Shift of US funds for research seen hurting colleges
Cutbacks and new priorities to hinder Boston-area labs
WASHINGTON -- Faced with growing budget pressures, Congress this month cut overall government investment in scientific research for next year, in a move that is likely to make it harder for Boston-area researchers to secure federal dollars to pursue scientific breakthroughs and new discoveries.
In completing its legislative business for the year, the House and Senate approved a series of bills that effectively cut funding in 2006 for federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, its first budget reduction since 1970, as well as NASA and the National Science Foundation. The decisions will put a squeeze on research grants and other government funds critical for area universities and research institutions, according to specialists.
The trend is part of a shift in which the federal government is expanding research funding for new hardware such as warships, battlefield robots, and a replacement for the aging Space Shuttle fleet. It comes at the expense of the general scientific research in the physical and life sciences that has been the traditional focus of the nation's research universities, and a cornerstone of Boston's colleges, universities, and development laboratories.
Ed Crawley, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said next year will be even more difficult ''for universities in particular in terms of their ability to get research funds. While it's true the research and development budgets have grown, it is mostly all in development and at the expense of research."
According to a recent assessment by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the federal research and development budget will total $134.8 billion in fiscal year 2006, a 1.7 percent increase over fiscal year 2005. But nearly all of the increase will go to military weapons development and NASA space exploration technologies, the report states.
The bottom line, according to the AAAS report: ''Funding for all other federal R&D programs collectively will barely increase [in 2006], and will fall nearly 2 percent after adjusting for inflation."
Government research and development grants have been credited with breakthroughs that improve everyday life. They have led to the Internet, for example, and cutting-edge medical procedures.
The funding also provides a lifeline for local economies like Boston that depend on government research and development dollars.
Besides MIT and other renowned research institutions, the region is home to a number of biotech companies, teaching hospitals, and several small scientific development firms.
''The positive impact of R&D investments of the federal government on the US economy is widely recognized by experts and is credited with underpinning much of the nation's economic growth during the 20th century," according to a recent study by the government-funded RAND Corp. ''In short, science and technology are transforming our society, and the US federal government has driven much of that change due to its investments in R&D."
For example, the National Science Foundation gives 80 percent of its $5.6 billion budget to colleges and universities. Massachusetts ranks second behind California in the total number of annual NSF grants, at $244 million.
''The small increases for the research directorates continue the squeeze on NSF funding of competitively awarded research grants," according to the AAAS analysis. ''These smaller increases or cuts in recent years have created downward pressures on NSF grant sizes and success rates."
The research and development budget for the NIH, which invests more than 90 percent of its $28.6 billion budget in the life sciences, including biology and medical research, will grow by just .05 percent, the smallest increase in 36 years. As a result, NIH projects a decline in the number of research grants for the second consecutive year in 2006.
The shift away from research toward development, however, should mean good business for New England's high-tech defense firms, already booming from growing national security spending, according to security analysts.
Last week, when Congress approved the 2006 Defense Appropriations Bill,
The next-generation warship is being designed by the Waltham defense firm and is slated to be built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine.
''That's very significant for us," said Guy Shields, a company spokesman. ''Raytheon is very well-positioned with helping the Navy go forward with its family of new ships."
Congress also voted to increase the research and development budget of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The 7 percent boost will mainly support research on manned space flight, part of NASA's agenda to replace the aging Space Shuttle fleet -- a priority that will significantly benefit MIT's Draper Laboratory, officials said
NASA relies heavily on MIT and other area universities and laboratories for new technologies and ways that NASA can reach its long-term goal of a return voyage to the moon and on to Mars.
But Bay State researchers that conduct cutting-edge research on a wide variety of other new technologies and therapies -- especially those not related to national security -- are bound to feel the impact of government cuts, according to a Globe review of government spending bills.
For example, while its overall budget will grow by 1.3 percent to $16.4 billion next year, NASA's emphasis on developing a new space transport vehicle means it won't be conducting research in other areas like new rocket and aviation technologies, according to budget figures and specialists.
''The large increase for the next space vehicles comes at the cost of sharply reduced funding for biological and physical sciences research, and new propulsion technologies," AAAS concluded in their year-end research and development assessment. ''NASA [research] programs in aeronautics and the earth sciences suffer cuts in the FY 2006 appropriation and could suffer further cuts as the year goes on," it added.
That is bad news for some MIT research labs involved in those areas, said Crawley.
''For the organizations around Greater Boston, it's a mixed bag," said Crawley. ''Grants will be harder to come by."
Bryan Bender can be reached at bender@globe.com. 
