Federal funding in fiscal year 2007 for research performed by universities failed to keep pace with inflation for an unprecedented second year in a row, according to NSF. Although federal support for academic research climbed 1.1%, to $30.4 billion, those expenditures declined by 1.6% after taking inflation into account. That followed the modest 0.2% erosion that occurred from FY 2005 to FY 2006. Federal agencies provide more than 60% of all research support at universities, and last year was the first since NSF began keeping track in 1972 that federal support fell in constant dollars for two years running. The retreat came despite President Bush’s 2006 American Competitiveness Initiative, which pledged to double federal spending for basic research in the physical sciences over 10 years.
By contrast, in FY 2007 support for academic research from all nonfederal sources leapt nearly 8%, or 5% after inflation, reaching $19 billion. Funding provided...