Table of Contents
Our goals for Building a Talent Strong Texas
- $1 billion increase in annual private and federal research and development expenditures by 2030
We must increase research funding to achieve our Texas-sized potential.
Texas’ economy ranks among the world’s top 10, with industries at the frontiers of energy, technology, finance, and aerospace. Given our state’s size and status as a global economic leader, Texas has also strongly committed to engagement in research and development.
Increasing sponsored research will improve our competitiveness on a national and global scale, as well as generate advancements that benefit individual Texans and stimulate economic growth. More specifically, achieving our research goals will help improve Texas’ innovation ecosystem and drive economic development and opportunity across the state.
The research landscape is expanding.
We are seeing the results of Texas’ long-range goal to expand investment in institutional research. In 2010, only four doctoral universities in the state qualified as “R1” research institutions, which conduct the highest level of research activity. Today we have 16 R1 universities – leading the nation in top-tier research universities – as well as 16 institutions in the second tier of research activity.
Texas has achieved its research expenditures goal.
Research expenditures in Texas increased by $1 billion from 2020 to 2024, meeting our 2030 goal with six years to spare.
Texas must remain vigilant in pursuing valuable research dollars that move our knowledge and economy forward. Funding comes in waves, rather than a steady stream, and is determined at the federal level largely through grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and other sources. Budget changes at these agencies may affect the amount available to disburse for research at Texas universities.
