Federal grants and contracts awarded to Harvard accounted for one-fourth of the University's total budget of $270 million during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1976, a University official said yesterday.

The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) granted Harvard more money than any other agency did, donating nearly $47.7 million for various research projects, Robert H. Scott, director of the Office for Information Technology, said yesterday.

Scott said that last year's figure for total government support-$68.5 million-represented an increase of about $2 million over the previous year's figure. He added that although each year brings an increase in federal funding, the increases do not keep pace with inflation.

The money in each government grant can go towards the salaries of anyone involved in the supported projects, as well as for incidental expenses.

Scott said that over 90 per cent of the HEW money came through the Public Health Service. Most of that money will go to cancer research projects.

Outer Space

The National Science Foundation donated the next highest amount of money, giving nearly $6 million in grants and contracts. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) granted around $3 million.

Scott said that one major NASA grant was for research involving U.S. satellites by the Smithsonian and Harvard College Observatories.