A March 27, 2014 news item on Nanowerk highlights the US National Nanotechnology Initiative’s (NNI) document titled “NNI Supplement to the President’s 2015 Budget” (86 pp. PDF; Note: A link has been removed),

This document (pdf) is a supplement to the President’s 2015 Budget request submitted to Congress on March 4, 2014. It gives a description of the activities underway in 2013 and 2014 and planned for 2015 by the Federal Government agencies participating in the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), primarily from a programmatic and budgetary perspective.

The March 25, 2014 NNI announcement provides more details about the current request and funding over the years since the NNI’s inception,

The President’s 2015 Budget provides over $1.5 billion for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a continued investment in support of the President’s priorities and innovation strategy. Cumulatively totaling nearly $21 billion since the inception of the NNI in 2001 (including the 2015 request), this support reflects nanotechnology’s potential to significantly improve our fundamental understanding and control of matter at the nanoscale and to translate that knowledge into solutions for critical national issues. The NNI investments in 2013 and 2014 and those proposed for 2015 continue the emphasis on accelerating the transition from basic R&D to innovations that support national priorities, while maintaining a strong base of foundational research, to provide a pipeline for future nanotechnology-based innovations.

The President’s 2015 Budget supports nanoscale science, engineering, and technology R&D at 11 agencies. Another 9 agencies have nanotechnology-related mission interests or regulatory responsibilities. The NNI Supplement to the President’s 2015 Budget documents progress of these NNI participating agencies in addressing the goals and objectives of the NNI. (See the Acronyms page for agency abbreviations.)

Courtesy: NNI [downloaded from http://www.nano.gov/node/1128]

One significant change for the 2015 Budget, which is reflected in the figures provided in this document for 2013 and 2014, is a revision in the Program Component Areas (PCAs), budget categories under which the NNI investments are reported. Note that this represents an update of how NNI investments by the Federal Government are tabulated, but not a change in the overall scope of the Initiative. As outlined in the 2014 NNI Strategic Plan, the new PCAs are more broadly strategic, fully inclusive, and consistent with Federal research categories, while correlating well with the NNI goals and high-level objectives. Of particular note is the creation of a separate PCA for the Nanotechnology Signature Initiatives (NSIs), reflecting the high priority placed on NSIs in the 2015 OMB/OSTP R&D Priorities Memo.

The 2014 budget for the NNI was $1.7B (as per the NNI Supplement to the President’s 2014 Budget),

The President’s 2014 Budget provides over $1.7 billion for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a sustained investment in support of the President’s priorities and innovation strategy. Cumulatively totaling almost $20 billion since the inception of the NNI in 2001 (including the 2014 request), …

So this year’s request represents a decrease of $200M. Coincidentally, the US BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) initiative (originally named BAM for brain activity map) is going to have its budget doubled from $100M in 2014 to $200M in 2015 (as per David Bruggeman’s March 25, 2014 posting on his Pasco Phronesis blog),

The President’s Fiscal Year 2015 (which starts on October 1, but likely won’t get funded until next February) budget rollout includes doubling support for the BRAIN (Brain Research though Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative.  The $100 million multi-agency (National Institutes of Health, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and National Science Foundation) public-private effort will have some of its first funding awards later this year.

Interesting, non?

For anyone interested in more specifics about the 2015 NNI budget request but who doesn’t want to read the supplementary document, you can visit this page.