Who funded ASD research in 2014 and 2015?

Nine Federal agencies and nine private funders provided their autism funding data for this analysis. These 18 agencies and organizations are listed in Table 1. The New England Center for Children (NECC) submitted ASD research funding data to the IACC Portfolio Analysis for the first time this year. Brief summaries of the mission areas and portfolios of NECC and other funding agencies and organizations that contributed to the 2014-2015 Portfolio Analysis can be found in Appendix A of this report. Some funders included in previous years’ Portfolio Analysis Reports either did not have projects to report in 2014 and 2015 or did not choose to participate in the 2014-2015 analysis.

Federal Agencies

Private Organizations

Federal Agencies Administration for Community Living (ACL) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Department of Defense (DoD)* Army-Autism Research Program (Army) Air Force (AF) Department of Education (ED) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Science Foundation (NSF)

Private Organizations Autism Research Institute (ARI) Autism Science Foundation (ASF) Autism Speaks (AS) Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) New England Center for Children (NECC) Organization for Autism Research (OAR) Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Simons Foundation (SF)

* The DoD Autism Research Program and Air Force reported as two separate entities for the purpose of this Portfolio Analysis.

Table 1. Projects from nine Federal agencies and nine private organizations were included in the 2014-2015 IACC Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Portfolio Analysis Report.

How much ASD research was funded in 2014-2015?

Combined, the estimated Federal and private investment in ASD research in 2014 was $309,873,907. The overall funding for autism research was relatively unchanged from 2013 to 2014. However, the relative contributions of Federal and private funders reported during this period were significantly different from the previous year, with the proportion of overall funding provided by the federal government increasing from 76% in 2013 to 81% in 2014. In 2014, the Federal government provided $250 million in ASD research funding, and private organizations provided $59.4 million (19%) of the total funding for ASD research (Figure 3).

Figure 3. In 2014, 81% of ASD research was provided by Federal sources, while 19% of funding was provided by private organizations.

In 2015, the estimated Federal and private investment in ASD research was $342,636,029. The overall funding for autism research increased by $34.2 million from 2014 to 2015, and the proportion of Federal and private funding remained constant over this period. In 2015, the Federal government provided 81% ($277.6 million) and private organizations provided 19% ($65 million) of the total funding for ASD research (Figure 4).

Figure 4. In 2015, 81% of ASD research was provided by Federal sources, while 19% of funding was provided by private organizations.

What funding trends were observed?

• ASD research funding progressively increased from 2013-2015. In 2013, combined Federal and private investment in ASD research was $305.6 million. In 2014, the total reported funding was $309.9 million. In 2015, the total funding was $342.6 million, an increase of 12%. (Figure 5).
• Private investment in ASD research was higher in 2015 ($65 million) than in 2014 ($59.4 million) but considerably lower than in 2013 ($72.9 million).
• The amount of Federal investment in autism research reported in 2015 ($277.6 million) was significantly higher than the 2014 ($250 million) and 2013 levels ($235.9 million).
• As stated in previous IACC Portfolio Analysis Reports, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which provided an additional $63.9 million in 2009 and $59.9 million in 2010 to support autism research projects, created a temporary increase in total autism research funding levels during those years, resulting in a high of $408.6 million in 2010. In 2011, levels significantly decreased in comparison to 2010, but have been slowly rising since then. Nevertheless, current funding in 2015 was still far below the 2010 high.
• While one new private funder (New England Center for Children) was added to the 2014-2015 Portfolio Analysis, the new funder contributed a small proportion of ASD research funding, so the impact on the total funding was relatively small.

Figure 5. This figure illustrates levels of autism research funding from combined Federal and private sources during 2008-2015 based on data collected for the IACC Portfolio Analysis of those years.

Where is research being funded in the U.S.?

Figure 6 shows the distribution of autism research projects across the U.S. funded by both Federal agencies and private organizations in 2015. The map shows that research is concentrated along the east and west coasts of the U.S. and in major metropolitan areas or areas with large universities in the middle portion of the country. Table 2 provides some additional information about the institutions and states that had a large number of projects in 2014 and 2015.

Figure 6. A map of the U.S. and Canada displaying the distribution of autism-related research projects in 2015 funded by Federal agencies and private organizations.

Which U.S. institutions received the most autism research funding in 2014 and 2015?

Institution	2014 Funding	2014 Project Count
Institution National Institutes of Health - Intramural Research Program	2014 Funding $23,654,941	2014 Project Count 20
Institution University of California, Los Angeles	2014 Funding $19,131,129	2014 Project Count 51
Institution University of California, Davis	2014 Funding $15,992,131	2014 Project Count 57
Institution University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill	2014 Funding $12,950,335	2014 Project Count 41
Institution Yale University	2014 Funding $9,802,235	2014 Project Count 37
Institution Vanderbilt University	2014 Funding $7,353,330	2014 Project Count 41
Institution Emory University	2014 Funding $7,284,749	2014 Project Count 26
Institution Boston Children’s Hospital	2014 Funding $6,959,687	2014 Project Count 19
Institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology	2014 Funding $6,913,905	2014 Project Count 16
Institution Stanford University	2014 Funding $6,690,041	2014 Project Count 36

Institution	2015 Funding	2015 Project Count
Institution National Institutes of Health – Intramural Research Program	2015 Funding $23,571,416	2015 Project Count 17
Institution University of California, Davis	2015 Funding $17,581,758	2015 Project Count 55
Institution Yale University	2015 Funding $15,386,762	2015 Project Count 47
Institution University of California, Los Angeles	2015 Funding $14,969,102	2015 Project Count 49
Institution University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill	2015 Funding $14,265,467	2015 Project Count 38
Institution University of California, San Diego	2015 Funding $8,359,906	2015 Project Count 25
Institution Stanford University	2015 Funding $7,828,949	2015 Project Count 34
Institution Vanderbilt University	2015 Funding $7,136,490	2015 Project Count 35
Institution Boston Children’s Hospital	2015 Funding $6,958,946	2015 Project Count 11
Institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology	2015 Funding $6,912,012	2015 Project Count 14

Which states had the highest levels of funding in 2014 and 2015?

Institution	2014 Funding	2014 Project Count
Institution California	2014 Funding $64,958,473	2014 Project Count 289
Institution Maryland	2014 Funding $39,311,594	2014 Project Count 69
Institution Massachusetts	2014 Funding $36,215,168	2014 Project Count 207
Institution New York	2014 Funding $30,546,027	2014 Project Count 143
Institution North Carolina	2014 Funding $15,644,937	2014 Project Count 63
Institution Pennsylvania	2014 Funding $14,599,464	2014 Project Count 87
Institution Connecticut	2014 Funding $14,247,234	2014 Project Count 50
Institution Georgia	2014 Funding $13,406,969	2014 Project Count 42
Institution Texas	2014 Funding $8,617,018	2014 Project Count 51
Institution Washington	2014 Funding $7,359,330	2014 Project Count 45

Institution	2015 Funding	2015 Project Count
Institution California	2015 Funding $71,224,493	2015 Project Count 287
Institution New York	2015 Funding $46,770,187	2015 Project Count 158
Institution Maryland	2015 Funding $40,977,880	2015 Project Count 62
Institution Massachusetts	2015 Funding $33,767,096	2015 Project Count 190
Institution North Carolina	2015 Funding $17,907,155	2015 Project Count 59
Institution Connecticut	2015 Funding $17,774,925	2015 Project Count 55
Institution Pennsylvania	2015 Funding $14,168,386	2015 Project Count 77
Institution Georgia	2015 Funding $11,954,686	2015 Project Count 43
Institution Texas	2015 Funding $9,060,685	2015 Project Count 37
Institution Washington	2015 Funding $7,731,124	2015 Project Count 28

Table 2. Institutions and states with the most ASD-related research funding from Federal and private sources in 2014 and 2015.

How much ASD research funding did each funder provide in 2014?

The 18 stakeholders, agencies, and organizations that participated in the 2014 Portfolio Analysis supported 1,441 ASD research projects totaling $309,873,907 (Table 3).

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) was the leading Federal (and overall) contributor of funding for ASD research in 2014 with a total of $197.1 million, funding 457 projects. NIH funding for autism research increased by $21.2 million from 2013 to 2014. The next largest Federal funder was the Department of Education, with $17.3 million, followed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with $15.2 million. The Department of Education experienced a $5.4 million decrease in funding, and CDC had a $4.1 million decrease from 2013 to 2014. As in previous years, the Simons Foundation and Autism Speaks were the largest private funders of ASD research in 2014, with investments of $44.0 million and $12.6 million, respectively. The percentage of overall ASD research funding provided by each agency is depicted in Figure 7.

Funding Agency/Organization	2014 Funding	Project Count
Funding Agency/Organization National Institutes of Health (NIH)	2014 Funding $197,079,206	Project Count 457*
Funding Agency/Organization Simons Foundation (SF)	2014 Funding $44,017,469	Project Count 271
Funding Agency/Organization Department of Education (ED)	2014 Funding $17,323,061	Project Count 106
Funding Agency/Organization Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)	2014 Funding $15,157,020	Project Count 25
Funding Agency/Organization Autism Speaks (AS)	2014 Funding $12,588,143	Project Count 192
Funding Agency/Organization Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)	2014 Funding $9,137,969**	Project Count 45
Funding Agency/Organization Department of Defense – Army (DoD-Army)	2014 Funding $5,533,865	Project Count 59
Funding Agency/Organization National Science Foundation (NSF)	2014 Funding $2,881,721	Project Count 42
Funding Agency/Organization Administration for Community Living (ACL)	2014 Funding $1,656,454	Project Count 5
Funding Agency/Organization Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF)	2014 Funding $1,005,098	Project Count 60
Funding Agency/Organization Department of Defense – Air Force (DoD-AF)	2014 Funding $966,000	Project Count 1
Funding Agency/Organization Centers for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD)	2014 Funding $769,850	Project Count 20
Funding Agency/Organization Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)	2014 Funding $639,214	Project Count 1
Funding Agency/Organization Autism Science Foundation (ASF)	2014 Funding $405,000	Project Count 41
Funding Agency/Organization New England Center for Children (NECC)	2014 Funding $204,683	Project Count 69
Funding Agency/Organization Autism Research Institute (ARI)	2014 Funding $186,566	Project Count 17
Funding Agency/Organization Organization for Autism Research (OAR)	2014 Funding $179,984	Project Count 23
Funding Agency/Organization Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ)	2014 Funding $142,604**	Project Count 6
Funding Agency/Organization Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)	2014 Funding $0	Project Count 1
Funding Agency/Organization Total	2014 Funding $309,873,907	Project Count 1,441

*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.

**The annual funding amount for some projects reported by AHRQ and HRSA are prorated estimates for the autism-related portion of a larger project.

Table 3. The table lists the total funding and number of projects provided by the 18 Federal agencies and private organizations included in the Portfolio Analysis for 2014. Together, the agencies and organizations funded 1,441 projects, representing an overall investment of $309,873,907.

Figure 7. The figure illustrates the percentage of total ASD research funding contributed by the 18 Federal agencies and private organizations included in 2014. NIH provided the largest proportion of funding (63.3%), while Simons Foundation was the largest private funder (14.3%).

How much ASD research funding did each funder provide in 2015?

In 2015, the 18 stakeholders, agencies, and organizations that participated in the Portfolio Analysis had 1,410 ASD research projects totaling $342,636,029 (Table 4).

As in previous years, the NIH was the leading Federal (and overall) funder of ASD research in 2015 with a total of $216.7 million, funding 500 projects. NIH funding for autism research increased by $40.8 million from 2014 to 2015. The next largest Federal funder was the Department of Education, with $26.4 million, followed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with $15.8 million. The Department of Education experienced a $3.7 million increase in funding from 2014 to 2015, however CDC had a $3.5 million decrease in autism research funding. For private funders, the Simons Foundation and Autism Speaks continued to be the largest funders of ASD research in 2015, with investments of $48.4 million and $12.3 million, respectively. The percentage of overall ASD research funding provided by each agency is depicted in Figure 8.

Funding Agency/Organization	2015 Funding	Project Count
Funding Agency/Organization National Institutes of Health (NIH)	2014 Funding $216,657,540	Project Count 500*
Funding Agency/Organization Simons Foundation (SF)	2014 Funding $48,443,781	Project Count 293
Funding Agency/Organization Department of Education (ED)	2014 Funding $26,362,194	Project Count 93
Funding Agency/Organization Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)	2014 Funding $15,789,418	Project Count 25
Funding Agency/Organization Autism Speaks (AS)	2014 Funding $12,324,957	Project Count 136
Funding Agency/Organization Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)	2014 Funding $9,618,017**	Project Count 40
Funding Agency/Organization Department of Defense – Army (DoD-Army)	2014 Funding $5,440,886	Project Count 64
Funding Agency/Organization Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)	2014 Funding $1,695,006	Project Count 3
Funding Agency/Organization Administration for Community Living (ACL)	2014 Funding $1,528,535	Project Count 6
Funding Agency/Organization National Science Foundation (NSF)	2014 Funding $1,291,726	Project Count 39
Funding Agency/Organization Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF)	2014 Funding $1,290,484	Project Count 52
Funding Agency/Organization Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ)	2014 Funding $576,949**	Project Count 6
Funding Agency/Organization Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)	2014 Funding $343,850	Project Count 1
Funding Agency/Organization Center for Autism & Related Disorders (CARD)	2014 Funding $314,060	Project Count 9
Funding Agency/Organization Autism Science Foundation (ASF)	2014 Funding $330,000	Project Count 43
Funding Agency/Organization Organization for Autism Research (OAR)	2014 Funding $229,755	Project Count 20
Funding Agency/Organization New England Center for Children (NECC)	2014 Funding $219,416	Project Count 63
Funding Agency/Organization Autism Research Institute (ARI)	2014 Funding $179,456	Project Count 17
Funding Agency/Organization Total	2014 Funding $342,636,029	Project Count 1,410

*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.

**The annual funding amount for some projects reported by AHRQ and HRSA are prorated estimates for the autism-related portion of a larger project.

Table 4. The table lists the total funding and number of projects provided by the 18 Federal agencies and private organizations included in the 2015 Portfolio Analysis. Together, the agencies and organizations funded 1,410 projects, representing an overall investment of $342,636,029.

Figure 8. The figure illustrates the percentage of total ASD research funding contributed by the 18 Federal agencies and private organizations included in 2015. NIH provided the largest proportion of funding (63.2%), while Simons Foundation was the largest private funder (14.1%).

Summary of ASD Research Funding in 2014 and 2015

As outlined in this section, numerous Federal and private funders invested in ASD research conducted across the U.S. in 2014 and 2015. Since the last Portfolio Analysis Report in 2013, funding for autism research increased from $305.6 million to $342.6 million in 2015, representing a 12% increase in funding. Funding for the overall autism research portfolio increased 10.6% from 2014 to 2015, with Federal funding growing 10.8% and private funding increasing 9.6%. Over the eight-year span from 2008-2015, funding increased by 54.2%, which suggests a continued overall growth in support of ASD research. However, over the period from 2008 to 2015, ASD funding has gone through some periods of significant change and other periods of incremental change. Autism research reached a peak in funding (including ARRA) in 2010 and then experienced a decrease, which eventually plateaued through 2015. The new 2016-2017 IACC Strategic Plan calls for a doubling of the ASD research budget to $685 million by 2020. In future years, funding trends will continue to be monitored to determine whether this ambitious new IACC budget recommendation is met.