3% -24.6% NOTE: Constant dollar conversions were made using the GDP deflators in OMB, Historical Tables: Budget of the United States Government, FY 2002, Table 10.1.
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From page 48... ...
. _ Total Research ~ Total Basic Research University Research Total Applied Research ~~ I- _ 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Fiscal year FIGURE 2-13 Federal funding of chemistry research, FY 1 990-FY 1999 (in constant dollars)
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