Research collaboration involving multiple institutions is a growing trend. Contributing to this growth are federal initiatives as well as practical considerations, such as technological advances that facilitate communication and opportunities for division of labor, risk sharing, and increased research credibility. One measure of this research collaboration is the amount of total expenditures for research and development that universities pass through to others, including both academic institutions and other entities. These pass-through funds represented 7% of total academic R&D expenditures in FY 2009, compared with 5% in FY 2000, according to the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) annual Survey of R&D Expenditures at Universities and Colleges (Academic R&D Expenditures Survey). Between FY 2000 and FY 2009 the federal government provided about 60% of the nation's total academic R&D funds and a substantially higher percentage (about 85%) of the academic R&D funds that universities passed through to others. The nation's major research universities spent the large majority of pass-through funds throughout the decade. (Contains 2 tables, 4 figures and 7 notes.)