NCSES - National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
06/18/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/18/2025 07:03
Since the 1950s, Federal R&D Funding Has Shifted from Development to Research
Figure 1. Federal obligations for research, development, and R&D plant: FYs 1956-2024
(Billions of 2017 constant dollars and percent)
* Data for FY 2024 are preliminary.
Note(s):
Because of rounding, detail may not add to total. The federal fiscal year cycle changed for FY 1977, from 1 July-30 June to the current 1 October-30 September cycle; no data were collected for the 3-month transition period of July-September 1976. FYs 2009 and 2010 obligations include additional funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Beginning with FY 2016, the totals reported for development obligations represent a refinement to this category by more narrowly defining it to be "experimental development." Therefore, the data are not directly comparable with totals reported in previous years. FYs 2020-22 obligations include additional funding provided by supplemental COVID-19 pandemic-related appropriations.
Source(s):
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development.
Inflation-adjusted federal obligations for research (basic and applied), development, and research and development (R&D) plant (the physical infrastructure and facilities used for R&D activities) from FYs 1956 to 2024 show that research increased from $6.1 billion in FY 1956 to $78.7 billion in FY 2024 and obligations for development increased from $15.2 billion to $77.4 billion during the same period. Federal obligations for R&D plant increased from $2.0 billion in FY 1956 to $4.2 billion in FY 2024. Obligations represent the amount for orders placed, contracts awarded, services received, and similar transactions during a given period, regardless of when the funds were appropriated or when future payment of money is required. As a percentage of total federal obligations for R&D and R&D plant, only the share for research increased during this period, from 26% in FY 1956 to 49% in FY 2024, whereas the share for development declined, from 65% to 48%. Throughout the period, R&D plant represented a relatively small share of total federal obligations (9% in FY 1956 and 3% in FY 2024). FY 2024 data are preliminary.
For more information, see the full set of data tables at https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/federal-funds-research-development/2023-2024#data.
NCSES has reviewed this product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved its release (NCSES-DRN25-029).
Suggested Citation: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2025. Since the 1950s, Federal R&D Funding Has Shifted from Development to Research. NSF 25-344. Alexandria, VA: U.S. National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf25344.
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