This domain provides users with data concerning Government Budget Allocations for R&D (GBARD). GBARD data are measuring government support to research and development (R&D) activities, and thereby provide information about the priority Governments give to different public R&D funding activities.
GBARD data are compiled using the guidelines laid out in the OECD (2015),Frascati Manual 2015: Guidelines for Collecting and Reporting Data on Research and Experimental Development, The Measurement of Scientific, Technological and Innovation Activities, which is the internationally recognised standard methodology for collecting R&D statistics. (See Annex 7 at the bottom of the page).
In the latest version of the Frascati Manual (2015) the term ‘Government budget appropriations or outlays for R&D’ (GBAORD) has been replaced with the simpler term ‘Government budget allocations for R&D’ (GBARD).
GBARD data are broken down by:
- Socio-economic objectives (SEOs) in accordance to the Nomenclature for the analysis and comparison of scientific programmes and budgets (NABS 2007). - (See Annex 3 at the bottom of the page).
- Funding mode: project funding and institutional funding (non-mandatory data).
The part of GBARD allocated to transnational cooperation in R&D is further broken down into three specific categories: transnational public R&D performers; Europe-wide transnational public R&D programmes; and bilateral or multilateral public R&D programmes established between Member State governments or with EFTA and candidate countries.
Apart from the basic unit ‘National currency’ (MIO_NAC) data is available in the following units: Euro (MIO_EUR), Euro per inhabitant (EUR_HAB) Purchasing Power Standard (MIO_PPS), Purchasing Power Standard at 2005 prices (MIO_PPS_KP05), Purchasing Power Standard per inhabitant at constant 2005 prices (PPS_ HAB_KP05), Percentage of GDP (PC_GDP), Percentage of total GBARD (PC_GBA - for the breakdowns by socio-economic objectives and by funding mode), Percentage of government expenditure (PC_GEXP).
The periodicity of GBARD data is annual. Data are collected corresponding to the two legally established deadlines:
- June data collection: Preliminary GBARD data are provided to Eurostat 6 months after the end of the calendar year (June). This data are targeted to be disseminated inEurostat’s dissemination database at the end of July.
- December data collection: Final GBARD data are provided to Eurostat 12 months after the end of the calendar year (December). This data are targeted to be disseminated inEurostat’s dissemination database in the following January.
GBARD data are available for following countries and country groups:
- All EU Member States, EFTA countries and Candidate Countries, Japan, the United States and South Korea.
GBARD covers not only government-financed R&D performed in government establishments but also government-financed R&D in the other three national sectors (business enterprise, private non-profit, higher education) as well as Rest of the world (including international organisations), (§ 12.16, Frascati Manual (2015)).
The main variables collected in the framework of GBARD statistics are:
Government budget allocations for R&D (GBARD)are all allocations distributed to R&D in central (federal) government, regional (state) and local (municipal) government. They therefore refer to budget provisions, not to actual expenditure. Local government budget funds may not be included if their contribution is not significant or if the data cannot be collected.
GBARD include both current costs and capital expenditure and do not only cover government-financed R&D performed in government establishments, but also government-financed R&D performed in the business enterprise, private non-profit and higher education sectors, as well as in the Rest of the world. GBARD should therefore not be confused with Government intramural R&D expenditure (GOVERD). GBARD data are covering all public budget spending related to R&D and are linked to policy issues by means of a classification by "objectives" or "goals" (NABS 2007) - Programmes are allocated between socio-economic objectives, on the basis of intentions at the time the funds are committed and not the actual content of the projects concerned.
Users of the GBARD often have difficulty in understanding differences between the sums reported as total GBARD (funder-based approach) and government-financed GERD (performer-based approach). Government-financed GERD and GERD objectives data are based on reports by R&D performers, whereas GBARD is based on reports by funders and is based principally on budgetary data.
GBARD data are broken down by funding mode: project funding and institutional funding (non-mandatory data).
Project fundingis defined as the part of GBARD which is allocated to a group or an individual to perform an R&D activity limited in scope, budget and time, normally on the basis of the submission of a project proposal describing the research activities to be done. Even though the concept of project funding does not primarily rely on funds being allocated on competition between researchers or research groups, which is based on the submission of a research proposal, it may be used as a proxy measure on competitive funding.
Institutional fundingis defined as the part of GBARD which is allocated to institutions with no direct selection of R&D project or programmes to be performed. Under this type of funding, it is the receiving institution that has discretion over the R&D projects that are to be performed, not the funding organisation.
National public funding to transnationally coordinated R&Dis defined as the total budget funded by the government (central, regional, local), as measured by GBARD directed to transnational public R&D performers and transnational public R&D programmes. This indicator comprises national contributions to three categories:
1)Transnational public R&D performersare inter-governmental or European Commission bodies that carry out R&D activity with own dedicated research facilities. This category includes national contributions only to the six largest European R&D performing institutions: European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN); Institute Laue-Langevin (ILL); European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF); European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL); European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC). These international institutions have as regular members EU Member States, although other European countries (as Switzerland and Norway in CERN) or non-European countries (as Israel in EMBL) might also be their members.
2)Europe-wide transnational public R&D programmes, with and without cross-border flows of funds. Transnationally co-funded public R&D programmes/schemes with cross-border flows of funds involve cross-border flows of funding by member countries usually into a common central budget. Such programmes disburse funding to research activities conducted at national level using national R&D facilities. However, they typically involve some form of trans-national coordination (common objectives/research agenda, trans-national project consortia, etc.). Transnationally coordinated public R&D programmes/schemes with no cross-border flows of funds involve the cross-border coordination of research agendas, objectives, and so on, but do not involve cross-border flows of funding. National authorities coordinate activities with other participating countries, but disburse funds from their own budgets to R&D performers on their own territory (i.e., each country funds its own research teams).
3)Bilateral or multilateral public R&D programmes established between Member State governments (and with candidate countries and EFTA countries)include non-European Commission funded public R&D programmes jointly undertaken by at least two Member States’ governments, although other non-EU countries could also participate in them. They may or may not involve cross-border flows of funds.
GBARD statistics are currently available for EU Member States, EFTA countries and Candidate Countries, Japan, the United States and South Korea. Eurostat also calculates and disseminates aggregates at the EU and EA levels (EU Member States and Euro Area States).
