In FY 2021, federal obligations and outlays for research and development (R&D) plant totaled $4.3 billion and $3.8 billion, respectively. The Department of Energy was the largest funder of R&D plant, with $2.7 billion (62%) in obligations and $2.3 billion (61%) in outlays. R&D plant is defined as spending on R&D facilities and major equipment, including physical assets such as land, structures, equipment, and intellectual property (e.g., software or applications) that have an estimated useful life of 2 years or more. This includes the purchase, construction, manufacture, rehabilitation, or major improvement of physical assets, regardless of whether the assets are owned or operated by the federal government. For a complete definition of R&D plant, see Office of Management and Budget Circular A-11, Section 84.2(b) (Schedule C). Obligations are the amounts for orders placed, contracts awarded, services received, and similar transactions during a given period, regardless of when funds were appropriated and when future payment is required. Outlays are the amounts for checks issued and cash payments made during a given period. These and additional details are included in the full set of latest data tables from the Survey of Federal Funds for R&D.

Suggested Citation: Pece CV; National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2024. The Department of Energy Accounted for over 60% of All Federal Funding for R&D Plant in FY 2021. NSF 24-313. Alexandria, VA: National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf24313.