1. The Federal Investment in Basic Research, 1975–2012
Federal obligations in basic research (blue) experienced competitive, sustainable growth (orange) from 1975 to 1992, averaging an annual inflation-adjusted growth rate of 4.4 percent. Since then, federal funding of basic research has become increasingly unpredictable, deviating from the sustainable funding path and resulting in a $13.7 billion basic research shortfall in 2012 (red).
Note: Orange trend line is a best fit (least squares regression) of federal obligations for basic research (constant 2014 dollars) between 1975 and 1992.
Source: Federal obligations for basic research from 1975 to 2012 are from the National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2014 (Arlington, Va.: National Science Foundation, 2014), Appendix Table 4-34, “Federal Obligations for R&D and R&D Plant, by Character of Work: FYs 1953–2012.” Constant dollar conversions from 2005 to 2014 dollars are based on OMB’s GDP deflators from the FY 2013 budget.
From Restoring the Foundation: The Vital Role of Research in Preserving the American Dream (American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 2014)