50.4% of the budgets were raised by researchers from natural sciences and mathematics. This is according to a report published by the Central Bureau of Statistics for the National Council for Research and Development in the Ministry of Science and Technology
The expenditure on specially funded research in universities in Israel in 2019 amounted to NIS 2.58 billion. The amount reflects a nominal increase of 4.3%, after a similar increase in 2018. This is according to a report published by the Central Bureau of Statistics for the National Council for Research and Development in the Ministry of Science and Technology.
the expense for hire - NIS 934 million - reflects a 2.1% increase in salary expenses for those employed in specially funded research, compared to a 3.5% increase in salary expenses for those employed in universities.
The expense for Personnel - Salary and scholarships - amounted to 1.313 billion NIS (50.9% of the total special budget). The rest of the expenses in the special budget were for: Laboratory equipment, materials and services - 24.9% (643 million NIS), Overhead and miscellaneous - 22.4% (579 million NIS), and transfers between projects - 1.8% (47 million NIS).
50.4% of the budgets were raised by researchers from the natural sciences and mathematics, 17.6% - from engineering and architecture, 9.2% - from the humanities, 8.1% - from medicine, 7.6% - from the social sciences, 3.9% - from agriculture, 0.9% - from law, and 2.2% - from Unknown research.
22.4% of the budgets were raised by researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 22.1% - from Tel Aviv University, 14.7% - from the Weizmann Institute of Science, 13.3% - from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 10.8% - from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 9.0% - from Bar-Ilan University , 5.0% - from Haifa University and 2.6% - from Ariel University.
R&D activity Includes three types: basic research, applied research, or development. study basic is an experimental or theoretical work that is carried out mainly for the purpose of acquiring new knowledge about visible phenomena and facts, without application or pre-planned use.
study Applications It is original work that is carried out for the purpose of acquiring new knowledge, and is aimed at a specific purpose or a unique useful purpose.
Development is systematic work based on existing knowledge that has been accumulated through research and practical experiments with the aim of creating new materials, products or devices, implementing new processes, services or systems or significantly improving existing ones.
Research in universities is carried out and financed in two main frameworks:
Research funded from the current budget - This is the time spent on research and development (R&D) activities of the senior academic staff who receive their salary through the university's regular budget.
Specially funded studies (special budget) - Funded through winning by the faculty at that institution, research grants received from external research funds, internal research funds (such as permanent funds) and research donations. The expenses for these studies can be identified through the accounting system of the authorities for research and development in universities.
total expenditure For research with special funding In Israeli universities, it is 3.7% of the national expenditure for civil R&D in Israel[1] and 43.0% of the expenditure for research and development In universities - a current budget and a special budget (more than 6 billion NIS).
In 2019, data collection began Specially funded studies Also in the academic colleges. An official application was sent to 55 academic colleges and colleges of education (the same as the application sent to universities). The colleges were asked to report whether in the years 2019-2016 there was any research and development activity in them. Their reports show that in at least one year out of the 4 years, there was research and development activity in 27 colleges, and the total budget raised in the 4 years was about 100 million NIS.
The data was collected thanks to the cooperation between the Central Bureau of Statistics and the universities, academic colleges and academic colleges of education which provided all the information necessary to prepare the announcement.
Research expenses from a special budget in universities,[2] by type of expense
In 2019, the total expenses for research from a special budget amounted to 2.58 billion NIS. The amount reflects a nominal increase of 4.3% in expenses, similar to the increase of 4.2% in 2018 and 3.1% in 2017 (Table A). In the segmentation according to the components of the expenditure, it was found that in all these years there was an increase in expenditures for personnel - 2.8% in 2019, 4.6% in 2018 and 5.5% in 2017 (Table A).
In 2019, there was a 7.4% increase in expenses for laboratory services, after higher increases in 2018 (24.5%) and 2017 (20.9%). There was a 2019% increase in expenses for the purchase of materials in 2.1 after moderate decreases in 2018 and 2017, and a 1.4% decrease in expenses for the purchase of equipment - after a similar decrease in 2018 and an increase of 2.0% in 2017 (Table A).
In 2019 there was a 12.7% increase in overhead expenses, after more moderate increases in 2018 and 2017 4.6% and 5.0% respectively. Also, there was an increase in the miscellaneous expenses section of 12.5%, and a decrease of 8.5% in transfers of funds between projects (within the institution and between the institutions) during the reporting year (Table A).
Schedule A - Expenditures for research with special funding by type of expenditure, and nominal change rate,
Each year compared to the previous one, 2017, 2018, 2019
| Type of Expenditure | 2017 thousands of NIS | 2018 thousands of NIS | 2019 thousands of NIS | 2017 percentage | 2018 percentage | 2019 percentage |
| Total | 2,377,210 | 2,476,055 | 2,582,209 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 |
| personnel(1) | 1,220,908 | 1,276,637 | 1,312,971 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 2.8 |
| Of this: salary | 1,037,550 | 915,000 | 934,370 | 5.0 | 11.8 | 2.1 |
| equipment | 268,931 | 265,095 | 261,262 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| Materials | 261,174 | 259,527 | 264,936 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 2.1 |
| Laboratory services | 87,011 | 108,348 | 116,326 | 20.9 | 24.5 | 7.4 |
| overheads | 237,112 | 247,949 | 279,335 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 12.7 |
| variance | 237,936 | 266,909 | 300,194 | 6.0 | 12.2 | 12.5 |
| Transfers | 64,138 | 51,591 | 47,184 | 8.0 | 19.6 | 8.5 |
(1) In this announcement, there is an improvement in the separation between the reporting of salary expenses, and the reporting of scholarship expenses.
In 2019, the segmentation of the expenditure components in the budget by type was similar to 2018. Half of the expenses were for personnel (labor) - wages 36.2% and stipends 14.7%, a quarter of the expenses were for materials, equipment, and laboratory services (physical capital) - 10.3%, 10.1%, and 4.5% respectively, and another quarter of the expenses were for miscellaneous and overhead (land) – 11.6%, 10.8% respectively, and for transfers between projects (financial capital) – 1.8% (Chart 1).
In 2019, there was a 2.1% increase in salary expenses for those employed in research with special funding (Table A), compared to a 3.5% increase in salary expenses for those employed in universities.[3]
Research expenses from a special budget, according to the field of scientific research
In 2019, the total budget raised for research from external sources, other than the current budget of the universities, increased by approximately NIS 106 million compared to the previous year, after an increase of approximately NIS 99 million in 2018. An addition of NIS 63 million was recorded in the humanities, NIS 16 million - in medicine, and NIS 16 million - in studies in the field of general scientific research without a known classification. Fundraising increased by a few million NIS in the research fields: law, agriculture, engineering and architecture and social sciences, and decreased by 3 million NIS in the natural sciences and mathematics (Table B).
Table B - Expenses for research with special funding, and the change in expenses each year compared to the previous one,
By field of scientific research, 2018, 2019
| field of scientific research | 2017 thousands of NIS | 2018 thousands of NIS | 2019 thousands of NIS | 2018 Change in millions of NIS | 2019 Change in millions of NIS |
| Total | 2,377,210 | 2,476,055 | 2,582,209 | 99 | 106 |
| Humanities | 165,194 | 174,173 | 237,235 | 9 | 63 |
| Social Sciences | 171,163 | 194,116 | 196,116 | 23 | 2 |
| laws | 17,747 | 17,067 | 23,665 | 0.7 | 7 |
| medicine | 220,141 | 194,051 | 210,202 | 26 | 16 |
| Natural Sciences and Mathematics | 1,261,738 | 1,305,791 | 1,302,445 | 44 | 3- |
| agriculture | 80,836 | 96,676 | 100,843 | 16 | 4 |
| engineering and architecture | 436,762 | 453,478 | 455,017 | 17 | 2 |
| Unknown field of study | 23,630 | 40,703 | 56,686 | 17 | 16 |
50.4% of the budgets in 2019 were raised by researchers from the field of natural sciences and mathematics, 17.6% - from engineering and architecture, 9.2% - from humanities, 8.1% - from medicine, 7.6% - from social sciences, 3.9% - from agriculture, 0.9% - from law and 2.2 % – from an unknown research field (Chart 2).
In 2019, the distribution of total expenses for research among the academic institutions was similar to 2018. 22.4% of the budgets were raised by researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 22.1% - from Tel Aviv University, 14.7% - from the Weizmann Institute of Science, 13.3% - from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 10.8% - from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 9.0% - from Bar-Ilan University , 5.0% - from Haifa University and 2.6% - from Ariel University (Table C).
Table C - total expenses by academic institution, 2018, 2019
| institution | 2018 thousands of NIS | 2018 percentage | 2019 thousands of NIS | 2019 percentage |
| Total | 2,476,055 | 100.0 | 2,582,209 | 100.0 |
| Hebrew University of Jerusalem | 580,457 | 23.4 | 579,643 | 22.4 |
| Tel Aviv University | 517,609 | 20.9 | 569,643 | 22.1 |
| Weitzman Institution of Science | 390,753 | 15.8 | 379,523 | 14.7 |
| The Technion - Israeli Institute of Technoogy | 322,297 | 13.0 | 344,633 | 13.3 |
| Ben Gurion University in the Negev | 269,580 | 10.9 | 278,369 | 10.8 |
| Bar-Ilan University | 199,840 | 8.1 | 233,675 | 9.0 |
| Haifa University | 132,987 | 5.4 | 129,610 | 5.0 |
| Ariel University | 62,532 | 2.6 | 67,646 | 2.6 |
Research expenses from a special budget in academic colleges and colleges of education
As mentioned, in the years 2019-2016, research and development activities took place in 27 academic colleges and academic colleges for education, with a total budget of approximately 100 million NIS. The budget raised for research through special funding for the years 2018 and 2019 was an average of NIS 25 million per year. The Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya raised about 80% of the total college budget in 2019, and about 62% in 2018. In addition to that, the Ord Brauda College of Engineering raised about 5% of the total budget of the colleges in 2019, Sapir College - 4%, Wingate College - 3%, Tel Aviv-Yafo Academic - 2.8%, and the Management College in Rishon Lezion - 2.7%.
In 2019, 50.9% of the total expenditure in the special budget (1.313 billion NIS) was for Personnel. The rest of the expenses in the special budget were for: Laboratory equipment, materials and services - 24.9% (643 million NIS), overheads - 10.8% (279 million NIS), variance - 11.6% (300 million NIS), and transfers between projects - 1.8% (NIS 47 million) (Schedule D).
The percentage of expenditure for Personnel was lower than the average spending percentage at the following institutions: Bar-Ilan University (42.1%), Tel Aviv University (48.9%), the Hebrew University (50.1%), and the Weizmann Institute (50.2%) (Table D).
The percentage of expenditure for Laboratory equipment, materials and services was higher than the average spending percentage at the following institutions: Haifa University (31.7%) and the Weizmann Institute (30.9%) (Table D).
Percentage of expenses for overheads was higher than the average expenditure percentage at the Weizmann Institute (15.3%) and the Technion (14.9%) (Table D).
[1] Central Bureau of Statistics (2020). Statistical Yearbook for Israel 2020. No. 71, Chapter 17, Table 17.1.
[2] Not including the Open University.
[3] The change in current prices in the salaries of university employees for 2018. Central Bureau of Statistics (2019). Statistical Yearbook for Israel 2019. No. 70, Chapter 9, Table 9.39.
