R&D Spending at Federally Funded R&D Centers Increased by Largest Amount Since 2010
The nation’s 42 federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) spent nearly $23 billion on research and development in FY 2019, an annual increase of 7.4% in current dollars (table 1). The federal government’s share of support reached $22.3 billion in FY 2019 and represented a 7.6% increase in federal R&D support to FFRDCs—the sixth consecutive year of nominal growth after performance declines in FYs 2011–13. In constant dollars, total FFRDC R&D expenditures rose an average of 3.4% from 2014 to 2019, including a 5.5% increase from FY 2018 to FY 2019 (figure 1). These increases are the largest since FY 2009 to FY 2010, when FFRDCs expended an additional $1 billion on R&D funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These and the other statistics in this report come from the FY 2019 FFRDC Research and Development Survey, conducted by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF).
R&D expenditures at federally funded research and development centers, by source of funds: FYs 2010–19
Source(s):
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, FFRDC Research and Development Survey.
Total R&D expenditures at federally funded research and development centers: FYs 2008–19
| Fiscal year | Constant (2012) dollars | Current dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 16,563 | 15,616 |
| 2009 | 17,253 | 16,390 |
| 2010 | 19,645 | 18,881 |
| 2011 | 19,029 | 18,671 |
| 2012 | 18,281 | 18,281 |
| 2013 | 17,361 | 17,667 |
| 2014 | 17,097 | 17,719 |
| 2015 | 17,643 | 18,458 |
| 2016 | 18,180 | 19,220 |
| 2017 | 18,604 | 20,038 |
| 2018 | 19,195 | 21,172 |
| 2019 | 20,255 | 22,738 |
Source(s):
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, FFRDC Research and Development Survey.
R&D by Funding Source
FFRDCs are privately operated R&D organizations that are exclusively or substantially financed by the federal government. Over 98% ($22.3 billion) of FFRDC R&D expenditures were funded by the federal government in FY 2019 (table 1). Nonfederal sources funded the remaining R&D, totaling about $398.6 million, including businesses ($180.6 million), nonprofit organizations ($48.2 million), state and local governments ($51.2 million), and all other sources ($118.7 million), such as funds from foreign governments and foreign or U.S. universities.
Federal Agency Sources of R&D Funding
Over 91% of the federally funded R&D expenditures at FFRDCs came from four agencies (table 2). The Department of Energy ($11.4 billion) accounted for 51.1% of federally funded R&D spending. The Department of Defense ($5.0 billion, 22.6%), National Aeronautics and Space Administration ($2.9 billion, 12.9%), and the Department of Health and Human Services ($1.0 billion, 4.7%), which includes the National Institutes of Health, were the only other agencies funding greater than $1 billion. Almost $2 billion of federally funded R&D came from agencies other than the largest four. FFRDCs identified 28 agencies as sources of federal funding.
Federally financed R&D expenditures at federally funded research and development centers, by federal agency: FY 2019
FFRDC = federally funded research and development center.
Source(s):
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, FFRDC Research and Development Survey, FY 2019.
Expenditure Trends at Specific FFRDCs
The majority of FFRDCs (36 centers) increased R&D spending in FY 2019, with 15 centers reporting an increase greater than 10% (table 3). Nine FFRDCs reported more than $1 billion each (a combined $15.8 billion) in R&D expenditures for FY 2019—the National Aeronautics and Space Administration–sponsored Jet Propulsion Laboratory; five Department of Energy–sponsored National Laboratories specializing in energy and the environment, national security, and nuclear science: Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Pacific Northwest, and Sandia; three Department of Defense (DOD)–sponsored FFRDCs: Aerospace FFRDC, Lincoln Laboratory, and National Security Engineering Center. Sandia National Laboratories was the largest performer with almost $3.4 billion in total R&D. Sandia National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory reported the largest dollar increases in R&D of any centers, increasing by $364 million and $316 million respectively in FY 2019. Six FFRDCs reported lower expenditures in FY 2019, although only two declined by more than 2%. Of the 41 FFRDCs listed continuously since 2016, 34 centers reported larger expenditures in FY 2019 compared to FY 2016.
R&D expenditures at federally funded research and development centers, by FFRDC: FYs 2016–19
na = not applicable.
FFRDC = federally funded research and development center; NSF = National Science Foundation.
Source(s):
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, FFRDC Research and Development Survey.
Expenditures, by Type of R&D
In FY 2019, basic research activities accounted for nearly 20% of total FFRDC R&D expenditures, more than 2 percentage points lower than in FY 2015 (table 4). The remaining R&D expenditures were divided fairly evenly between applied research and experimental development (at about 40 percent each). Overall, total basic research expenditures at FFRDCs increased by $442 million in current dollars from FY 2015 to FY 2019. Applied research expenditures and experimental development each increased by $1.9 billion during the same period.
Total and federally financed R&D expenditures at federally funded research and development centers, by type of R&D: FYs 2015–19
Note(s):
Detail may not add to total because of rounding.
Source(s):
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, FFRDC Research and Development Survey.
Data Sources, Limitations, and Availability
The statistics on FFRDC R&D expenditures presented in this report come from the FY 2019 FFRDC Research and Development Survey. This annual survey is completed by FFRDC administrators and collects data from FFRDCs on R&D expenditures by source of funds (federal government, state and local governments, businesses, nonprofit organizations, or other), type of R&D (basic research, applied research, or experimental development), and type of cost (salaries, software, equipment, subcontracts, or indirect costs). This survey has been a census of the full population of FFRDCs since FY 2001. For a list of criteria used to define the set of FFRDCs, see the general guidelines of the Master Government List of FFRDCs at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ffrdclist/#guide&gennotes.
The full set of data tables from this survey and more information on the survey methodology are available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf21307/.
Note
1Britt R; National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2012. ARRA Funding Raises R&D Expenditures within Federally Funded R&D Centers 11% to 16.8 Billion in FY 2010. NSF 12-315. Alexandria, VA: National Science Foundation. Available at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf12315/. Yearly totals have been updated since this report was published. See the FY 2019 data tables for the most current estimates.
Suggested Citation
Gibbons MT; National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2020. R&D Spending at Federally Funded R&D Centers Increased by Largest Amount Since 2010. NSF 21-306. Alexandria, VA: National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf21306/.
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