A new report from the National Science Foundation says federal agencies received a $3.2-billion year-over-year increase in fiscal year 2014 for research and development work and R&D plant initiatives.NSF said Wednesday this 2.4-percent increase brought the total amount of 2014 R&D funds to $135.7 billion as of July 2014.
The agency said previous fiscal years have showed successive funding cuts for R&D and R&D plant, reductions that include a $11.3 billion decline in fiscal 2013 compared to 2012 figures.
Preliminary estimates by NSF’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics also pointed to budget cuts for defense-related R&D despite this year’s total increase, with $16.1 billion total dropped from the budget since fiscal 2010.
