Industrial Research and Development Information System

Provides data from more than 2,500 statistical tables on historical trends in expenditures on research and development (R&D) conducted in the U.S. from 1953-1998 by industrial firms, domestic and foreign-owned. Tables are accessed as downloaded Excel spreadsheets. Data for more recent years, presented under a new coding scheme, can be found in a linked site. Compiled by the National Science Foundation's Annual Survey of Industrial Research and Development. Statistics available include expenditures by industry, size of R&D programs, types of cost, comparison by states, comparison of R&D to net sales by industry, comparison by size of company, federal amounts of R&D, and cost of R&D per scientist and engineer. The site does not contain data for individually specified firms. Provides links to approximately 15 publications and sites on national patterns of R&D resources. Of great value to those studying business history, history of science, and government, in addition to policy makers.