Research and Development Funding, By the Numbers

Government and industry are the biggest funders of research, basic and otherwise. Here is how science funding in the US and European Union has shaped up in the past two and a half decades.

Written byBob Grant

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FUNDING DATA COURTESY OF PATRICK CLEMINS, DIRECTOR OF R&D BUDGET AND POLICY PROGRAM AT THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

Government and industry are the biggest funders of research, basic and otherwise. Here is how science funding in the US and European Union has shaped up in the past two and a half decades.

Correction (November 3): The original version of the chart showing the sources of US R&D investment from 1983-2008 were incorrect in absolute scale. The mistake has been fixed, and The Scientist regrets the error.

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Meet the Author

Bob Grant
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From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.
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