Survey of Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions 2021 | NSF

The terms used throughout the survey have remained relatively unchanged from the FY 1971 survey cycle to the present; however, for the FY 2016 cycle, the definitions of basic research, applied research, development, and R&D plant were aligned more closely to the definitions used by the Office of Management and Budget in the July 2016 version of Circular A-11.

Facilities and equipment for instruction in S&E include all programs whose principal purpose is to provide support for construction, acquisition, renovation, modification, repair, or rental of facilities, land, works, or equipment for use in instruction in S&E.

If the instructional facilities are part of a larger facility devoted to other purposes as well, the funds should be distributed among the categories of support involved as appropriate. In general, the other category most likely to be involved is R&D plant.

FTTGs include all fellowship, traineeship, and training grant programs that are directed primarily toward the development and maintenance of the scientific and technical manpower. The total amounts pertaining to such awards (stipends and cost-of-education allowances) are reported in terms of the institution at which the recipient performs research or study.

Excluded are projects that support research and educational institutes, seminars, and conferences such as teacher-training activities provided through teacher institutes, short courses, research participation, and in-service seminars; activities aimed at the development of educational techniques and materials for use in S&E training; and programs that provide special opportunities for increasing the scientific knowledge and experience of precollege and undergraduate students. These activities are reported either under other S&E, or they are not reported if they are not S&E-related.

Other general support for S&E was introduced for the FY 2021 data collection and combines the former categories of General support for S&E and Other S&E activities. As such, it includes activities that provide support for nonspecific or generalized purposes related to scientific research and education. Such projects are generally oriented toward academic departments, institutes, or institutions as a whole. “General support” implies a spectrum of varying types of support. At one extreme support is provided without any specification of purpose other than funds be used for scientific activities. Another kind of general support is to be found in projects that provide funds for activity within a specified field of S&E but without specifying an explicit purpose. The distinguishing feature of general support for S&E projects is that they permit a significant measure of freedom as to purpose (e.g., research, faculty support, education, institutional support). It is intended that among the projects to be reported under this category are projects awarded through the following agency programs:

• NIH Minority Biomedical Research Support for Undergraduate Colleges
• NIH Minority Biomedical Support Grants

In addition, it includes all academic S&E activities that cannot be meaningfully assigned to one of the other four categories (R&D, R&D plant, FTTGs, and Facilities and equipment for instruction in S&E). Among the types of activities to be included in this category are support for scientific conferences and symposia, teacher institutes, and activities aimed at increasing the scientific knowledge of precollege and undergraduate students.

R&D conduct activities are defined as creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge—including knowledge of people, culture, and society—and to devise new applications using available knowledge.

For reporting R&D activities, the following are included:

• Administrative expenses for R&D, such as the operating costs of research facilities and equipment and other overhead costs.

Excluded from R&D activities are the following:

• Investments in physical assets such as major equipment and facilities that support R&D programs. These investments should generally be reported under physical assets, discussed under R&D plant.
• Routine product testing, quality control, collection of general-purpose statistics, routine monitoring, and evaluation of an operational program (when that program is not R&D). Spending of this type should generally be reported as non-investment activities.
• Training of scientific and technical personnel should be reported as conduct of education and training.

Research is systematic study directed toward fuller scientific knowledge or understanding of the subject studied. Research is classified as either basic or applied according to the objectives of the sponsoring agency. Basic research is defined as experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts. Basic research may include activities with broad or general applications in mind, such as the study of how plant genomes change, but should exclude research directed toward a specific application or requirement, such as the optimization of the genome of a specific crop species. Basic research represents DOD Budget Activity 1. Applied research is defined as original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new knowledge. Applied research is, however, directed primarily toward a specific practical aim or objective. Applied research represents DOD Budget Activity 2.

Research equipment is any item (or interrelated collection of items comprising a system) of nonexpendable tangible property or software having a useful life of more than 2 years and an acquisition cost of $500 or more that is used wholly or in part for research. Research equipment is included under R&D.

Experimental development is creative and systematic work, drawing on knowledge gained from research and practical experience, which is directed at producing new products or processes or improving existing products or processes. Like research, experimental development will result in gaining additional knowledge.

For reporting experimental development activities, the following are included:

• The production of materials, devices, and systems or methods, including the design, construction, and testing of experimental prototypes.
• Technology demonstrations, in cases where a system or component is being demonstrated at scale for the first time, and it is realistic to expect additional refinements to the design (feedback R&D) following the demonstration. However, not all activities that are identified as “technology demonstrations” are R&D.

Excluded from the experimental development category are the following:

• User demonstrations where the cost and benefits of a system are being validated for a specific-use case. This includes low-rate initial production activities.
• Pre-production development, which is defined as nonexperimental work on a product or system before it goes into full production, including activities such as tooling and development of production facilities. For example, exclude activities and programs that are categorized as “operational systems development” in DOD’s budget activity structure. Activities and programs of this type should generally be reported as investments in other major equipment.
• Note: Through the FY 2015 survey, amounts reported by DOD agencies included Budget Activities 1–7, which are classified as RDT&E. As of FY 2016, the Budget Activity numbers were added to the questionnaire to make it clear that the survey was requesting R&D data, which covered Budget Activities 1–6. The FY 2018 DOD questionnaire was revised to collect RDT&E again by adding operational systems development (Budget Activity 7) as a separate category of support.

R&D plant is defined as materials for use in R&D activities including the following:

• R&D facilities;
• Intellectual property (e.g., software or applications);
• Major fixed equipment, such as reactors, wind tunnels, and particle accelerators; and
• Major moveable equipment, such as mass spectrometers, research vessels, DNA sequencers, and other major moveable instruments.

Amounts include acquisition of, construction of, major repairs to, or alterations in structures, works, equipment, facilities, or land for use in R&D activities at federal or nonfederal installations, and housing for R&D personnel at remote locations.

Excluded from the R&D plant category are the following:

• Costs of expendable or movable equipment (e.g., simple spectrometers, standard microscopes), personal computers, and office furniture and equipment; and
• Costs of predesign studies (e.g., those undertaken before commitment to a specific facility).

These excluded costs are reported under “total conduct of research and development.”

Obligations for foreign R&D plant are limited to federal funds for facilities that are located abroad and used in support of foreign R&D.

If the R&D facilities are to be a larger facility devoted to other purposes as well, the funds should be distributed among the categories of support involved as appropriate. In general, another category that would be involved is facilities and equipment for instruction in S&E.