A Brief Annotated History of Federal R&D Obligations: FYs 1951–2024
Federal obligations for research and development: FYs 1951–2024
ARRA = American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; DOD = Department of Defense; NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration; NIH = National Institutes of Health.
*2024 data 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 ARRA. 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." Most notably, totals for development do not include DOD Budget Activity 7 (Operational System Development) obligations. Those funds, previously included in DOD's development obligation totals, support the development efforts to upgrade systems that have been fielded or have received approval for full-rate production and anticipate production funding in the current or subsequent fiscal year. 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.
Since the U.S. National Science Foundation was established in 1950, the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and its predecessor organizations have provided annual data on the federal government’s research and development (R&D) obligations through the annual Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development. 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. Throughout the past 75 years, these data reflect shifts in emphasis of U.S. science and technology (S&T) policy and thereby R&D obligations. This InfoChart identifies several events in the course of U.S. history that have contributed to these shifts. Although some historical events may have an impact on federal S&T policy and R&D obligations, the events highlighted here do not necessarily suggest single causality, as federal policy is affected by multiple historical, temporal, legislative, and social events. Additional data are included in the full set of data tables available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/federal-funds-research-development/2023-2024.
NCSES has reviewed this product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved its release (NCSES-DRN25-007).
Suggested citation: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2025. A Brief Annotated History of Federal R&D Obligations: FYs 1951–2024. NSF 25-332. Alexandria, VA: U.S. National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf25332.
NSF 25-332
|April 10, 2025