This week’s funding roundup from the AAAS:
U.S. R&D Funding Showing Little Recovery. In a recent data release, the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics has found that estimated U.S. R&D funding across all sectors did not keep pace with economic growth or inflation in 2011. While national R&D expenditures did grow somewhat, especially in comparison to recent years, this growth was not enough to prevent a decline in national research intensity, measured by R&D expenditures as a share of GDP. According to NSF’s estimates, minor inflation-adjusted increases in federal and university funding were more than offset by declines in industry R&D. Among performers, only university-based R&D managed to gain in 2011 relative to inflation, while federal intramural research – including at the national labs – showed a marked decrease.
What a great time to build a career.
The Finch and Pea 