sufficiently large to offset the effects of inflation 

 during the period. i* 



R&Din the defense and space sectors, as noted 

 above, differs from the civilian sector in the 

 distribution of funds for basic research, applied 

 research, and development. In these sectors, 

 development accounts for most of the R&D 

 obligations, in contrast to civilian R&D where 

 funds are directed primarily to research— basic 

 and applied. In 1974, 80 percent of the funds for 

 defense R&D were allocated to development 

 activities, 17 percent to applied research, and 3 

 percent to basic research. And in the space 

 sector, 61 percent of the obligations went for 

 development, 27 percent for basic research, and 

 12 percent for applied research. 



RESEARCH EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES 



Along with human and financial resources, 

 research equipment and facilities constitute the 

 elements essential for performing R&D. 

 Research instrumentation provides the means 

 for accurate measurement and observation, and 

 facilitates data collection and analysis. Progress 

 in science depends increasingly upon such 

 equipment, as the phenomena under study 

 become more fundamental and inaccessible to 

 observation by the unaided human senses. 

 Laboratories and support facilities provide the 

 fixed equipment and physical plant necessary for 

 R&D. Requirements in this area change as 

 science advances, as new areas of research 

 emerge, and as R&D is directed toward new 

 objectives and problems. The excellent equip- 

 ment and facilities heretofore available to the 

 R&D community in this country are regarded 

 generally as prime elements contributing to the 

 strong international position of U.S. science. 



Research equipment 



The Federal Government is a major source of 

 funding for the acquisition and maintenance of 

 laboratory equipment, a large portion of which is 

 included in research grants to provide the 

 equipment needed for performing the research. 

 In the two Federal agencies which provide the 

 majority of such support, the National Institutes 

 of Health and the National Science Foundation, 

 the proportion of grant funds allocated for 



permanent laboratory equipment declined over 

 the entire 1966-74 period. In both agencies, the 

 proportion fell from approximately 11 percent in 

 1966 to some 5 percent in 1974 (figure 2-12). For 

 the National Science Foundation, this decline 

 represents a 14 percent reduction in current 

 dollar obligations (and 40 percent in constant 

 dollars) for research equipment between 1966 

 and 1974, despite the 54 percent increase in 

 current dollar obligations (and 22 percent in 

 constant dollars) between 1970 and 1974 (figure 

 2-13). 15 



Figure 2-12 



Proportion of NSF and NIH'" Research 

 Project Grant Funds Allocated for 

 Permanent Laboratory Equipment, 1966-74 



(Percent) 



1966 



H) Includes the National Cancer Inslilulc, Ihe National Institute ol General 

 Medical Sciences and the National Heart and Lung Institute, 



SOURCE: National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health 



•■' Special analysis prepared from An Anahiis of Federal R&D 

 Funding by Funclion. National Science Founciation, (NSF 74- 

 313). " 



15 Comparable data are not available for the National 

 Institutes of Health. 



44 



