How is US HEP research funded, broadly speaking?

In the US, HEP research is primarily funded by two scientific agencies, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science, and the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Directorate for the Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Government data on HEP grants and spending contracts is scattered across multiple websites and difficult to browse directly. On this page, I have collated federal HEP-related spending from the following three sources:

1. Grants from the DOE Office of High Energy Physics (“HEP Grants”)

HEP-specific work within the Office of Science. These grants are typically awarded to university research groups. Data source: DOE Office of Science

2. Contracts from the DOE Office of Science (“SC Contracts”)

Data are not HEP-specific, but most Office of Science contracts are related to national laboratory spending, which is critical to HEP research. Data source: USASpending.gov

3. Grants from the NSF Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (“NSF MPS Grants”)

Again, not HEP-specific, (indeed, most of the grants listed will not be HEP-related), but this is relevant for Congressional advocacy. Since Congress does not have budgetary authority below the Directorate level, when advocating for HEP funding, we’re necessarily advocating for funding the NSF MPS directorate. Data source: USASpending.gov

What are the SULI and CCI programs?

The Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) and Community College Internships (CCI) are programs that place undergraduates from four- and two-year degree programs across the nation at DOE laboratories for three-month internships to help students gain research experience and develop technical skills. These programs are funded through the DOE Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS), but high-energy physicists mentor many of these students, making these programs a crucial contribution to HEP efforts to bolster a modern STEM workforce. Data from 2014-2016 is all that is presently available from the SULI and CCI websites.

Why can’t I see just Office of High-Energy Physics contracts, or just HEP-specific NSF MPS grants?

Raw datasets published by government agencies can be–ahem–tricky to work with. There’s missing data, inconsistent entries, and broad categories that can obscure trends of interest in the data. For example, DOE Office of Science contracts don’t specify which sub-office funded them, making it impossible to display only DOE contracts from the Office of High Energy Physics. NSF Grants, similarly, aren’t categorized more specifically than “Mathematical and Physical Sciences.” As mentioned above, Office of Science contracts mainly support the national laboratory system, which is critical for HEP research, and Congressional budget authority does not extend below the NSF directorate level, so MPS grants are relevant to Congressional advocacy.

Why aren’t NSF contracts included?

Contracts make up only 5% of NSF spending (see page 6 of this document), and are therefore omitted. In any case, contracts are routed through a central NSF procurement office, making it impossible to determine which of them are dedicated toward MPS.

Why does “University of X” appear as a funding recipient in multiple congressional districs?

There’s an accounting distinction on federal projects (so I learned) between the location of the “recipient” of a grant/contract, and the location where the work is actually performed. I have tried to consistently use the /place of performance/, but the result leads to some confusing entries, with university grants, for example, being assigned to multiple Congressional districts. These are either mistakes by the agencies recording the locations, or universities obtaining grants for research at offsite locations. The effect of re-districting/district re-numbering can also move universities and businesses across Congressional district boundary lines over time. Since I include data going back to 2012, institutions may be listed in multiple congressional districts if they changed district during this time.

What are the contract “Item” descriptions?

These are from the standardized system for categorizing government purchases, specified by Product and Service Codes (PSCs).

Other questions / Having problems?

If you encounter any other issues using the website, feel free to write an issue on the project’s GitHub page.