[Analytical Perspectives]
[Crosscutting Programs]
[5. Research and Development]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]
I. INTRODUCTION
U.S. investments in science and technology in past decades have
greatly enhanced the standard of living and quality of life we enjoy
today and have generated significant economic growth in the United
States. Advances have been possible only with the support of both public
and private investment in research and development (R&D).
The U.S. Government boasts the highest level of R&D investment in the
world: $132 billion. However, unlike 40 years ago, when Federal R&D
expenditures were double those of the private sector, industry R&D
spending now exceeds Federal Government R&D spending.
While the U.S. investment is, by a wide margin, the largest in the
world, we also strive to make sure it is going to the highest priority
and highest quality work. The President's 2006 Budget maintains a strong
focus on winning the war against terrorism, while moderating the growth
in overall spending, and this focus is reflected in the R&D the
Administration proposes for 2006. In addition, recognizing that
fundamental research fuels future innovation and technology development,
the Administration has maintained high levels of support for priority
R&D areas such as nanotechnology, information technology, hydrogen
energy, and space exploration.
The Federal Government funds many types of R&D. First, the Government
is the primary supporter of basic research, which is directed toward
greater understanding of fundamental scientific phenomena. Basic
research is the source of tomorrow's discoveries and new capabilities,
and this long-term research will fuel further gains in economic
productivity, quality of life, and homeland and national security. The
Government has an important role in supporting applied research, which
is driven by more targeted scientific questions and specific needs, and
development, which applies scientific knowledge and technology to
specific needs. Together, these R&D activities are critical for ensuring
that agencies effectively implement their missions.
In addition to direct R&D investments, the Federal Government also
helps stimulate private investment and provide incentives for private
sources to continue to fuel the discovery and innovation of tomorrow.
The Administration proposes to do this, for instance, by permanently
extending the Research and Experimentation Tax Credit.
The Administration continues to meet the President's charge to improve
the management, performance, and results of the Federal Government. By
strengthening effective programs and addressing lower performers through
reforms or reallocations to higher performers, we will increase the
productivity of the Federal R&D portfolio and transcend the attention
given to year-to-year marginal increases or decreases. Additionally,
while it can be difficult to assess the outcomes of some research
programs, many of which may not fully pay off for years, agencies can
establish meaningful program goals and measure annual progress and
performance in appropriate ways.
Towards that end, the Administration continues to implement and
improve investment criteria for R&D programs across the Government as
part of the President's Management Agenda. Further, the Government will
coordinate interrelated and complementary R&D efforts among agencies,
combining programs where appropriate to improve effectiveness and
eliminate redundancy, to leverage these resources to the greatest
effect.
This chapter discusses how the Administration will improve the
performance of R&D programs through investment principles and other
means that encourage and reinforce quality research. Highlights of the
coordination of multi-agency R&D priority areas are also included. The
chapter concludes with details of R&D funding across the Federal
Government.
II. IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF R&D PROGRAMS
R&D is critically important for keeping our Nation economically
competitive, and it will help solve the challenges we face in health,
defense, energy, and the environment. Therefore, and consistent with the
Government Performance and Results Act, every Federal R&D dollar must be
invested as effectively as possible. The discussion below will focus on
the use of R&D investment criteria and the effect on overall performance
of research earmarks on the Federal R&D portfolio.
R&D Investment Criteria
The Administration is improving the effectiveness of the Federal
Government's investments in R&D by applying transparent investment
criteria in analyses that inform recommendations for program funding and
management. R&D performance assessment must be done with care. Research
often leads scientists and engineers down unpredictable pathways with
unpredictable results. This outcome can require special consideration
when measuring an R&D program's performance against its initial goals.
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With this in mind, the Administration is improving methods for setting
priorities based on expected results, including applying specific
criteria that programs or projects must meet to be started or continued,
clear milestones for gauging progress, and improved metrics for
assessing results.
As directed by the President's Management Agenda, the R&D Investment
Criteria accommodate the wide range of R&D activities, from basic
research to development and demonstration programs, by addressing three
fundamental aspects of R&D:
Relevance--Programs must be able to articulate why they are
important, relevant, and appropriate for Federal investment;
Quality--Programs must justify how funds will be allocated
to ensure quality; and
Performance--Programs must be able to monitor and document
how well the investments are performing.
In addition, R&D projects and programs relevant to industry are
expected to apply criteria to determine the appropriateness of the
public investment, enable comparisons of proposed and demonstrated
benefits, and provide meaningful decision points for completing or
transitioning the activity to the private sector.
As discussed throughout the 2006 Budget, the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) and the agencies are working on other initiatives as part
of the President's Management Agenda. For the Budget and Performance
Integration initiative, the Administration developed the Program
Assessment Rating Tool (PART) to consistently assess the effectiveness
of programs. A section of the PART specifically addresses the assessment
of R&D program management and performance and is aligned with the R&D
Investment criteria. In the last three years, agencies have completed
PART assessments of 84 R&D programs. The results of these PART
assessments may be found on the web at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
part/.
Performance assessments help policy makers identify those programs
that are the most effective and worthy of funding; however, the
Administration does not allocate funding levels and initiate management
reforms strictly by formula or based solely on PART results. For
instance, funding may be reduced for ``effective'' programs that have
achieved what they set out to do, and ``ineffective'' programs might
receive more money if it is clear it would help them become more
effective. The PART provides information that leads to more informed
decisions. For example, as a result of the PART review process, the
Department of Veterans Affairs designed new performance measures that
will enable its senior management to better assess the agency's overall
research direction and its contributions to the health of veterans and
the general population. In another case, the PART informed a decision in
the 2006 Budget to eliminate funds for the Department of Energy's oil
and gas R&D programs, which were determined to often duplicate private-
sector R&D efforts and generate benefits primarily for the private
sector.
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R&D agencies will continue to integrate the R&D Criteria more
meaningfully into the budget formulation process in the coming year.
Interagency R&D initiatives use the R&D Criteria in developing plans and
reports, such as ``A 21st Century Frontier for Discovery: The Physics of
the Universe.'' Based on lessons learned and other feedback from experts
and stakeholders, the Administration will continue to improve the R&D
Investment Criteria and their implementation to achieve more effective
management of R&D programs and better-informed budget-allocation
decisions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
President's Management Agenda Initiative
Research and Development Investment Criteria
FY 2005, Quarter 1 Status: RED, Progress: YELLOW
The initiative's red status score reflects the limited success many agencies have had in the Government-wide
implementation of the initiative. The yellow progress score indicates that the initiative has momentum, as some
agencies have made improvements this year, including the National Science Foundation and the Department of
Energy. More R&D agencies are using the criteria to assess their programs, due to the improved alignment of the
R&D Investment Criteria with the R&D PART for program-level assessments. All of the top 13 R&D agencies are
using the R&D PART to assess their programs this year. Most of the major R&D agencies submitted 2006 Budget
requests that, to varying degrees, observe the principles of the Investment Criteria. To achieve a yellow
status score, half of the R&D programs assessed for each agency using the R&D PART must receive at least a
Moderately Effective rating, which is proving to be a challenging requirement. Agencies must also integrate the
R&D Criteria framework into their budget proposals, including using detailed criteria-based assessments to
justify specific requests or allocation changes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Research Earmarks
The Administration strongly supports awarding research funds based on
merit review through a competitive process. Such a system generally
ensures that the best research is supported. Research earmarks--in
general the assignment of money during the legislative process for use
only by a specific organization or project--are counter to a merit-based
competitive selection process. Earmarks signal to potential
investigators that there is an acceptable alternative to creating
quality research proposals for merit-based consideration, including the
use of political influence or appeals to parochial interests. Such an
alternative is seldom the most effective use of taxpayer funds.
Unfortunately, the practice of earmarking to colleges, universities
and other entities for specific research projects has expanded
dramatically in recent years. The American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS) recently estimated that R&D earmarks total
$2.1 billion in 2005, an increase of nine percent over the Association's
2004 estimate.
Some argue that earmarks help spread the research money to states or
institutions that would receive less research funding through other
means. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that this is not the
main role earmarks play; often only a minor portion of academic earmark
funding goes to the states with the smallest shares of Federal research
funds. Meanwhile, earmarks help some rich institutions become richer.
Some proponents of earmarking assert that earmarks provide a means of
funding unique projects that would not be recognized by the conventional
peer-review process. To address this concern, a number of research
agencies have procedures and programs to reward ``out-of-the-box''
thinking. For example, within the Department of Defense (DOD), the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency seeks out high risk, high
payoff scientific proposals, and program managers at the National
Science Foundation (NSF) set aside a share of funding for higher-risk
projects in which they see high potential.
Often Congressional direction has little to do with an agency's
mission. In addition to earmarked funding noted above, the Congress also
directed DOD to fund research on a wide range of diseases, including
breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes, leukemia, and
muscular dystrophy. Funding at DOD for such research totals about $900
million in 2005 alone, an increase of about $200 million in just one
year. While research on these diseases is very important, it is
generally not unique to the U.S. military and can be better carried out
and coordinated within civil medical research agencies, without
disruption to the military mission. At the same time, intrusion of
earmarks into the peer-review processes of civilian medical research
agencies would have a significant detrimental impact on funding the most
important and promising research.
The Administration will continue to work with the Congress, academic
organizations, colleges and universities to discourage the practice of
research earmarks and to achieve our common objectives.
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III. PRIORITIES FOR FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The 2006 Budget requests $132 billion for Federal R&D funding, which
targets key research investments within agencies such as NSF, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of
Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the
National Institutes of Health (Table 5-2 provides details by agency).
The ``Federal Science and Technology'' (FS&T) budget (shown in Table
5-3) highlights the creation of new knowledge and technologies more
consistently and accurately than the traditional R&D data collection.
The FS&T budget emphasizes research, does not count funding for defense
development, testing, and evaluation, and totals less than half of
Federal R&D spending. The 2006 Budget requests $61 billion for FS&T.
Over the last year, the Office of Science and Technology Policy and
OMB have worked with the Federal agencies and the science community to
identify top priorities for Federal R&D. These are in areas critical to
the Nation, such as information technologies, and in emerging fields,
such as nanotechnology, that will provide new breakthroughs across many
fields. Some priorities, such as hydrogen R&D, address newly recognized
needs. The discussion below focuses on five multi-agency priority areas
and concludes with how the Federal Government stimulates private R&D
investment.
Multi-Agency R&D Priorities
The 2006 Budget targets important research investments that must be
coordinated across multiple agencies. Three of these multi-agency
initiatives--nanotechnology, information technology R&D, and climate
change science--are coordinated by three separate dedicated offices to
ensure unified strategic planning and implementation. The Administration
is strengthening interagency coordination for other priority areas--such
as combating bioterrorism. The Administration will continue to analyze
other areas of critical need that could benefit in the future from
improved focus and coordination among agencies.
Combating Terrorism R&D: Since September 2001, the Administration
increased its focus on R&D that aids in securing the homeland. Research
programs across the Federal Government are being coordinated to develop
systems to help prevent future terrorist attacks, minimize our Nation's
vulnerability to terrorist acts, and respond and recover if an attack
should occur.
The President issued 12 Homeland Security Presidential Directives
(HSPD) that call for, among other things, increased interagency
coordination of R&D to defend against biological threats to our people,
economy, agriculture, food and water supplies. For example, one HSPD,
Defense of United States Agriculture and Food, establishes a national
policy to provide protection against an attack on the agriculture and
food systems.
In 2004, multi-agency efforts made significant progress. For example,
the Department of Homeland Security established both the National
Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center to study biological
agents and the National Bioforensic Analysis Center to provide a world
class forensics center. These centers join other DOD, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, and National Institutes of Health facilities at Fort
Detrick to create a National Interagency Biodefense Campus that will
become a focal point for countermeasures research. Together, these
agencies will establish research priorities to reduce the threat of
biological terrorism.
Networking and Information Technology R&D: The budget provides $2
billion for the multi-agency Networking and Information Technology
Research and Development (NITRD) program, which focuses and coordinates
agency research efforts in advanced computing systems, networks,
software, and information-management technologies. The agencies involved
in this program work together enabling more rapid advancement than they
could achieve working on their own. These advances have an impact on
virtually every sector of the economy.
In 2004, agencies with responsibilities for high-end computing--ultra-
powerful supercomputers, components and software--made significant
progress in implementing the recommendations of the interagency High-End
Computing Revitalization Task Force. For example, new supercomputing
activities at both NASA and the Department of Energy (DOE) were begun
and will be managed in accord with the Federal Plan for High-End
Computing.
To enable a better understanding of the potential scientific impact of
high-end capability computing, the NITRD National Coordination Office
will commission a National Academy of Sciences study that identifies and
categorizes important scientific questions and technological problems
for which an extraordinary advancement in our understanding is difficult
or impossible without leading-edge scientific simulation capabilities.
Nanotechnology R&D: The budget provides $1 billion for the multi-
agency National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). The NNI focuses on R&D
that creates materials, devices, and systems that exploit the
fundamentally distinct properties of matter as it is manipulated at the
atomic and molecular levels. The results of NNI-supported R&D could lead
to breakthroughs in disease detection and treatment, manufacturing at
the nanoscale level, environmental monitoring and protection, energy
production and storage, and creating electronic devices that have even
greater capabilities than those available today.
Guided by the NNI, participating agencies will continue to focus on
fundamental and applied research through investigator-led activities,
multidisciplinary centers of excellence, education and training of
nanotechnology workers, and infrastructure development, including user
facilities and networks that are broadly available to researchers from
across the sci
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entific research community. For example, the 2006 Budget provides
funding for DOE to complete construction on four new major nanoscale
science research centers located around the country. In addition,
agencies continue to maintain a focus on the responsible development of
nanotechnology, with attention to the human and environmental health
impacts, as well as ethical, legal, and other societal issues.
Climate Change R&D: The 2006 Budget for the Climate Change Science
Program (CCSP) continues to support the goals outlined in the CCSP
Strategic Plan, which was released in July 2003. The Budget reflects the
coordinated planning efforts of the 13 departments and agencies that
participate in CCSP. Beginning in FY 2006, CCSP will formally track the
expected actions, deliverables, and milestones for each of its programs
in order to assess overall performance. Additional detail on individual
agency activities will be provided in the Administration's FY 2006
edition of Our Changing Planet.
The Climate Change Technology Program (CCTP) continues to prioritize
the portfolio of Federally funded climate change technology R&D
consistent with the President's National Climate Change Technology
Initiative (NCCTI). In 2005, the CCTP will publish a draft Strategic
Plan and solicit comments from the scientific community and the public.
The CCTP will also identify within its portfolio a subset of NCCTI
priority activities, defined as discrete R&D activities that address
technological challenges, which, if solved, could advance technologies
with the potential to dramatically reduce, avoid, or sequester
greenhouse gas emissions.
Hydrogen R&D: In 2004, the Hydrogen R&D Interagency Task Force,
established by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, initiated a
plan to coordinate agency efforts in key research areas, such as novel
materials for fuel cells and hydrogen storage, inexpensive and durable
catalysts, and hydrogen production from alternative sources. In 2005,
the task force will implement this plan and expand public outreach and
collaboration with the private sector, state agencies, and other
stakeholders. The U.S., through the Department of Energy, will continue
to lead the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy,
established in 2003 to coordinate hydrogen research among 15 nations
representing two thirds of global energy consumption.
DOE will continue the President's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative to
accelerate the worldwide availability and affordability of hydrogen-
powered fuel cell vehicles. The initiative, which includes an 11-percent
increase in targeted basic research investments in 2006, focuses on
research to advance hydrogen production, storage, and infrastructure.
The Initiative complements the Department's FreedomCAR Partnership with
the auto industry, which is aimed at developing viable hydrogen fuel
cell vehicle technology.
Stimulating Private Investment
Along with direct spending on R&D, the Federal Government has sought
to stimulate private R&D investment through incentives in the Internal
Revenue Code. Current law provides a 20-percent tax credit for private
research and experimentation expenditures above a certain base amount.
The credit, which expired in June 2004, was extended again for another
18 months, through 2005, in the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004.
The budget proposes to make the Research and Experimentation (R&E) tax
credit permanent. The proposed extension will cost nearly $30 billion
over the period from 2006 to 2010. In addition, a permanent tax
provision lets companies deduct, up front, the costs of certain kinds of
research and experimentation, rather than capitalize these costs. Also,
equipment used for research benefits from relatively rapid tax
depreciation allowance. Table 5-1 shows a forecast of the costs of the
tax credit.
Table 5-1. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF THE RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTATION TAX CREDIT
(Revenue loss, dollar amounts in millions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2006-10
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Law...................................... 5,080 2,100 910 390 180 50 3,630
Proposed Extension............................... ....... 2,097 4,601 5,944 6,889 7,669 27,200
--------------------------------------------------------------
Total.......................................... 5,080 4,197 5,511 6,334 7,069 7,719 30,830
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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IV. FEDERAL R&D DATA
Federal R&D Funding
R&D is the collection of efforts directed towards gaining greater
knowledge or understanding and applying knowledge toward the production
of useful materials, devices, and methods. R&D investments can be
characterized as basic research, applied research, development, R&D
equipment, or R&D facilities, and OMB has used those or similar
categories in its collection of R&D data since 1949.
Basic research is defined as systematic study directed toward greater
knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and
of observable facts without specific applications towards processes or
products in mind.
Applied research is systematic study to gain knowledge or
understanding necessary to determine the means by which a recognized and
specific need may be met.
Development is systematic application of knowledge toward the
production of useful materials, devices, and systems or methods,
including design, development, and improvement of prototypes and new
processes to meet specific requirements.
Research and development equipment includes acquisition or design and
production of movable equipment, such as spectrometers, microscopes,
detectors, and other instruments.
Research and development facilities include the acquisition, design,
and construction of, or major repairs or alterations to, all physical
facilities for use in R&D activities. Facilities include land,
buildings, and fixed capital equipment, regardless of whether the
facilities are to be used by the Government or by a private
organization, and regardless of where title to the property may rest.
This category includes such fixed facilities as reactors, wind tunnels,
and particle accelerators.
There are over twenty Federal agencies that fund R&D in the U.S. The
nature of the R&D that these agencies fund depends on the mission of
each agency and on the role of R&D in accomplishing it. Table 5-2 shows
agency-by-agency spending on basic and applied research, development,
and R&D equipment and facilities.
Table 5-2. FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SPENDING
(Budget authority, dollar amounts in millions)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dollar Percent
2004 2005 2006 Change: Change: 2005
Actual Estimate Proposed 2005 to 2006 to 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Agency
Defense............................................................................ 65,462 70,422 70,839 417 1%
Health and Human Services.......................................................... 28,047 28,752 28,807 55 ..............
NASA............................................................................... 10,574 10,990 11,527 537 5%
Energy............................................................................. 8,779 8,629 8,528 -101 -1%
National Science Foundation........................................................ 4,160 4,082 4,194 112 3%
Agriculture........................................................................ 2,222 2,415 2,039 -376 -16%
Homeland Security.................................................................. 1,053 1,185 1,467 282 24%
Commerce........................................................................... 1,137 1,134 1,013 -121 -11%
Transportation..................................................................... 661 748 808 60 8%
Veterans Affairs................................................................... 866 784 786 2 ..............
Interior........................................................................... 627 615 582 -33 -5%
Environmental Protection Agency.................................................... 661 572 569 -3 -1%
Other.............................................................................. 1,089 1,243 1,145 -98 -8%
------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................................................................ 125,338 131,571 132,304 733 1%
Basic Research
Defense............................................................................ 1,358 1,513 1,319 -194 -13%
Health and Human Services.......................................................... 14,780 15,124 15,246 122 1%
NASA............................................................................... 2,473 2,368 2,199 -169 -7%
Energy............................................................................. 2,847 2,887 2,762 -125 -4%
National Science Foundation........................................................ 3,524 3,432 3,480 48 1%
Agriculture........................................................................ 829 851 788 -63 -7%
Homeland Security.................................................................. 68 85 112 27 32%
Commerce........................................................................... 43 58 71 13 22%
Transportation..................................................................... 20 38 41 3 8%
Veterans Affairs................................................................... 347 315 315 ............ ..............
Interior........................................................................... 37 36 30 -6 -17%
Environmental Protection Agency.................................................... 113 66 70 4 6%
Other.............................................................................. 149 155 175 20 13%
------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal......................................................................... 26,588 26,928 26,608 -320 -1%
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Applied Research
Defense............................................................................ 4,351 4,851 4,139 -712 -15%
Health and Human Services.......................................................... 13,007 13,274 13,410 136 1%
NASA............................................................................... 3,006 2,497 3,233 736 29%
Energy............................................................................. 2,693 2,760 2,709 -51 -2%
National Science Foundation........................................................ 266 279 276 -3 -1%
Agriculture........................................................................ 1,055 1,093 942 -151 -14%
Homeland Security.................................................................. 247 346 399 53 15%
Commerce........................................................................... 828 825 763 -62 -8%
Transportation..................................................................... 349 423 494 71 17%
Veterans Affairs................................................................... 476 430 433 3 1%
Interior........................................................................... 538 530 495 -35 -7%
Environmental Protection Agency.................................................... 423 365 386 21 6%
Other.............................................................................. 599 562 553 -9 -2%
------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal......................................................................... 27,838 28,235 28,232 -3 ..............
Development
Defense............................................................................ 59,701 63,903 65,331 1,428 2%
Health and Human Services.......................................................... 41 54 28 -26 -48%
NASA............................................................................... 3,189 3,727 3,511 -216 -6%
Energy............................................................................. 1,992 1,846 1,959 113 6%
National Science Foundation........................................................ ......... ........... ........... ............ ..............
Agriculture........................................................................ 159 157 146 -11 -7%
Homeland Security.................................................................. 481 599 746 147 25%
Commerce........................................................................... 152 149 90 -59 -40%
Transportation..................................................................... 279 269 254 -15 -6%
Veterans Affairs................................................................... 43 39 38 -1 -3%
Interior........................................................................... 49 46 54 8 17%
Environmental Protection Agency.................................................... 125 141 113 -28 -20%
Other.............................................................................. 324 495 396 -99 -20%
------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal......................................................................... 66,535 71,425 72,666 1,241 2%
Facilities and Equipment
Defense............................................................................ 52 155 50 -105 -68%
Health and Human Services.......................................................... 219 300 123 -177 -59%
NASA............................................................................... 1,906 2,398 2,584 186 8%
Energy............................................................................. 1,247 1,136 1,098 -38 -3%
National Science Foundation........................................................ 370 371 438 67 18%
Agriculture........................................................................ 179 314 163 -151 -48%
Homeland Security.................................................................. 257 155 210 55 35%
Commerce........................................................................... 114 102 89 -13 -13%
Transportation..................................................................... 13 18 19 1 ..............
Veterans Affairs................................................................... ......... ........... ........... ............ N/A
Interior........................................................................... 3 3 3 ............ ..............
Environmental Protection Agency.................................................... ......... ........... ........... ............ N/A
Other.............................................................................. 17 31 21 -10 -32%
------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal......................................................................... 4,377 4,983 4,798 -185 -4%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Table 5-3. FEDERAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BUDGET
(Budget authority, dollar amounts in millions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dollar
2004 2005 2006 Change: Percent
Actual Estimate Proposed 2005 to Change:
2006 2005 to 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Agency
National Institutes of Health..................... 27,878 28,444 28,607 163 1%
NASA.............................................. 9,231 9,116 9,493 377 4%
Science......................................... 5,600 5,527 5,476 -51 -1%
Aeronautics..................................... 1,057 906 852 -54 -6%
Exploration Systems............................. 2,574 2,683 3,165 482 18%
National Science Foundation....................... 5,578 5,473 5,605 132 2%
Defense........................................... 5,709 6,363 5,458 -905 -14%
Basic Research.................................. 1,358 1,513 1,319 -194 -13%
Applied Research................................ 4,351 4,850 4,139 -711 -15%
Energy \1\........................................ 5,494 5,635 5,357 -278 -5%
Science Programs................................ 3,484 3,600 3,463 -137 -4%
Energy Supply: Renewables....................... 357 380 354 -26 -7%
Energy Supply: Electricity Transmission & 81 101 84 -17 -17%
Distribution...................................
Energy Supply: Nuclear Energy................... 292 386 390 4 1%
Energy Conservation \2\......................... 607 596 576 -20 -3%
Fossil Energy................................... 673 572 491 -81 -14%
Agriculture....................................... 2,047 2,127 1,922 -205 -10%
CSREES Research and Education \3\............... 629 670 560 -110 -16%
Economic Research Service....................... 71 74 81 7 9%
Agricultural Research Service \4\............... 1,081 1,102 996 -106 -10%
Forest Service: Forest and Rangeland Research... 266 276 285 9 3%
Interior (USGS)................................... 938 935 934 -1 ............
Commerce.......................................... 965 992 858 -134 -14%
NOAA: Oceanic & Atmospheric Research............ 393 404 361 -43 -11%
NIST: Intramural Research and Facilities........ 401 451 485 34 8%
NIST: Advanced Technology Program............... 171 137 ........... -137 -100%
Environmental Protection Agency \5\............... 826 780 792 12 2%
Veterans Affairs \6\.............................. 866 784 786 2 ............
Transportation.................................... 683 694 673 -21 -3%
Highway research \7\............................ 564 566 543 -23 -4%
Federal Aviation Administration: Research, 119 131 130 -1 -1%
Engineering, and Development...................
Education......................................... 350 355 345 -10 -3%
Special Education Research and Innovation....... 78 83 73 -10 -12%
National Institute on Disability and 107 108 108 ........... ............
Rehabilitation Research........................
Research, Development, and Dissemination \8\.... 165 164 164 ........... ............
-------------------------------------------------------------
Total........................................... 60,565 61,696 60,819 -877 -1%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Data do not reflect actual transfers to Science Programs from other Department of Energy R&D programs to
support the Small Business Innovation Research and the Small Business Technology Transfer programs.
\2\ Excludes weatherization and state grant programs.
\3\ Includes receipts and interest for Native American Endowment: $11 million in 2004; $14 million in 2005; $15
million in 2006.
\4\ Excludes buildings and facilities.
\5\ Includes the medical care and prosthetic research appropriation and VA medical care support transfer to
research.
\6\ Science and Technology, plus Superfund transfer.
\7\ Includes research and development funding for the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
\8\ Does not include funding for Regional Educational Labs.
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Table 5-4. AGENCY DETAIL OF SELECTED INTERAGENCY R&D EFFORTS
(Budget authority, dollar amounts in millions)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dollar Percent
2004 2005 2006 Change: Change: 2005
Actual Estimate Proposed 2005 to 2006 to 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Networking and Information Technology R&D
Defense \1\........................................................................ 241 277 294 17 6%
National Science Foundation........................................................ 773 795 803 8 1%
Health and Human Services \2\...................................................... 542 573 551 -22 -4%
Energy............................................................................. 343 383 355 -28 -7%
Commerce........................................................................... 47 58 61 3 5%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration...................................... 258 192 57 -135 -70%
Environmental Protection Agency.................................................... 2 4 6 2 50%
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Total............................................................................ 2,206 2,282 2,127 -155 -7%
National Nanotechnology Initiative
National Science Foundation........................................................ 256 338 344 6 2%
Defense............................................................................ 291 257 230 -27 -11%
Energy............................................................................. 202 210 207 -3 -1%
Health and Human Services \3\...................................................... 108 145 147 2 1%
Commerce (NIST).................................................................... 77 75 75 ............ ..............
National Aeronautics and Space Administration...................................... 47 45 35 -10 -22%
Agriculture........................................................................ 2 3 8 5 167%
Environmental Protection Agency.................................................... 5 5 5 ............ ..............
Justice............................................................................ 2 2 2 ............ ..............
Homeland Security.................................................................. 1 1 1 ............ ..............
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Total............................................................................ 991 1,081 1,054 -27 -2%
Climate Change Science Program
National Aeronautics and Space Administration...................................... 1,321 1,264 1,162 -102 -8%
National Science Foundation........................................................ 215 198 197 -1 -1%
Commerce (NOAA).................................................................... 116 124 181 57 46%
Energy............................................................................. 133 129 132 3 2%
Agriculture........................................................................ 70 73 88 15 21%
National Institutes of Health...................................................... 61 65 65 ............ ..............
Interior (USGS).................................................................... 28 24 24 ............ ..............
Environmental Protection Agency.................................................... 22 20 21 1 5%
Smithsonian........................................................................ 6 6 6 ............ ..............
U.S. Agency for International Development.......................................... 6 6 6 ............ ..............
Transportation..................................................................... 1 3 3 ............ N/A
State.............................................................................. 1 1 1 ............ ..............
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Total.......................................................................... 1,975 1,913 1,886 -27 -1%
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Subtotal, CCRI (included in CCSP total)........................................ 168 221 183 -38 -17%
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\1\ In 2006, DOD will reassess which of its IT R&D programs are appropriate to count as part of the NITRD program, and any changes will be reported in
subsequent NITRD publications.
\2\ Includes funds from offsetting collections for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
\3\ Includes funds from both the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
[[Page 70]]
V. ALLOCATION OF RESEARCH FUNDING
Federal funds appropriated to Executive Branch agencies may be used in
different ways, ranging from grants awarded to university researchers to
supporting research at Federal laboratories. The Administration strongly
supports the competitive, merit review process for funding research in
most cases. However, there are appropriate roles for other modes of
allocating research funding in some circumstances, such as funding
research at specific facilities that have unique capabilities. In such
cases, however, the proposed allocation should be reviewed by scientific
or technological experts, as well as mangement and program experts.
In order to better understand and characterize the methods agencies
use to allocate their research funding, agencies reported how research
funds are allocated by the following five categories:
Research performed at congressional direction consists of intramural
and extramural research programs where funded activities are awarded to
a single performer or collection of performers with limited or no
competitive selection or with competitive selection but outside of the
agency's primary mission, based on direction from the Congress in law,
in report language, or by other direction.
Inherently unique research is intramural and extramural research
programs where funded activities are awarded to a single performer or
team of performers without competitive selection. The award may be based
on the provision of unique capabilities, concern for timeliness, or
prior record of performance (e.g., facility operations support for a
unique facility, such as an electron-positron linear collider; research
grants for rapid-response studies to address an emergency).
Merit-reviewed research with limited competitive selection is
intramural and extramural research programs where funded activities are
competitively awarded from a pool of qualified applicants that are
limited to organizations that were created to largely serve Federal
missions and continue to receive most of their annual research revenue
from Federal sources. The limited competition may be for reasons of
stewardship, agency mission constraints, or retention of unique
technical capabilities (e.g., funding set aside for researchers at
laboratories or centers of DOD, NASA, EPA, NOAA, and NIH; Federally
Funded Research and Development Centers; formula funds for USDA).
Merit-reviewed research with competitive selection and internal
(program) evaluation is intramural and extramural research programs
where funded activities are competitively awarded following review for
scientific or technical merit. The review is conducted by the program
manager or other qualified individuals from within the agency program,
without additional independent evaluation (e.g., merit-reviewed research
at DOD).
Merit-reviewed research with competitive selection and external (peer)
evaluation is intramural and extramural research programs where funded
activities are competitively awarded following review by a set of
external scientific or technical reviewers (often called peers) for
merit. The review is conducted by appropriately qualified scientists,
engineers, or other technically-qualified individuals who are apart from
the people or groups making the award decisions, and serves to inform
the program manager or other qualified individual who makes the award
(e.g., NSF's single-investigator research; NASA's research and analysis
funds).
Table 5-5 lists how Federal R&D agencies report allocating research
funding among these categories.
[[Page 71]]
Table 5-5. ALLOCATION OF FEDERAL RESEARCH FUNDING, 2004 AND 2005
(Percent of Agency Research)
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Research Inherently Merit Reviewed Merit Reviewed Merit Reviewed
Performed at Unique Research Research with Research with Research with
Congressional ------------------ Limited Competitive Competitive
Direction Competitive Selection and Selection and
------------------ Selection Internal External
2004 2005 ------------------ Evaluation Evaluation
2004 2005 -----------------------------------
2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005
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By Agency
Health & Human Services..................................... ....... 1% 1% 1% 12% 12% ....... ....... 86% 86%
Defense..................................................... 17% 12% 9% 8% 6% 6% 65% 72% 3% 3%
Energy...................................................... 5% 4% 23% 23% 51% 52% 4% 4% 18% 17%
NASA........................................................ 4% 9% 1% 2% 10% 11% 35% 26% 51% 52%
National Science Foundation................................. ....... ....... ....... ....... 6% 6% 21% 21% 73% 73%
Agriculture................................................. 17% 17% 55% 52% 14% 14% ....... ....... 13% 17%
Commerce.................................................... 6% 6% 41% 44% 15% 14% 18% 18% 22% 18%
Veterans Affairs............................................ ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... 100% 100%
Interior.................................................... 7% 7% 30% 30% 33% 33% 27% 27% 2% 2%
Transportation.............................................. 13% 15% 17% 23% 1% 1% 69% 61% ....... .......
Homeland Security........................................... ....... 24% ....... ....... 30% 23% 48% 36% 22% 16%
Environmental Protection Agency............................. 8% ....... 3% 7% 44% 50% 12% 15% 32% 28%
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Research Funding (dollars in millions).................... 2,312 2,427 3,965 4,101 8,174 8,414 7,587 7,888 32,398 32,549
Percentage of Federal Research............................ 4% 4% 7% 7% 15% 15% 14% 14% 60% 59%
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