IBER's researchers have historically done rather well in the grand competition for research funds. Our researchers in the past relied principally on funding from federal sources such as the National Science Foundation. Within the last decade, however, the National Institutes of Health have become an important source of funding for research by economists and other social scientists. As indicated in the accompanying chart, IBER's expenditures on research (the blue line, left-hand Y-axis) have risen dramatically since 1994, while its state-funded budget (the pink line, right-hand Y-axis) has remained flat before suffering recent decreases.

For funding to come in, proposals must go out. During FY03, IBER submitted fifty proposals to outside funders on behalf of our affiliated investigators, only three below the previous year and ten below the all-time high of 2000-2001. Twenty-five of these proposals were eventually funded, in line with the Institute’s historic success rate. Current research projects funded by “extramural” grants are listed on “Faculty Research Funded by Outside Grants.“