In the last full year, federal agencies obligated $8.20 billion across 8,140 award actions under NAICS 541712, with an average action value of $1,007,187.23. The largest share of spending came from the Department of the Air Force and the Department of the Army, while Massachusetts Institute of Technology was the top vendor by obligation.
NAICS Industry
NAICS 541712 Federal Contract Obligations (Last Year)
FPDS procurement analysis for NAICS 541712 covers federal obligations for research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences, excluding biotechnology.
This page reflects readable FPDS totals for the last full year and may include obligations across multiple award actions for the same vendor or agency.
NAICS Code
541712
Industry
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT BIOTECHNOLOGY)
Total Obligated
8.20 billion
8,198,504,062.67
Award Actions
8,140
Average Action Value
1,007,187.23
About NAICS 541712 federal contract activity
NAICS 541712 covers research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences, excluding biotechnology. In the last full year, this category accounted for $8.20 billion across 8,140 awards, with an average award value of $1.01 million, indicating a large volume of mostly mid-sized research contracts and grants.
Agency demand and leading federal buyers
Spending was led by the Department of the Air Force at $3.22 billion across 2,320 awards, followed by the Department of the Army at $1.75 billion across 1,834 awards. NASA, the Department of Energy, and the Federal Acquisition Service also ranked among the top obligating agencies, showing that demand is concentrated in defense, space, energy, and federal acquisition channels.
Vendor concentration and leading contractors
The vendor landscape was led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology at $1.20 billion across 353 awards, followed by Brookhaven Science Associates, LLC at $900.36 million. Other major recipients included Odyssey Systems Consulting Group, Ltd., Torch Technologies Inc, and Science Applications International Corporation, reflecting a mix of research institutions and technical contractors.
Annual contract trend over the analysis window
The annual trend for 2025 shows total obligations of $8.20 billion across 8,140 awards, which serves as the full-year baseline for this analysis. With only one annual data point provided, no multi-year growth or decline pattern can be inferred from this dataset alone.
How to interpret this page
This summary is based on FPDS Query results for NAICS 541712 using the last full year as the analysis window. Agency and vendor rankings are ordered by total obligated dollars, and award counts and averages reflect the reported FPDS totals for that period.
Top Agencies
SELECT
agency_id,
agency_name,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID AS agency_id,
anyHeavy(content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__name) AS agency_name,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541712'
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID IS NOT NULL
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID != ''
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 1 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY agency_id
)
ORDER BY total_obligated DESC
LIMIT 10| Agency ID | Agency Name | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5700 | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | 3,219,643,871.88 | 3.22 billion | 2,320 |
| 2100 | DEPT OF THE ARMY | 1,745,667,647.05 | 1.75 billion | 1,834 |
| 8000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | 920,676,297.81 | 920.68 million | 668 |
| 8900 | ENERGY, DEPARTMENT OF | 900,329,631.91 | 900.33 million | 47 |
| 4732 | FEDERAL ACQUISITION SERVICE | 637,634,964.70 | 637.63 million | 422 |
| 97JC | MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY (MDA) | 345,762,564.35 | 345.76 million | 300 |
| 1700 | DEPT OF THE NAVY | 173,195,477.49 | 173.20 million | 710 |
| 9761 | DEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY (DTRA) | 127,272,844.84 | 127.27 million | 227 |
| 1330 | NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION | 65,129,458.25 | 65.13 million | 57 |
| 97AE | DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY (DARPA) | 23,645,119.94 | 23.65 million | 22 |
Insight
Obligations in NAICS 541712 are highly concentrated among a few agencies in the last full year, with the Department of the Air Force leading at $3.22 billion across 2,320 awards, followed by the Department of the Army at $1.75 billion across 1,834 awards. NASA, the Department of Energy, and the Federal Acquisition Service each obligated between $637.6 million and $920.7 million, while the remaining listed agencies were below $346 million each. The award volume is broader than the obligation concentration, as DOE obligated $900.3 million across just 47 awards, indicating a small number of high-value actions within this NAICS.
Top Vendors
SELECT
vendor_name,
cage_code,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName AS vendor_name,
anyHeavy(content__award__vendor__vendorSiteDetails__entityIdentifiers__cageCode) AS cage_code,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541712'
AND content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName IS NOT NULL
AND content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName != ''
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 1 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY vendor_name
)
ORDER BY total_obligated DESC
LIMIT 10| Vendor | CAGE Code | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | 3G050 | 1,197,665,107.50 | 1.20 billion | 353 |
| BROOKHAVEN SCIENCE ASSOCIATES, LLC | 4KUZ2 | 900,362,483.03 | 900.36 million | 37 |
| ODYSSEY SYSTEMS CONSULTING GROUP, LTD. | 09DF6 | 430,047,693.26 | 430.05 million | 289 |
| TORCH TECHNOLOGIES INC | 3CBV3 | 428,437,457.95 | 428.44 million | 248 |
| SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION | 6XWA8 | 407,081,169.55 | 407.08 million | 233 |
| JACOBS TECHNOLOGY INC. | 7EBK3 | 353,256,022.94 | 353.26 million | 253 |
| NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION | 8L7J1 | 350,230,051.27 | 350.23 million | 70 |
| MODERN TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. | 0X988 | 293,820,232.30 | 293.82 million | 116 |
| AEROJET ROCKETDYNE OF DE, INC | 02602 | 275,920,964.00 | 275.92 million | 26 |
| APPLIED RESEARCH SOLUTIONS, INC | 4YHD4 | 223,888,774.78 | 223.89 million | 95 |
Insight
Over the last full year, NAICS 541712 obligations totaled $8.20 billion across 8,140 awards, with an average award value of about $1.01 million. Spending is moderately concentrated among the top vendors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads at $1.20 billion, and the top 10 vendors together account for a substantial share of total obligations, though award counts vary widely. The mix of high-dollar, lower-count awards (e.g., Brookhaven Science Associates, LLC and Aerojet Rocketdyne of DE, Inc) and higher-count, lower-obligation vendors indicates a distributed award base with several large performers capturing outsized funding.
Annual Trend
SELECT
year,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
toYear(parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate)) AS year,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541712'
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 1 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY year
)
ORDER BY year DESC| Year | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8,198,504,062.67 | 8.20 billion | 8,140 |
Insight
In the last full year, NAICS 541712 recorded $8.20 billion in obligated funds across 8,140 awards, for an average award value of about $1.01 million. With only one annual data point in the 1-year window, no year-over-year trend can be assessed. The volume of awards relative to total obligations suggests a broad distribution of funding across many actions rather than concentration in a small number of large awards.
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