Figure 16 



Federal R&D Expenditures as a Percent of 



Total Federal Outlays, FY 1961-72 



1961 '62 '63 '64 '65 '66 '67 

 Fiscal year 



SOURCE National Science Foundation 



'69 '70 '71 '72 

 (est.) 



accounted for ^5" percent of all Federal expendi- 

 tures for R&D in l^yz. The most salient features 

 represented in the figure are: 



• The large role of defense R&D throughout 

 the period 



• The rise and fall of space R&D 



• The relatively rapid growth in civilian areas. 



Defense R&D expenditures between 1963-72 

 ranged from 48 to e>4 percent of total Federal 

 expenditures for R&D. In 1072 they accounted 

 for 54 percent, the highest proportion smce 

 1964. Current dollar expenditures for 1972 were 

 the highest of the 1963-72 period. The 1972 

 R&D expenditures in this area were directed in 

 the main to development of missiles, aircraft, 

 equipment, and to defense-related atomic 

 energy activities, military sciences, and astro- 

 nautics. 



R&D expenditures for space in 1972 were at 

 their 1963-64 level after declining by more than 

 40 percent (in current dollars) since the peak 

 year of 1966.? The area, however, still received 

 19 percent of all Federal R&D funding in 1972. 



•' The entire activities of NASA are reported as R&D or 

 related support; the R&D component was reported as 98 

 percent of the agency's total expenditures in 1972. 



The principal programs, in terms of magnitude 

 of expenditures in 1972, were manned space 

 flight, space science and applications, support- 

 ing activities, and space technology. Recent de- 

 clines in the space area occurred largely in the 

 manned space program. 



Expenditures for R&D in civilian areas— areas 

 other than defense and space— grew sub- 

 stantially throughout the 1963-72 period, rising 

 from 14 percent of total Federal R&D expendi- 

 tures in 1963 to 27 percent in 1972. The func- 

 tional areas accounting for most of the civilian- 

 oriented R&D in 1972 were: 



(1) Health, which consists of the devehinnent of 

 health reiources, the prevention and control of health 

 prchlemi, and the delivery of health care. The first 

 category, which accounts for some 90 per- 

 cent of all Federal expenditures for health- 

 related R&D, includes activities of (a) the 10 

 National Institutes of Health which deal with 

 specific chronic and communicable diseases 

 as well as general medical sciences, develop- 

 ment of health manpower, and establish- 

 ment of biologic standards; (b) the mental 

 health, health statistics, and overseas re- 

 search activities of the Health Services and 

 Mental Health Administration (HSMHA); (c) 

 the medical and prosthetic research of the 

 Veterans Administration; and (d) the health- 

 related activities of the Atomic Energy 

 Commission. The second category consists 

 of the R&D activities of the Food and Drug 

 Administration, Bureau of Mines, and the 

 preventive health services of HSMHA. The 

 delivery of health care category is comprised 

 of the HSMHA programs in health services 

 planning and development, health services 

 delivery, and Indian health services. Expendi- 

 tures for R&D in the entire health area, as a 

 fraction of total Federal R&D expenditures, 

 rose from 5.2 percent in 1963 to 8.7 percent 

 in 1972. 



(2) Advancement of Science and Technology, 



which is aimed at strengthening the Nation's 

 scientific base and at application of science 

 and technology to problems of national 

 concern. The largest category is general science, 

 comprised principally of basic research proj- 

 ects in the various scientific disciplines 

 supported by the National Science Founda- 

 tion and most of the physical science re- 

 search programs (except for controlled 

 thermonuclear research) of the Atomic 

 Energy Commission. A second category is 



24 



