American Scientist

Over the past several years, concerns have been voiced about the influence of industry in university research. Those concerned fear that declining federal support for university research and development and increased dependence on industrial funding will have deleterious effects on university research, affecting the research agenda, delaying publication of results and interfering with the conduct of research on campuses.

Since 1960, patterns of R&D funding in the United States have, indeed, changed significantly. In 1960, about 65 percent of all R&D funds were provided by the federal government and only 33 percent by industry. By 1995, the proportions were almost reversed; the federal government provided about 36 percent and industry 59 percent. Much of this reversal occurred during the 1990s, when federal R&D spending fell (in inflation-adjusted terms) and industry spending rose.

Despite the change in federal funding as a whole, the share of university and college R&D funding coming from the federal government was about the same in 1995 as it was in 1960—about 60 percent came from the federal agencies in both years. However, it was down sharply from 1970, when the federal share was 70 percent. Between 1970 and 1995, while the federal share was falling, the universities’ own funding was rising rapidly, from 10 percent to 18 percent of their R&D spending. And, although industrial funding of university research was only about 7 percent of the total in 1995, it rose significantly during the period of declining federal contributions.

The Clinton Administration has called for substantial increases in funds for R&D, with major increases sought for the agencies that typically support university R&D. But fiscal difficulties stand in the way of realizing these increases, and the outcome is not clear. Even dimmer is what might be expected in future years. But it does seem likely that industrial funding of R&D will continue to increase, as the importance of technological change for competitive advantage continues to grow.

It is important that we in the science and engineering community adapt to what may in the future be a very different environment for the funding for science and technology development. Indeed, the needs and expectations of industry are generally quite different from federal sponsorship, and our R&D institutions need to accommodate those differences. At the same time, as a nation, we must be careful not to erode the basic science R&D infrastructure that has evolved since World War II and that has provided the powerful engine of innovation in our economy for many decades.

John H. Moore
President, Sigma Xi