for defense remained at slightly nnore than 

 50 percent throughout 1969-74, whereas 

 the fraction for civilian areas rose steadily 

 from 24 to 34 percent while the share for 

 space R&D declined from 24 to 14 percent. 



D Funds from the Federal Government for 

 civilian R&D increased 70 percent in current 

 dollars and 28 percent in constant dollars 

 between 1969 and 1974; the civilian fields 

 accounting for most of the growth were 

 health (39 percent of the total growth) and 

 the environment (17 percent). 



D Federal funds for civilian R&D are concen- 

 trated on research (applied and basic) rather 

 than development — in contrast to defense 

 and space R&D; in 1974, 72 percent of the 

 funds went for research, with 45 percent 

 going for applied research and 27 percent for 

 basic research. 



a Federal funds for laboratory equipment 

 provided through research grants declined 

 as a fraction of total grant funds, decreasing 

 from 11 percent in 1966 to 5 percent in 

 1974.4 



D Federal support for major fixed equipment 

 and R&D facilities in 1974 was well below 

 the years of highest funding in the mid- 

 1960's even though such support has 

 increased considerably since 1972. 



D Expenditures by the Federal Government 

 for the dissemination of the results of R&D 

 increased in current dollars each year from 

 1960 through 1974, but changed little in 

 constant dollars after 1968; the ratio of these 

 obligations to total Federal obligations for 

 R&D has remained at approximately .025 

 since 1970. 



Substantial resources are committed to 

 research and development in the United States. 

 The largest fraction of these resources goes for 

 R&D in a broad spectrum of national concerns, 

 such as national defense, space exploration, 

 health, energy, and the environment. A large 

 and nearly comparable portion of the R&D 

 resources is used to develop new and improved 

 industrial products and processes. A small part 

 of the resources is allocated for basic research to 

 advance the understanding of nature. 



"Research and development" in this report 

 comprises basic and applied research and 

 development activities. "Basic research" has the 

 purpose of acquiring scientific knowledge of 

 natural phenomena, where the primary aim is 

 fuller understanding of the subject of study, 

 rather than specific application of the resulting 

 knowledge. "Applied research" has a similar 

 although often less general purpose, but where 

 the prime aim is the potential application of the 

 acquired knowledge. The scientific fields encom- 

 passed in basic and applied research consist of 

 the life sciences (including the medical sciences), 

 physical sciences, mathematical sciences, and 

 engineering, as well as the psychological and 

 social sciences. 5 "Development" consists of the 

 use of knowledge gained from research, in 

 conjunction with technical "know-how", for the 



design and prototype construction of materials, 

 devices, processes, products, systems, and 

 methods. 



Indicators presented in this chapter are 

 intended to portray general trends in the 

 allocation and use of financial and human 

 resources in the Nation's overall R&D effort. 

 These include several measures of the absolute 

 and relative magnitude of these resources, as 

 well as the sectors which supply and utilize 

 them. Indicators are provided also of the 

 financial resources which are directed to basic 

 research, to applied research, and to develop- 

 ment. In addition, trends in Federal funds for 

 R&D are presented in relationship to the total 

 Federal budget and in respect to broad areas of 

 R&D activity. The chapter also contains in- 

 dicators of the resources for research equipment 

 and facilities, and trends in the Federal support 

 of efforts to disseminate the results of R&D. 

 More detailed examination of particular areas of 

 R&D activity, and measures of output, are 

 presented in subsequent chapters. 



' Based upon research grants of the National Science 

 Foundation and the major National Institutes of Health. 

 5 Data are not available on industry resources for research in 

 the psychological and social sciences. 



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