NCSES - National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
10/30/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/30/2024 12:30
Analysis of Department of Defense Funding for R&D and RDT&E in FY 2022
1See President's Budget for Fiscal Year 2025, historical tables 5.4, Discretionary Budget Authority by Agency: 1976-2029, and 5.5, Percentage Distribution of Discretionary Budget Authority by Agency: 1976-2029. Available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/historical-tables/.
2Budget authority means the authority provided by law to incur financial obligations that will result in outlays. Thus, budget authority sets a limit on new obligations an agency may incur each fiscal year. See Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President. 2016. Circular A-11: Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget, Section 20.4, page 12 of Section 20. Washington, DC. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/a11_web_toc.pdf.
3See President's Budget for Fiscal Year 2025, historical tables 5.4, Discretionary Budget Authority by Agency: 1976-2029, and 5.5, Percentage Distributions of Discretionary Budget Authority by Agency: 1976-2029. Available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/historical-tables/.
4Data users should note DOD civil programs, distinct from military programs, include the authorities for pension, health, education, and other programs.
5National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2024. Federal R&D Funding, by Budget Function: Fiscal Years 2022-24. NSF 24-310. Alexandria, VA: U.S. National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/data-collections/federal-budget-function/2022-2024#data. See the full set of data tables: table 1 and table 2.
6For additional information on DOD's RDT&E appropriation structure, see Congressional Research Service, Gallo ME. 2024. InFocus:Defense Primer: RDT&E. February 27. Available at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10553.
7See Budget Function: table 6. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf24310/table/6.
8See Survey of Federal Funds for R&D: table 10. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf24321/table/10.
9Obligations represent the amount for orders placed, contracts awarded, services received, and similar transactions during a given period, regardless of when the funds were appropriated or when future payment of money is required.
10See DOD, Financial Management Regulation, Volume 2B, Chapter 5, Section 1.5, RDT&E Budget Activities. https://comptroller.defense.gov/portals/45/documents/fmr/current/02b/02b_05.pdf.
11In the September 2022 edition of the DOD, Financial Management Regulation, Volume 2B, Chapter 5, DOD formalized an additional BA 8 category, Software and Digital Technology Pilot Programs. Although this new BA 8 is outside the definition of R&D, it is within the scope of RDT&E. However, NCSES did not collect BA 8 data from DOD agencies until Volume 73 (FYs 2023-24), Federal Funds for R&D. As such, DOD's BA 8 is not discussed in this InfoBrief since data presented are from the FY 2022 survey. The effect of the addition of BA 8 will be available in the forthcoming Volume 73 (FYs 2023-24), Federal Funds for R&D.
12Changes to DOD reporting were requested by Robert V. Tuohy, Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering in a memorandum to John E. Jankowski, R&D Statistics Program Director, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. 2 February 1995.
13The 2016 edition of OMB Circular A-11 is used to inform agencies on the budget formulation process for the FY 2018 proposal for the president's budget submission to Congress, which was issued in 2017. OMB and the federal agencies began work on the FY 2018 budget before FY 2016 has closed and before the full appropriations processes were completed for FY 2017. Therefore, the FY 2017 budget authority in the 2018 proposed budget are based on the previous budget, and any revisions to the FY 2017 budget to account for definitional changes in experimental development do not present themselves until the issuance of the FY 2019 president's budget proposal.
14For more information on the reclassification of operational system development and its effect on R&D statistical data, see Pece C, Jankowski J; National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2021. Statistical Definition of Development Clarified: Effect on Reported Federal R&D Totals. NSF 21-326. Alexandria, VA: U.S. National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf21326/.
15Per memorandum from Robert V. Tuohy, Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering to John E. Jankowski, R&D Statistics Program Director, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 2 February 1995.
16See BA 7, Operational System Development, in the DOD Financial Management Regulation, Volume 2B, Chapter 5, at https://comptroller.defense.gov/portals/45/documents/fmr/current/02b/02b_05.pdf.
17The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) annual RDT&E Programs (R-1) report provides details for each DOD component unit for types of RDT&E, by individual program element. For FY 2022 data, see https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/FY2024/FY2024_r1.pdf.
18See https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/mission.
19See https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/mission.
20See https://www.health.mil/About-MHS/Our-Strategy.
22See DOD, Financial Management Regulation, Volume 2B, Chapter 5, Section 1.5.4. at https://comptroller.defense.gov/portals/45/documents/fmr/current/02b/02b_05.pdf.
23See DOD, Financial Management Regulation, Volume 2B, Chapter 5, Section 1.5.5. at https://comptroller.defense.gov/portals/45/documents/fmr/current/02b/02b_05.pdf.
24See DOD, Financial Management Regulation, Volume 2B, Chapter 5, Section 1.5.6. at https://comptroller.defense.gov/portals/45/documents/fmr/current/02b/02b_05.pdf.
25See Public Law 116-92 at https://www.congress.gov/116/plaws/publ92/PLAW-116publ92.pdf.