Externally Funded Research Expenditures

Since 2018, research expenditures funded from external sources (grants and contracts) have grown by an average of 33% year-over-year. This growth was led by a steady annual increase of 20-25% in federally funded research expenditures from 2018 to 2021, and a staggering increase from 2021 to 2022 of 48%, as shown in the graph below.

Bar Char of Growth in External Expenditures by Funding Source

Bar Chart of Growth in Federal Expenditures by Funding Agency

The growth in federal research expenditures has been primarily driven by increased funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) as illustrated here.

Bar Chart Growth in Externally Funded Life Science Expenditures

Increased funding from the NIH has been important in advancing the Illuminate health initiative. Research expenditures in the life sciences from all external funding sources have increased almost threefold from $2.7 million in 2018 to $8.3 million in 2022.

The steep growth in 2021 was primarily due to the response of Baylor researchers to challenges presented by the pandemic in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to test innovative strategies and alternative models for the delivery of meals to children in rural areas. Funding from a private foundation for investigation of a therapeutic for COVID-19 patients further fueled this growth. The University has made strategic hires in other Illuminate initiatives, Data Sciences and Materials Sciences, which we expect to result in growth in Department of Defense and Department of Energy funding in the coming years.

Actions by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) have grown by 52% from 2018 to 2022 due to the increased number and complexity of projects in the life sciences.