The 13 stakeholders that funded ASD research in 2008 contributed a total of $222,215,342 across 745 projects (Table 2). The average funding per project varied greatly between organizations, ranging from $24,643 to $2,030,264, with some organizations choosing to support a few large projects while others distributed funds across several smaller projects. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) contributed the largest amount of research funding in 2008, spending $117,969,770 on 340 projects, followed by the Simons Foundation with 77 projects totaling $42,985,684. Autism Speaks ranked third with $30,828,116 spent across 200 projects. In the split between Federal and private funding, the Federal government supported about two-thirds of the total research budget, while private organizations funded the remaining one-third (Figure 1).

2008 ASD Research Funding by Funding Agency/Organization

Funding Agency/Organization*	Number of Projects	Average Funding Per Project	Total Funding
Funding Agency/Organization* National Institutes of Health	Number of Projects 340	Average Funding Per Project $346,970	Total Funding $117,969,770
Funding Agency/Organization* Simons Foundation	Number of Projects 77	Average Funding Per Project $558,256	Total Funding $42,985,684
Funding Agency/Organization* Autism Speaks	Number of Projects 200	Average Funding Per Project $154,141	Total Funding $30,828,116
Funding Agency/Organization* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	Number of Projects 27	Average Funding Per Project $682,855	Total Funding $15,022,812
Funding Agency/Organization* Health Resources and Services Administration	Number of Projects 3	Average Funding Per Project $2,030,264	Total Funding $6,090,792
Funding Agency/Organization* Department of Education	Number of Projects 7	Average Funding Per Project $491,292	Total Funding $3,439,047
Funding Agency/Organization* Autism Consortium	Number of Projects 22	Average Funding Per Project $100,683	Total Funding $2,215,017
Funding Agency/Organization* Department of Defense	Number of Projects 8	Average Funding Per Project $147,223	Total Funding $1,177,781
Funding Agency/Organization* Center for Autism and Related Disorders	Number of Projects 26	Average Funding Per Project $31,369	Total Funding $815,581
Funding Agency/Organization* Organization for Autism Research	Number of Projects 16	Average Funding Per Project $45,625	Total Funding $730,000
Funding Agency/Organization* Autism Research Institute	Number of Projects 13	Average Funding Per Project $40,085	Total Funding $521,099
Funding Agency/Organization* Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center	Number of Projects 5	Average Funding Per Project $79,000	Total Funding $395,000
Funding Agency/Organization* Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services	Number of Projects 1	Average Funding Per Project $24,643	Total Funding $24,643
Funding Agency/Organization* Grand Total	Number of Projects 745	Average Funding Per Project $300,291	Total Funding $222,215,342

*Research projects included are those identified by the agencies and organizations as funded in the most recent 12 months for which data were available. 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 RePORTER system, where each co-fund is counted as a separate project.

Table 2. The table lists the total funding provided by the agencies and organizations included in the portfolio analysis, the number of projects funded, and the average funding per project. Together, the agencies and organizations funded 745 projects at an average of $300,291 per project.

Comparison of Federal versus Private Funding for ASD Research in 2008

Figure 1. Sixty-five percent of the $222 million spent on ASD research in 2008 came from Federal sources, while thirty-five percent of funding came from private organizations.