Release date: November 30, 2008
Research and Development (R&D) funding has undergone significant shifts in pattern over the last
several decades. In response to flat or declining federal funding for various R&D efforts, as well
as federal policy restrictions on funding for certain areas of research (e.g. stem cell research),
states have come to take a more direct role in funding R&D. There exists a variety of indicators
tracking R&D spending, but few focus on the state level. The previous most comprehensive assessment of R&D
spending in California was CCST's 1999 CREST report.
This project is an update to the 1999 report, incorporating data from a variety
of sources including a new survey conducted by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S.
Census Bureau. It explores:
- Available data on R&D spending by California
- What is not possible to know with the current data being gathered at the state and federal level
- Suggested approaches for California to collect additional data needed for a more comprehensive overview of the state's R&D spending
This project was written as part of an overall assessment of the present status and long-term
trends affecting California's science and technology infrastructure for the California Innovation
Corridor project, funded by a U.S. Department of Labor grant to the state of California and the
California Space Authority titled, "Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development" (WIRED).
Principal findings:
- State R&D funding leverages significant amounts of funding from other sources, focusing a much more significant percentage of
overall R&D on priorities important to California
- State R&D funding is focused on areas of importance to California that may not be adequately supported by other sources.
- State R&D funding fosters collaboration and provides essential input into the innovation process.
- The state needs to collect more data in a systematic manner, including:
- A comprehensive list of R&D funding underway, not a representative sampling
- R&D funding by both program AND institution
- How much of the state's total R&D funding is influenced by state spending
