Structure of the FY16 Portfolio

The portfolio was carefully structured to continue the LDRD Program’s vigorous support for the strategic vision and long-term goals of DOE, NNSA, and Livermore.

The projects described in this annual report underwent a stringent peer-review selection process and received ongoing management oversight. In FY16, the LDRD Program funded 182 projects for a total allocation of $85.75M.

Project Type Distribution

The distribution of funding among the project categories is shown in the following pie chart.

Percentage of funding by project type chart
 
Strategic Initiative

Ten SI projects were funded in FY16. Although the SI category represented 5.5% of the total number of LDRD projects for the year, it accounted for about 21% of the budget. In FY16, individual SI projects were funded between $934k–2.9M, with an average funding level of $1.8M.

Exploratory Research

In the largest project category, 122 ER projects accounted for 67% of the number of LDRD projects and almost 70% of the budget for the fiscal year. In FY16, individual ER projects were funded between $21k–1.3M, with an average funding level of $488k.

Laboratory-Wide Competition

The 18 funded LW projects represent about 10% of the projects for the year and about 6% of the budget. In FY16, individual LW projects were funded between $145k–308k, with an average funding level of $281k.

Feasibility Study

The 32 FS projects funded represent almost 18% of the LDRD projects for the year and about 3% of the budget. In FY16, individual FS projects were funded between $10k–175k, with an average funding level of $87k.

Funding Distribution by Dollar Amounts

The following bar chart shows the funding distribution by dollar amount, rounded to the nearest $1k increment, for the 182 projects. About 15% of the projects received less than $100k, while 12% received $100k to $250k. The largest cluster (38% of the projects) was in the $250k to $500k range. Projects in the $500k to $1M funding range accounted for 28% of the total, and less than 7% of the projects received more than $1M. The average funding level was about $472k.

Number of projects by funding level
 

Research Category Distribution

The following chart shows a breakdown of the number of projects for each research category and the respective percentage of LDRD funding. With 36 projects and nearly 21% of the overall funding, the core competency of advanced materials and manufacturing represents the largest research category, while Earth and atmospheric science is the smallest category with only one project and 0.5% of the overall funding.

Projects by research category chart