Today's
Headlines

This Week's
News

1st appeared 13 September 2000

Polls Show Strong Support for Scientific Research

Recent polls indicate that two-thirds of Americans favor doubling funding for medical and health research over five years.

In fact, Americans are so supportive of this research that 62 percent say they would be willing to pay $1 more per week in taxes, if assured the money would be spent on more medical and health research, according to surveys commissioned by Research!America, a national nonprofit advocacy organization.

In California, where similar polls were conducted in 1996 and 2000, there was a more than 20 percent increase in those supporting doubling and at least an 8 percent increase in those willing to pay more in taxes.

Currently, less than a nickel of every US health care dollar is spent on medical and health research.

According to Research!America, 98 percent of people in the US feel it is important that the country maintain its role as a world leader in medical and health research, with 84 percent indicating it is very important. Americans also expressed strong support of science and engineering and basic research, as well as the importance of research to the economy, the poll found. Eighty percent said that it is very important for their state to support science and engineering research that is carried on in state universities.

In California, which receives more federal research and development support than any other state in the country, the public is particularly favorable of scientific research. The following are some of the results of Research!America's survey of 800 California adults this summer:

• 96 percent indicate that it is important for California to be a leader in science and technology research;

• 94 percent indicate that spending money on scientific and engineering research is important, in terms of jobs and incomes, to California's economy;

• 92 percent say that basic research should be supported by the federal government;

• Nearly 80 percent indicate they would approve of California offering financial incentives to attract new medical research to the state;

"We have many great researchers here in California. But for those researchers to produce optimal results, we must have further Congressional support for doubling federal research funding. And that Congressional support must be complemented by strong support at the state level as well," said UCSF Chancellor J. Michael Bishop.

Research!America is the nation's leading nonpartisan voice for making medical and health research a higher national priority. Its membership represents more than 400 academic institutions, independent research institutes, teaching hospitals, private industries, professional societies, voluntary health agencies, philanthropies and individuals.

Links:

Research!America

Research!America press release

Research!America press release - California Survey

For poll graphs, visit

DAYBREAK | ARCHIVES | CALENDAR | CAMPUS NOTES
CAMPUS EYE | LIFESTYLE | QUICK LINKS | HELP/RESOURCES | SEARCH

Copyright ©2000 Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Please direct all comments and questions to the Daybreak Editor .
Please contact the UCSF Web Developer for questions of a technical nature.