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R&D funding, especially that granted to universities, is an important part of DoD contract spending because it supports basic research that is often connected to Missouri businesses. One of the reasons this spending is so important to innovation and development of new technologies is that the early phases of product development are almost never attractive to private investors. Unfortunately, DoD research grants in Missouri have declined over the past few years. In FY 2016, the last year in which information is available, the total declined to about $31.6 million, down from more than $100 million in FY 2014. Until the current budget year, there had also been a decline in DoD R&D awards across the country, but Missouri's decline was more severe.

Our question is how can we create opportunities to increase this funding in the future.

Related to this, what are the Strengths and Weaknesses of current efforts, Opportunities for improvement, and Threats that may keep us from realizing this outcome?