| SIC Codes: | 8731 |
| NAICS Codes: | 541720 541712 541711 |
Companies in this industry conduct research or apply research findings to develop new products or processes in a variety of fields, including life sciences, engineering, social sciences, and the humanities. Major companies include Argonne National Laboratory, Battelle Memorial Institute, and the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (all based in the US), as well as AKKA Technologies (France) and Qinetiq Group (UK).
Demand is driven by government investment in science and technology for military, aerospace, health care, energy, and homeland security. It is also driven to a lesser extent by private companies contracting out research operations or supplementing in-house research departments with outside resources. Large companies can compete by employing scientists across several disciplines and taking advantage of economies of scale; they can also compete by managing government research operations. Small companies can compete by focusing on their expertise in a single specialty. The US industry is concentrated; the top 50 companies account for more than 50 percent of revenue.
Major services include basic and applied research in three main categories: the physical and engineering sciences (about 35 percent of industry revenue); life sciences (about 20 percent); and biotechnology (about 10 percent). In addition, some companies in the industry generate revenue by licensing patents and other intellectual property, and some receive grants from government and private sources.