COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - Dec 18, 2012) - Global research and development (R&D) spending is forecast to grow by 3.7 percent -- or $53.7 billion -- in 2013 to $1.5 trillion, according to the closely watched forecast by Battelle and R&D Magazine. While much remains uncertain about the future of the U.S. R&D enterprise, China's march to prominence in the global R&D arena remains constant and strong, accounting for $23 billion on the coming year's projected growth.

The full 2013 Global R&D Funding Forecast can be found here.

Despite the growth, global economic conditions will continue to affect R&D investment in 2013. "In a year of economic upheaval and turmoil, it's important to remember that R&D is not an instrument that can be quickly turned on and off to trigger economic growth," said co-author Martin Grueber, a Battelle Research Leader.

The U.S. R&D enterprise -- which accounts for 8.3 million jobs -- is expecting to see expenditures grow by 1.2 percent to $424 billion. The forecasters assumed that some level of compromise regarding the federal fiscal cliff will either be reached, or its effects delayed beyond Jan. 2, 2013.

"The watchword heading into 2013 is uncertainty, and the effect on U.S. R&D is more unclear than ever," Grueber said. "The current economic condition and uneasy prospects for the future combined with a federal government funding projection that could range anywhere from flat to significant declines have limited the prospects for 2013."

Federal Outlook: The U.S. federal government is expected to fund $129 billion of R&D in 2013 -- a decline of 1.4 percent of the $131 forecast for 2012. Ongoing budget and deficit concerns continue to strain its ability to invest in R&D. Read more about federal R&D here.

Industrial Outlook: Industrial R&D funding in the U.S. is forecast to reach $262 billion in 2013, a slight 2.3 percent increase over the 2012 forecast estimate of $256 billion. Industry funding for R&D in the U.S. is subject to uncertainty, both in overall growth and where this growth should occur. Read more about industrial R&D here.

Academic Outlook: The amount of R&D performed by academia in the U.S. is forecast to increase by only 0.4% to $67 billion -- reflecting not only slow economic growth but reduced federal funding in 2013 and the end of government stimulus spending from ARRA (America Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009). Read more about academic R&D here.

Global Outlook: R&D investments have become highly competitive among nations, with each looking to outspend the others to maintain a competitive edge. This internationalization of R&D now pits the U.S., China, Japan and the EU against each other and these emerging economies have developed strong R&D programs that are now challenging the U.S. dominance in a number of specific areas. Read more about global R&D here.

Industry snapshots: Detailed information on five key industry segments of the R&D enterprise are presented in full in the report. Links are below.

Life Science: Cost efficiency, healthcare outcomes and leveraging information are major themes in life science R&D. Read more about life sciences R&D here.

Information and Communication Technologies: The pace of technology development and deployment is accelerating along with the complexities of integrating big data into business processes. Read more about information and communication R&D here.

Aerospace/Defense/Security: Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, defensive and offensive cyber activities, and analysis of very large datasets are interconnected drivers of global research in this sector. Read more about aerospace, defense and security R&D here.

Energy: New reserves of natural gas and oil in North America are rapidly reshaping the global energy landscape and driving R&D. Ten years ago, fracking technologies were relatively unknown. Today they promise to change the future of the U.S. economy. Read more about energy R&D here.

Chemicals and Advanced Materials: There is a generally positive outlook for this innovation-intensive business which tends to have a ripple effect in the world of R&D. Global collaboration models in materials science continue to be popular within corporations as a well as among public research institutions and universities. Read more about chemical and advanced materials R&D here.

Global Researcher Survey
The report also includes the annual survey of the global researcher community, providing a unique perspective on the global R&D community representing countries from Argentina to Vietnam. Improvements in the sampling strategy and distribution have increased and diversified the respondent base. Two overarching trends among global researchers are concerns about budgets and the increasing time constraints put on the R&D process. Read more results from the survey here.

This year's report is the 55^th annual R&D Funding Forecast created by R&D Magazine and the 19^th done jointly with Battelle. The Forecast draws upon information from a variety of sources, including the National Science Foundation, the International Monetary Fund and the White House Office of Science and Technology policy. See other source material here.

Hard copies of the report are available by contacting Battelle's Sandy Walker at (614) 424-7610 or walkers@battelle.org.

About Battelle
As the world's largest independent research and development organization, Battelle provides innovative solutions to the world's most pressing needs through its four global businesses: Laboratory Management; National Security; Health and Life Sciences; and Energy, Environment and Material Sciences. It advances scientific discovery and application by conducting $6.2 billion in global R&D annually through contract research, laboratory management and technology commercialization. 

About R&D Magazine
Since its founding in 1959 as Industrial Research, R&D Magazine has served research scientists, engineers and technical staff at laboratories around the world, providing timely, informative news and useful technical articles that broaden readers' knowledge of the research and development industry and improve the quality of their work. R&D Magazine is a publication of Advantage Business Media.