By Graham Andrews and Amanda Shaffer
New data from the National Science Foundation show that investment in research and development continues to increase in the United States, with an estimated total of $993 billion of R&D performed in 2024 – but that the increase tilts heavily toward developmental research rather than fundamental, curiosity-driven research.
Much of the growth in R&D spending is concentrated in experimental development ($668 billion in 2024), which turns existing knowledge into new products or processes. Meanwhile, investments in basic research that yields foundational knowledge without a specific application in mind have grown more slowly, estimated at $145 billion performed in 2024.
Studies have repeatedly shown that dollars invested in early-stage basic research are critical for the next generation of scientific and technological breakthroughs. If the United States does not continue to grow its investments in basic research, it risks hindering our nation’s long-term economic growth, global competitiveness, and national security.
Complementary Strengths
The innovation system in the United States succeeds because different sectors excel in conducting different types of research. For example, research universities conduct much of the fundamental and curiosity-driven research that expands scientific and technological frontiers, while businesses focus on turning ideas produced through basic research into products and services.
The federal government provides competitive funding to higher education institutions, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and other entities to perform research. It also contributes to the research ecosystem through intramural research performed at agencies such as the National Institutes of Health or at the Department of Energy’s national laboratories.
A Growing Imbalance
Although total R&D investment has risen, much of its inflation-adjusted growth in the last few years has been led by the private sector. Market incentives drive most of the private investment in R&D toward applied research and experimental development, both of which offer clearer pathways to returns on investments.
Investments in basic research, meanwhile, have grown more slowly and remain vulnerable to efforts by the current administration to cut or delay federal science funding. Indeed, a relatively small share (less than 15%) of national R&D investment goes to basic research; much of that is performed by the nation’s research universities, with support from the federal government.
Research universities conduct basic research in fields with high scientific potential but uncertain commercial payoffs. They also educate the next generation of scientists and engineers and frequently partner with industry to translate discoveries into commercial breakthroughs with broad impacts. (University research, for example, is behind major innovations such as artificial intelligence and life-saving medical advances such as GLP-1 drugs.)
Without increases in investment in basic research, the United States risks favoring near-market advancements and weakening the scientific foundation that enables future discoveries and innovation .
Research universities are valuable partners for conducting cutting-edge basic research, training the innovation workforce, and partnering with industry and government to translate ideas into impact. Keeping basic research strong alongside applied research and development is essential to sustaining America’s scientific leadership, economic vitality, and security.
Graham Andrews is research analyst at AAU; Amanda Shaffer is junior research analyst at AAU.