Portfolio Analysis Report
IACC Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
2010
The Office of Autism Research Coordination requested 2010 research project and funding information from 18 Federal agencies and private organizations, including the annual budget for each project and its relevance to the seven critical questions/chapters of the 2011 IACC Strategic Plan for ASD Research, illustrated below (Figure 1).
Figure 1. The research areas corresponding to the seven questions of the 2011 IACC Strategic Plan for ASD Research are designated in the oval above each question, and a list of topics covered in each section is listed below each question. The list of topics includes most projects found in each question, but is not necessarily comprehensive.
Table 1 lists the 18 agencies and organizations that participated in this effort. Funders submitting data for the first time in 2010 include the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Coalition for SafeMinds (SafeMinds). Combined, the estimated Federal and private investment in ASD research in 2010 was $408,577,276, with the Federal government providing 82% ($334 million) and private organizations funding 18% ($74 million) of ASD research (Figure 2). Private investment in ASD research decreased slightly in 2010, compared to about $78.5 million in 2008 and $77 million in 2009, possibly reflecting changes in the U.S. economy. The amount of Federal investment in autism research reported in the 2010 Portfolio Analysis ($334 million) was significantly larger than the amounts reported in 2008 ($144 million) and 2009 ($237 million). This was largely due to the addition of four new Federal funders (ACF, AHRQ, EPA, and NSF), as well as broader reporting of autism-relevant projects from HRSA and the Department of Education. Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) also continued to bolster the Federal funding of ASD research in 2010. A project count across all funders showed that in 2010, the Federal government supported 932 ASD research projects and private organizations funded 435 projects.
Agencies and Organizations Included in the 2010 IACC Portfolio Analysis
| Federal Agencies | Private Organizations |
|---|---|
Federal Agencies
| Private Organizations
|
Table 1.The table lists the ten Federal agencies and eight private organizations included in the 2010 IACC Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Portfolio Analysis of ASD research funding.
What was the breakdown of funding?
The 18 stakeholders that were included in this analysis contributed a total of $408,577,276 across 1,367 ASD research projects in 2010 (Table 2). This should be considered an estimated total funding amount because some funders provided estimated annual funding data.
Federal vs. Private Funding for ASD Research in 2010
(Total funding = $408,577,276)
Figure 2. Eighty-two percent of the $408,577,276 distributed for ASD research in 2010 was provided by Federal sources, while 18% of funding was provided by private organizations.
The number of projects and amount of funding in the Portfolio Analysis were substantially higher in 2010 compared to 2009 ($314 million over 995 projects in 2009 compared to $408 million over 1,367 projects in 2010). This was largely attributed to the addition of new funders in the present analysis as well as more comprehensive data collection from some previously represented funders. However, many funders participating in the previous analysis also increased their investment levels between 2009 and 2010.
2010 ASD Research Funding by Agency/Organization
| Funding Agency/Organization | Number of Projects | Total Funding |
|---|---|---|
Funding Agency/OrganizationNational Institutes of Health (NIH) | Number of Projects545** |
Total Funding$217,143,701 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationSimons Foundation (SF) | Number of Projects123 |
Total Funding$53,729,921 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationHealth Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) | Number of Projects82 |
Total Funding$43,303,150 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationDepartment of Education (ED) | Number of Projects139 |
Total Funding$30,432,564* |
Funding Agency/OrganizationCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | Number of Projects30 |
Total Funding$19,698,859 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationAutism Speaks (AS) | Number of Projects228 |
Total Funding$18,476,890 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationNational Science Foundation (NSF) | Number of Projects69 |
Total Funding$12,222,206* |
Funding Agency/OrganizationDepartment of Defense (DoD) | Number of Projects58 |
Total Funding$7,082,059 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationAdministration for Children and Families (ACF) | Number of Projects1 |
Total Funding$1,877,959 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) | Number of Projects4 |
Total Funding$1,548,053* |
Funding Agency/OrganizationCenter for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) | Number of Projects31 |
Total Funding$906,482 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) | Number of Projects1 |
Total Funding$756,802 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationAutism Research Institute (ARI) | Number of Projects15 |
Total Funding$386,905 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) | Number of Projects3 |
Total Funding$376,159 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationAutism Science Foundation (ASF) | Number of Projects13 |
Total Funding$245,000 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationOrganization for Autism Research (OAR) | Number of Projects12 |
Total Funding$191,590 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationCoalition for SafeMinds (SafeMinds) | Number of Projects8 |
Total Funding$128,975 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationSouthwest Autism Research & Resources Center (SARRC) | Number of Projects5 |
Total Funding$70,000 |
Funding Agency/OrganizationGrand Total |
Number of Projects1367 |
Total Funding$408,577,276 |
*Annual funding amounts for AHRQ, ED, and NSF are estimated.
**The NIH project number shown reflects unique NIH projects. Projects funded by more than one NIH institute ("co-funds") were combined and only counted as a single project. This approach differs from that used in the NIH RePORT database, where each co-fund is counted as a separate project when the data are exported into Excel.
Table 2. The table lists the total funding provided by the 18 Federal agencies and private organizations included in the Portfolio Analysis and the number of projects funded. Please note that the NIH budget figure includes both ARRA ($58 million) and non-ARRA ($160 million) funding. Together, the agencies and organizations funded 1367 projects in 2010, representing an overall investment of more than $408 million.
