Their respective shares of basic research obiiga 

 lions in FY l%« and FY 1977 are as follows: 



Figure 3— Federal obligations for basic research, 

 by selected agency, FY 1968-78 



Agency 



HEW 



NSF 



ERDA 



NASA 

 DOD 

 DOA 

 Interior 



FY l%8 



15 

 16 

 19 



15 



5 



Percent (rounded) 

 FY 1977 



27 

 22 

 14 

 12 

 10 

 7 

 5 



Source: Tabic : and FcdemI Funds. Vol. XXVI (N.SF-77-317). 



Trends from 1968-1978 for the five leading agen- 

 cies are sht>wn in Table 2 and Figure 3. 



Trends by Performer 



The trends in allocation of Federal obligations 

 for basic research by class of performer are 

 shown in Tables 3 and 4 and Figure 4. Universi- 

 ties and colleges have consistently been the larg- 

 est performing sector and have shown the fastest 

 growth rate in the 1968-1976 period. Since 1976, 

 however, industry and "other nonprofit institu- 

 tions" and Federally Funded Research and Devel- 

 opment Centers (FFRDC's) have outpaced the 

 growth rate of obligations to universities and col- 

 leges. The academic sector remained dominant 

 however in FY 1977, as shown by the following 

 relative shares of FY 1968 and FY 1977 obliga- 



($ Millions) 



800 



700 



600 



500 



400 



300 



200 



Prior to 1974 AEC data were used. 



SOURCE: Division of Science Resources Studies/STIA/IMational 

 Science Foundation. 



Table 2. — Federal obligations for basic research by agency, 

 FY 1968-78 



[Dollars in millionsl 



Fiscal Year Total 



1968 $1,721 



1969 1,779 



1970 1,762 



1971 1,779 



1972 1,974 



1973 2,001 



1974 2,039 



1975 2,279 



1976 2,425 



1977 (est) 2,755 



1978 (est) 3,012 



Prior to 1974 AEC data were used. 

 Source: Division of Science Resources Studies/ST I A/NSF 



INTRODUCTION 237 



