Research Funding Continues to Grow in Tough Climate

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Northwestern University was awarded research grants and contracts totaling more than a half billion dollars for the fifth year in a row. The amount awarded during fiscal year 2014 (ending Aug. 31, 2014) was $593.9 million, an 8 percent increase over last year’s $549.3 million.

In the past five years, Northwestern University has received more than $2.7 billion in external research grant funding, despite challenges with federal funding opportunities.

“These numbers represent a great deal of hard work from a great number of people,” said Jay Walsh, Northwestern’s vice president for research. “Most significantly, faculty, students, postdoctoral fellows and staff all contribute their expertise to support the groundbreaking research being done here.”

The increased dollar volume of research funding came from several sectors in 2014, including federal agencies (7 percent increase over the previous year, $26.4 million) and industrial sponsors (47 percent, $31.5 million). Awards from foundations decreased by 16 percent ($5.4 million), while those from the state of Illinois decreased by 56 percent ($5.6 million). More than 73 percent of research funding came from federal sources.

“The breadth and depth of Northwestern research is impressive,” Walsh said. “We are making great strides in our understanding of our world by the discovery of new knowledge and in our search for solutions for pressing societal problems. In the process, we help strengthen and grow the local, regional, national and global economies.”

-Joan Naper, director of research communications in the Office for Research, is the author of this story.