How industry matters in balancing the federal research portfolio

Abstract

The evolution of the federal research portfolio over recent years has produced concern about its current balance of funding between different scientific fields. Substantial changes have also occurred in recent years in the magnitude of corporate support for US research, which now exceeds the funding provided by the Federal government. This change is described. Its implications for the "balance" of the federal research portfolio are considered with regards to funding levels, the time-evolution of these levels, and factors such as the production of trained scientists, and the needs of industry as a consumer of scientific knowledge. There are substantial difficulties associated with comparing federal and corporate support for research due to current definitions and data collection methodologies. Understanding these uncertainties is critical to understanding how federal and corporate support for research can complement each other. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.