Federal Funding Updates

• February 27, 2026:
  Nature: White House Stalls Release of Approved U.S. Science Budgets

   

• February 26, 2026:
  Inside Higher Ed: NSF Plans to Boost Staffing and Halve Solicitations

   

• February 25, 2026:
  NIH: Updated Elements of an NIH Data Management and Sharing PlanUpdated Elements of an NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan

   

• February 6, 2026:
  Congress Passes Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations

   

• February 2, 2026:
  What Happens at UMD if There’s a Partial Government Shutdown?

• January 15, 2026:
  NSF Seeks Public Input on Its Fiscal Year (FY) 2026–2030 NSF Strategic Plan

• December 15, 2025:
  Science: NSF Pares Down Grant Review Process, Reducing Influence of Outside Scientists
   
• December 8, 2025:
  Policy Notice: Implementation of Policy Changes to Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 24-1, Supplement 1
   
• December 3, 2025:
  Updated Application Policies: NIH Administrative Burden Reduction Effort – Removal of Requirements for Letters of Intent and Unsolicited Applications Requesting $500,000 or More in Direct Costs (Notice Number: NOT-OD-26-019)
   
• December 2, 2025:
  NIH’s Implementation of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2026 (Notice Number: NOT-OD-26-018)

• November 17, 2025:
  Update on the Resumption of Operations at NSF

   

• November 13, 2025:
  Federal Government to Reopen After House Votes to End Longest-ever Shutdown

• October 1, 2025:
  AP: What Happens Now That a Government Shutdown is Underway

   

• October 1, 2025:
  What Happens at UMD if There’s a Federal Government Shutdown?: 
  Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

• September 30, 2025:
  A Message from the VP for Research: Impacts of Government Shutdown on UMD Research and Other Sponsored Activities

   

• September 29, 2025:
  COGR Releases Considerations for a Potential Federal Government Shutdown

   

• September 23, 2025:
  OSTP and OMB Memorandum: FY2027 Administration Research and Development Budget Priorities and Cross-Cutting Actions

• August 25, 2025:
  U.S. Department of Education, Federal Partners Issue Guidance to Help Colleges and Universities Mitigate Foreign Threats to Research

   

• August 22, 2025:
  Implementation of Gold Standard Science at USDA

   

• August 22, 2025:
  Department of Energy Announces Restoring Gold Standard Science DOE Implementation Plan

   

• August 22, 2025:
  NIH Announces "Leading in Gold Standard Science: An NIH Implementation Plan"

   

• August 22, 2025:
  NSF Gold Standard Science Implementation Plan

   

• August 22, 2025:
  NASA Implementation of Executive Order 14303, Restoring Gold Standard Science

   

• August 22, 2025:
  Nature: U.S. Supreme Court Allows NIH To Cut $2 Billion in Research Grants

July 17, 2025:
NIH Updated Guidance:

• Updated Implementation Guidance of NIH Policy on Foreign Subawards for Active Projects (NOT-OD-25-130)
• Revision: NIH Policy and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research (NOT-OD-25-131)
• Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications (NOT-OD-25-132)
• Flexibilities for Registration and Results Reporting of Prospective Basic Experimental Studies with Human Participants (NOT-OD-25-134)

July 10, 2025:
Joint Associations Group on Indirect Costs Releases Financial Accountability in Research (FAIR) Model

June 26, 2025:
Baltimore Banner: University of Maryland Presidents Push Collaboration to Restore Federal Research Funding

June 23, 2025:
OSTP Issues Agency Guidance for Gold Standard Science

June 17, 2025:
Reuters: U.S. Judge Blocks Defense Department from Slashing Federal Research Funding

June 15, 2025:
New York Times: Administration's Cuts to N.I.H. Grants Are Illegal, Federal Judge Rules

June 10, 2025: 
CBS News: Two Maryland Universities Join Harvard's Lawsuit Against the Administration over Federal Funding

May 22, 2025:
AP: Judge Blocks Executive Order to Dismantle the Department of Education and Fire Employees

May 22, 2025:
New York Times: Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades

May 14, 2025:
Department of Defense Memo: Implementation of a 15% Indirect Cost Cap on Assistance Awards to Institutions of Higher Education

May 9, 2025:
Science: NSF Faces Radical Shake-up As Officials Abolish Its 37 Divisions

May 5, 2025:
Statement of AAU, ACE, and APLU Regarding their Legal Challenge to the National Science Foundation’s Cut to Critical Research That Strengthens America

May 5, 2025:
Spencer Foundation, Kapor Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, and Sloan Foundation Announce Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program for Scholars Whose NSF Grants Have Been Terminated

May 5, 2025:
Joint Associations Group (JAG) on Indirect Costs Announces National Town Halls on May 8 and May 12

May 2, 2025:
Statement of AAU President Barbara R. Snyder on Cuts to NSF Facilities & Administrative Research Costs

May 2, 2025:
NSF Policy Notice: Implementation of Standard 15% Indirect Cost Rate

May 2, 2025:
Proposed Presidential Budget for FY2026

May 2, 2025:
AAU Outlines Concerns About Massive Research Cuts in FY26 Presidential Budget Request

April 24, 2025:
NSF Director Announces Resignation

April 24, 2025:
NPR: President Signs New Executive Actions on Education

April 22, 2025:
Leaders of America’s Colleges, Universities, and Scholarly Societies Call for Constructive Engagement in Response to Ongoing Government Intrusion into Higher Education

April 21, 2025:
NIH Notice of Civil Rights Term and Condition of Award

April 18, 2025:
National Science Foundation: Statement of Updated NSF Priorities

April 16, 2025:
Reuters: U.S. Judge Blocks Energy Department from Slashing Federal Research Funding

April 16, 2025:
Science: NSF Halts Grant Awards While Staff Do Second Review

April 15, 2025:
AP: Judge Orders Federal Agencies to Release Billions of Dollars for Climate and Infrastructure Projects

April 11, 2025:
Statement of Association of American Universities, Association of Public & Land-grant Universities, and American Council on Education Regarding Their Legal Challenge to the Administration’s Cut to Critical Energy Research

April 11, 2025:
Department of Energy Overhauls Indirect Costs Policy for College and University Research

April 8, 2025:
National Organizations Announce Joint Effort to Develop a New Indirect Costs Funding Model

April 4, 2025:
Maryland Attorney General Brown Sues Administration Over Illegal Funding Cuts and Delays for Medical and Public Health Research

April 4, 2025:
Maryland Attorney General Brown Sues Administration to Protect Libraries and Museums

April 4, 2025:
NPR: Supreme Court Sides with Administration over Education Department Grants

March 27, 2025:
New Executive Order Announced: "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History"

March 15, 2025:
Congress Passes FY25 Continuing Resolution to Fund Federal Programs Through the End of the Fiscal Year

March 13, 2025:
AP: Two Judges Order Administration to Rehire Federal Workers 

March 11, 2025:
Reuters: U.S. Judge Christopher Cooper Says DOGE Must Release Records on Operations

March 6, 2025:
Nature: NIH to Terminate Hundreds of Active Research Grants

March 5, 2025:
Science: U.S. Judge Angel Kelley Blocks NIH’s Plan to Slash Overhead Cost Payments

March 5, 2025:
ABC News: Supreme Court Rules Administration Must Unfreeze Foreign Aid Payments

• How should we proceed with current awards?
  Continue with award activities and business as usual, unless the Office of Research Administration (ORA) receives a notification regarding a change in the award status. Your ORA Contract Administrator will contact you if this happens.
   
• What if a stop-work order is issued?
  Federal funding agencies have issued stop-work orders and terminations for certain grants and contracts in response to federal executive orders and presidential actions. Please continue with business as usual unless ORA receives a stop-work order or termination notice for your specific project or award.  Do not stop work based on rumors. Agencies are required to notify us (through ORA) if there will be changes to your funding once the award  is in place. If you receive a stop-work order or termination for a specific project or award, please immediately forward the notification to your ORA Contract Administrator, with a cc: to your Department Chair and Associate Dean for Research. ORA will work with you to determine the next steps to ensure compliance.
   
• What should we monitor regarding current award expenditures?
  Check with your unit business office on your rate of expenditure and end date for current  awards. This is particularly important for awards that are close to expected renewal dates. Closely monitor obligated budget balances to avoid deficits while awaiting future obligations.
   
• What details should be reviewed in award agreements?
  Review the funding agreement, including the terms, and especially clauses related to funding availability and reimbursement. Pay careful attention to reports and deliverables, and be sure to submit any technical reports or deliverables that may be past due. Check with your ORA Contract Manager if you have questions related to award terms.
   
• How can we stay up to date regarding changes in compliance requirements?
  There may be updates to research compliance requirements and/or reporting requirements for awards. These changes could be made on a broad federal agency or sponsor level or on a project-by-project basis. Monitor announcements from the federal agency that funded the work for any updates on funding or compliance requirements. Instructions may also come directly to grantees from program officers; if you receive any instructions directly from federal program officers, please contact ORA. It will be important to act swiftly to ensure compliance with any new requirements but new compliance activities must be coordinated by the appropriate and authorized UMD offices to ensure that UMD also remains compliant with existing federal laws, regulations, and award terms and conditions. The Division of Research will share any information communicated by federal agencies. 
   
• What can be expected about pending or future funding?
  Anticipate that future funding remains subject to availability of funds and should not be considered guaranteed.
   
• What if specific programs are terminated or restructured?
  If specific programs are terminated or restructured, grantees may encounter difficulties accessing funds or meeting new criteria. Federal agencies managing these programs will typically issue guidance on how to proceed. If a program or initiative is reduced or defunded, there could be delays or pauses in payments for existing agreements under those programs. The Division of Research will promptly pass along any notifications if and when they are received.

• Are we still able to submit proposals for federal funding?
  The university will continue to submit proposals for federal funding as long as the federal agencies’ submission systems are operational and agencies are accepting proposals. 
   
• Should we anticipate delays in the review process?
  Sponsor proposal review timelines may be extended while federal agencies navigate changes and pauses in funding in specific areas, shutdowns of study sessions and review panels, pauses in communications, etc.
   
• What should we look out for in current and future funding opportunities?
  Pay close attention to the funding opportunity announcement and any subsequent amendments. There may be changes to proposal deadlines. Be sure to reconfirm the deadline. Confirm that the funding announcement has not been revised or postponed. 
   
• How can I stay apprised of federal agency updates?
  Consider signing up for alerts from the federal agency or sponsor. Check with your Office of Research Administration (ORA) Contract Manager if you have questions.

• I received a communication regarding OMB Outreach to Implementing Partners — what should I do? 
  Some federal agencies have sent a survey, titled OMB Outreach to Implementing Partners (OMB Control No. 1405-0264), to universities and research institutions across the country. The survey, sometimes referred to by agencies as a query or questionnaire, relates to projects that have, or appear to have, a foreign assistance component. In most cases, these surveys are being sent directly to Principal Investigators (PIs). If you receive this or other surveys, particularly those with short deadlines, please immediately contact the Office of Research Administration (ORA). Please do not submit a response to this or other surveys on your own. ORA is the office that is specifically authorized to handle federal administrative requests on behalf of the University and ORA personnel will assist PIs in responding appropriately. You can forward the communication to: researchupdates@umd.edu. 

IMPORTANT NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION POLICY NOTICE

Dear NSF PIs and Colleagues,

The National Science Foundation (NSF) issued a policy notice this morning (5/02/25) reducing the Indirect Cost (IDC) rate that NSF is willing to pay on new grants and cooperative agreements to 15% Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) rate, effective 05/05/2025. NSF stated that all new NSF awards made to Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) would be capped at the 15% IDC rate.

A number of national organizations are examining the appropriateness of this policy decision. As you may recall, NIH, and most recently DOE, attempted to do something similar. NIH and DOE’s actions are currently subject to a permanent injunction, pending appeal.

While this process plays out for NSF, the University of Maryland is taking the following actions:

• Proposal submissions.  Due to the fluidity of the situation, we are asking everyone to hold off on NSF proposal submissions for as long as possible. If you are working on a NSF proposal that is due on or after Monday, May 5, please reach out to Takeia Bradley (tbradle3@umd.edu) and Katie McKeon (kpetrone@umd.edu) for further instruction. Please note that UMD has not approved submission of NSF proposals at the 15% IDC rate, so please continue to use UMD’s appropriate federally approved indirect cost rate for purposes of preparing proposal budgets. (This includes flow-through proposals subject to NSF funding rules.)  
   
• New awards. The Office of Research Administration has not been authorized to accept NSF awards at the 15% IDC rate. If we receive new awards that reference the 15% IDC rate, such awards will be placed on hold until such time as this issue is resolved. The same is true of any NSF flow-through awards we receive from other institutions that reference the 15% IDC rate.
   
• Expenditures on new awards. PIs are not authorized to spend against any new award that references the 15% IDC rate. That means no pre-award costs or advance funds. If a PI has already begun spending in anticipation of a new award that references the 15% IDC rate, all expenditures against that award must cease immediately. Please also note that PIs cannot spend against some other account while waiting for this issue to be resolved. “Parking” costs on one grant while waiting for another grant to come in is a form of fraud.
   
• Notices of Termination. If you receive a notice of termination on any Federal award, please forward to oraa@umd.edu or directly to your Contract Administrator.
   
• NSF inquiries and other correspondence. If you receive an inquiry from NSF regarding whether UMD is willing to accept the 15% IDC rate on a new award, please do not respond; instead, forward the inquiry to Takeia Bradley (tbradle3@umd.edu) and Katie McKeon (kpetrone@umd.edu). This will facilitate a coordinated UMD response.

This guidance may change frequently in the coming days and weeks as we learn more.

Thank you for your attention to this matter,

Wendy T. Montgomery
Assistant Vice President, Office of Research Administration

Gregory F. Ball
Vice President for Research

IMPORTANT US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NOTICE

April 14, 2025

Dear DOE PIs and Colleagues,

The US Department of Energy (DOE) issued a press release Friday evening (4/11/25) reducing the Indirect Cost rate that DOE is willing to pay on grants to 15%, effective immediately. DOE stated that all new DOE grants would be capped at 15% IDC, and existing DOE grants would be terminated if the university did not agree to the reduction in indirect cost recovery.

A number of national organizations are examining the appropriateness of this policy decision. As you may recall, NIH attempted to do something similar on February 7. NIH’s action is currently subject to a permanent injunction, pending appeal.

While this process plays out, the University of Maryland is taking the following actions:

• Proposal submissions.  Due to the fluidity of the situation, we are asking everyone to hold off on DOE proposal submissions for as long as possible. If you are working on a DOE proposal that is due prior to Monday, April 21, please reach out to Wendy Montgomery (wmont@umd.edu) for further instruction. Please note that UMD has not approved submission of DOE proposals at 15%, so please continue to use UMD’s appropriate federally approved indirect cost rate for purposes of preparing proposal budgets. (This includes flow-through proposals subject to DOE funding rules.)
   
• New awards and modifications. The Office of Research Administration has not been authorized to accept DOE awards at 15%. If we receive new awards or modifications that reference the 15% IDC rate, such awards will be placed on hold until such time as this issue is resolved. The same is true of any DOE flow-through awards we receive from other institutions that reference the 15% rate.
   
• Expenditures on new awards. PIs are not authorized to spend against any new award that references the 15% rate. That means no pre-award costs or advance funds. If a PI has already begun spending in anticipation of a new award that references the 15% IDC, all expenditures against that grant must cease immediately. Please also note that PIs cannot spend against some other account while waiting for this issue to be resolved. “Parking” costs on one grant while waiting for another grant to come in is a form of fraud. 
   
• Notices of Termination. If you receive a notice of termination on any Federal award, please forward to oraa@umd.edu or directly to your Contract Administrator. 
   
• DOE inquiries and other correspondence. If you receive an inquiry from DOE regarding whether UMD is willing to accept the 15% rate on a new or existing award, please forward to Wendy Montgomery (wmont@umd.edu). This will facilitate a coordinated UMD response. 

This guidance may change frequently in the coming days and weeks as we learn more.

Thank you for your attention to this matter,

Wendy T. Montgomery
Assistant Vice President, Office of Research Administration

Gregory F. Ball
Vice President for Research

NIH INDIRECT COST GUIDANCE

NIH issued NOT-OD-25-068 on 2/7/25. This notice reduces the F&A rate that NIH is willing to pay to 15%, effective 2/10/25. The rate reduction applies to both new and existing NIH awards.

The university is seeking more detail about the legitimacy of this policy change. Among other things, this rate change appears to be inconsistent with the annual appropriations bill. In light of these complexities, we are hoping that NIH can be convinced to reverse this change.

While this process plays out, UMD is taking the following actions:

• Proposal submissions. UMD has not agreed to waive F&A on NIH awards. Until such time as we receive further guidance from university leadership, all proposals must be submitted in accordance with UMD’s appropriate negotiated (full) F&A rate. Proposals may NOT be submitted at 15%. (Non-standard proposals such as fellowship grants can continue to be submitted in accordance with previously existing guidance.)
• New awards. The Office of Research Administration has not been authorized to accept NIH awards at 15%. If we receive new awards that reference the 15% F&A rate, such awards will be placed on hold until such time as this issue is resolved. The same is true of any NIH flow-through awards we receive from other institutions that reference the 15% rate.
• Expenditures on new awards. PIs are not authorized to spend against any new award that references the 15% rate. That means no pre-award costs or advanced accounts. Please also note that PIs cannot spend against some other account while waiting for this issue to be resolved. “Parking” costs on one grant while waiting for another grant to come in is a form of fraud.
• Rebudgeting existing awards. Please do not re-budget costs from indirect to direct in anticipation of an F&A rate reduction. Burdening will continue at our negotiated (full) F&A rate until further notice.
• No-cost extensions. As many of you have noted, the automatic NCE link in eRA Commons has been deactivated. We have not yet received any official explanation from NIH regarding why this is the case. But there is a very real possibility that NIH will no longer allow us to take a one-time automatic no-cost extension at the end of our period of performance. PIs should not assume that no-cost extension requests will be approved.  
• Reimbursement. Sponsored Programs Accounting has not been authorized to draw down funds from NIH at the 15% rate. This may delay reimbursement of NIH grants until this issue is resolved.

This guidance may change frequently in the coming days and weeks as we learn more.

May 16, 2024

Dear Colleagues,

Last week, the NIH announced new guidance regarding Updated Processes for No-Cost Extensions (Notice #NOT-OD-25-110).

NIH has temporarily disabled the No-Cost Extension (NCE) functionality in eRA Commons. The Director of NIH has directed NIH staff to review all existing grants and cooperative agreements to ensure that NIH awards do not fund “off-mission activities or projects.” Temporarily disabling the NCE functionality in eRA Commons will allow NIH staff to conduct this review.

All requests for NCEs must be submitted as a prior approval request in eRA Commons, for NIH review and approval. Requests for activities that do not align with the NIH mission and agency priorities will not be approved.

If you have any questions, please direct them to your departmental research administrator and/or ORA contract administrator.

Sincerely,

Greg Ball
Vice President for Research
University of Maryland

October 1, 2025:
What Happens at UMD if There’s a Federal Government Shutdown?: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

September 30, 2025:
A Message from the VP for Research: Impacts of Government Shutdown on UMD Research and Other Sponsored Activities

April 25, 2025:
Our Response to Federal Changes: A Message from President Darryll J. Pines and Provost Jennifer King Rice 

February 28, 2025

Dear UMD Faculty and Staff,

As the federal landscape continues to evolve, we recognize that uncertainty exists regarding potential impacts to our university, and we are working to navigate the changes in a way that is consistent with our mission and values.

Our campus leaders are meeting regularly to monitor these changes, understand the circumstances and strategize measures to mitigate potential disruptions to our campus operations and community. We consult regularly with government officials, leaders at the National Academies, our Big Ten peers, higher education associations such as AAU, APLU and ACE, legal experts and other key partners.

Because the spread of unconfirmed information can create confusion, we urge you to refer to official sources when gathering facts and guidance. Trusted and confirmed information can be found on our Federal Updates webpage, which we update regularly.

We recognize that recent federal actions have led to disruptions in research and other sponsored activities. Many of these actions are rapidly changing and have been challenged in federal courts, sometimes with involvement from the Maryland Office of the Attorney General. We are working with multiple partners to determine what these actions mean and navigate them in a way that supports our mission and community. We will continue to provide detailed information about research at research.umd.edu/federalupdates.

We also understand that members of our community may have family members affected by recent federal changes. The Office of Governor Wes Moore has established a webpage highlighting resources to help all impacted federal workers and public servants.

The University of Maryland remains committed to our mission and to maintaining a supportive environment for all members of our community. We are in regular communication with vice presidents, deans and other leaders so that they may provide guidance within the context of each school, college and division.

Thank you for all you do to help create a caring community for our faculty, staff and students.

Sincerely,

Darryll J. Pines
President, University of Maryland
He/Him/His
 

Jennifer King Rice
Senior Vice President and Provost
She/Her/Hers

Dear Colleagues,

At the University of Maryland, we achieve excellence in all we do, from research and teaching to student support and public service. We are grateful to work shoulder to shoulder with faculty and staff who contribute to our mission every day.

Over the past several weeks, we have seen a number of changes in the federal landscape that impact our daily lives. It is important that you know we are working closely with the University System of Maryland and the State of Maryland, our congressional delegation, as well as our colleagues at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the American Council on Education (ACE) to understand and navigate the potential impacts on our university community. There is still much to learn, and we are meeting regularly to determine next steps.

Resources
To help our community navigate the changing landscape, we have created a new Federal Relations web page that provides current information regarding federal executive orders, memos and agency guidance that are relevant to higher education. It also includes resources and guidance from UMD leadership and additional higher education organizations.

The Division of Research is providing regular updates to evolving modifications to federal research funding and is eager to connect with faculty to understand changes to grants and work orders. Our International Students & Scholars office is available to assist our international community.

What's next
We understand that there is uncertainty within our community on how federal changes may impact you in your work, as well as you as individuals. We are meeting on a regular basis with the deans and campus leadership to understand how these changes are affecting our campus community and to navigate our path forward. Through the federal relations websites and communications from your vice presidents, deans, department chairs and supervisors, we will work to keep you informed with verified information and guidance.

We remain proud to be one of the leading institutions of higher education in the country. We will continue to carry out our mission in ways that reflect our shared values. We will continue on our path to excellence so that our research, scholarship, teaching and work will continue to have a positive and meaningful impact on our communities, state, nation and world.

Thank you for your partnership and commitment to our Terrapin community.

Sincerely,

Darryll J. Pines
President, University of Maryland
He/Him/His

Jennifer King Rice
Senior Vice President and Provost
She/Her/Hers

Dear Colleagues,

Many of you are likely aware of a notification from the National Institutes of Health that went out Friday evening detailing changes to the agency's indirect cost rates on federal grants. I want you to know that the university is working closely with other schools in the University System of Maryland, as well as the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the Association of American Universities (AAU), to communicate about the profound negative impact this will have on universities and to oppose the measure from moving forward.

We will continue to provide information to our research community as this situation unfolds. Please refer to the federal updates webpage for further guidance on this and other recent developments.

Thank you for all you do to support the University of Maryland research enterprise.

Sincerely,

Gregory F. Ball
Vice President for Research
He/Him/His

Dear Colleagues,

Like you, we continue to follow the new administration’s actions regarding federal funding. Questions remain about the potential impacts on our university, but we are working with other universities, government agencies and organizations to understand this evolving situation.

Be assured that we are committed to supporting your career and educational goals.

Our advice to you is to proceed with your research and other sponsored activities as usual unless you receive an order or communication from a federal sponsor or the university to stop or modify your work, and to apply for grants as you normally would. If you receive directives or guidance directly from a sponsoring federal agency, please notify the Office of Research Administration (ORA).

Questions about research awards and other sponsored projects should be directed to your ORA representative.

We continue to provide additional information with regular updates at research.umd.edu/federalupdates. Please feel free to forward this email to any faculty or staff coming to you with questions on this matter.

Sincerely,

Gregory F. Ball
Vice President for Research
He/Him/His

Dear Colleagues,

There have been many recent developments that will impact federally funded university activities. As we monitor this evolving situation closely, we wanted to share the following information and resources with the campus research community.

Pursuant to an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo issued late last night, the federal government has temporarily paused reimbursements and other payments made under federally funded grants and cooperative agreements beginning at 5 pm Eastern Time today, January 28, 2025.

OMB issued further guidance this afternoon stating that “any program not implicated by the President’s Executive Orders is not subject to the pause,” and additional details can be found in the memo. Questions remain about what federal grants could potentially be affected, but federal contracts are currently unaffected by this funding pause. The university, along with organizations like the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU), are working to assess additional impacts.

The university has not received overarching stop-work orders or suspension notices. Work on grants and cooperative agreements should continue as required by the award document unless the Office of Research Administration (ORA) has provided other guidance.

Questions about research awards and other sponsored projects should be directed to ORA. The university has also established a webpage where we will provide additional information at research.umd.edu/federalupdates. This site will be updated with additional guidance and information as it becomes available.

Sincerely,

Gregory F. Ball
Vice President for Research
He/Him/His

• May 14, 2025:
  Department of Defense Memo: Implementation of a 15% Indirect Cost Cap on Assistance Awards to Institutions of Higher Education
   
• January 28, 2025:
  Department of Defense Statement Clarifying Defense Contracting 

• August 25, 2025:
  U.S. Department of Education, Federal Partners Issue Guidance to Help Colleges and Universities Mitigate Foreign Threats to Research
  • NCSC, AFOSI, ACIC, NCIS, DCSA, FBI, ED, NIST, NSF bulletin – Safeguarding Academia
  • Safeguarding Academia: Quick Reference Guide for Academic Institutions
  • Safeguarding Academia: Quick Reference Guide for Students and Researchers
     
• May 20, 2025:
  U.S. Department of Education Releases Secretary McMahon’s Supplemental Grant Priorities
   
• March 11, 2025:
  U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Sends Letters to 60 Universities Under Investigation for Antisemitic Discrimination and Harassment
   
• February 28, 2025:
  U.S. Department of Education Releases Frequently Asked Questions on Dear Colleague Letter About Racial Preferencing
   
• February 14, 2025:
  Dear Colleague Letter from the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Department of Education
   
• January 23, 2025:
  U.S. Department of Education Takes Action to Eliminate DEI

• August 22, 2025:
  Department of Energy Announces Restoring Gold Standard Science DOE Implementation Plan
   
• April 11, 2025:
  Department of Energy Overhauls Indirect Costs Policy for College and University Research
   
• January 28, 2025: 
  Executive Order Update to PIER Plan Requirement
   
• January 27, 2025:
  DOE Memorandum for All DOE Funding Agreements or Awards:  Cease All Activities Associated with DEO and CBP
   
• January 20, 2025:
  Department of Energy (DOE) Agency-wide Review of Program and Administrative Activities
   
• January 20, 2025:
  DOE PF 2025-16 Rescission of DEI, CBP, and Justice40 Policy Flashes, Acquisition Letters, and Financial Assistance Letters

• January 24, 2025: 
  Memorandum Regarding Acquisition Pause

• January 24, 2025:
  Department of Labor to cease and desist all investigative and enforcement activity under rescinded Executive Order 11246
   
• January 22, 2025:
  Department of Labor: Immediate Implementation of Executive Orders “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”

• August 22, 2025:
  NASA Implementation of Executive Order 14303, Restoring Gold Standard Science
   
• January 23, 2025:
  Memorandum for NASA Contractor and Grantee Community regarding Initial Guidance Regarding Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility (DEIA) Executive Orders
   
• January 20, 2025:
  NASA Amendment 109: Removing DEIA Requirements from ROSES-2024

• February 25, 2026:
  Updated Elements of an NIH Data Management and Sharing PlanUpdated Elements of an NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan (Notice Number: NOT-OD-26-046)
   
• December 3, 2025:
  Updated Application Policies: NIH Administrative Burden Reduction Effort – Removal of Requirements for Letters of Intent and Unsolicited Applications Requesting $500,000 or More in Direct Costs (Notice Number: NOT-OD-26-019)
   
• December 2, 2025:
  NIH’s Implementation of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2026 (Notice Number: NOT-OD-26-018)
   
• August 22, 2025:
  NIH Announces "Leading in Gold Standard Science: An NIH Implementation Plan"
   
• July 17, 2025:
  NIH Updated Guidance:

Updated Implementation Guidance of NIH Policy on Foreign Subawards for Active Projects (NOT-OD-25-130)

Revision: NIH Policy and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research (NOT-OD-25-131)

Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications (NOT-OD-25-132)

Flexibilities for Registration and Results Reporting of Prospective Basic Experimental Studies with Human Participants (NOT-OD-25-134)

• May 8, 2025:
  Updated NIH Processes for No-Cost Extensions 
   
• May 7, 2025:
  New NIH Foreign Subaward Structure Enhances Integrity, Accountability, Oversight, and National Security of NIH Funded Research
   
• May 1, 2025:
  Updated NIH Policy on Foreign Subawards (Notice Number NOT-OD-25-104)
   
• April 21, 2025:
  NIH Notice of Civil Rights Term and Condition of Award
   
• March 6, 2025:
  NIH Centralizes Peer Review to Improve Efficiency and Strengthen Integrity 
   
• March 2025:
  NIH Staff Guidance Award Assessments for Alignment with Agency Priorities
   
• February 7, 2025:
  Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates
   
• January 27, 2025:
  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a freeze on public communications, including committee meetings, publications, guidance, notices, regulations, funding announcements, training, website updates, press releases, social media, participation in public speaking engagements, and work-related travel. Some of the meetings canceled include study sections, which review National Institutes for Health (NIH) fellowship and grant applications, and advisory council meetings, which make recommendations on which applications should receive funding from a specific NIH Institute or center, leading to a pause in review processes. At this time, it appears that this freeze is intended to be temporary. According to press and other reports, it is anticipated that these activities will resume shortly (as soon as Feb. 1, according to a memo issued internally at NIH). 
   
• January 21, 2025:
  Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Immediate Pause on Issuing Documents and Public Communications
   
• January 21, 2025:
  DHHS Acquisition Guidance on Acting Secretary Memo entitled, “Immediate Pause on Issuing Documents and Public Communications – ACTION”
   
• January 21, 2025:
  DHHS Immediate Pause on Issuing Documents and Public Communications

• January 27, 2025:
  The National Institute of Justice has cancelled all previously posted Notices of Funding Opportunity and associated webinars.

• January 15, 2026:
  NSF Seeks Public Input on Its Fiscal Year (FY) 2026–2030 NSF Strategic Plan
   
• December 8, 2025:
  Policy Notice: Implementation of Policy Changes to Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 24-1, Supplement 1
   
• November 17, 2025:
  Update on the Resumption of Operations at NSF
   
• August 22, 2025:
  NSF Gold Standard Science Implementation Plan
   
• May 19, 2025:
  Updated General Grant Conditions
   
• May 14, 2025:
  Updates on NSF Priorities
   
• May 2, 2025:
  NSF Policy Notice: Implementation of Standard 15% Indirect Cost Rate
   
• April 24, 2025:
  NSF Director Announces Resignation
   
• April 18, 2025:
  National Science Foundation: Statement of Updated NSF Priorities
   
• March 11, 2025:
  NSF Director Letter to the Community: NSF Investing in America
   
• March 2025:
  NSF Implementation of Recent Executive Orders
   
• February 3, 2025:
  Message to the NSF PI Community:

Dear Colleagues:

On Friday, January 31, 2025, a Federal Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) directing Federal grant-making agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), to “...not pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate... awards and obligations to provide federal financial assistance to the States, and... not impede the States’ access to such awards and obligations, except on the basis of the applicable authorizing statutes, regulations, and terms.” Although the language of the TRO is directed at State institutions, the Department of Justice has determined that it applies to all NSF award recipients. You can review the TRO here.   
In order to comply with the TRO, the NSF Award Cash Management Service (ACM$) system is available for awardees to request payments as of 12:00pm EST, February 2, 2025.  

This message is also available on the Executive Order Implementation webpage. Please check back regularly as we add frequently asked questions (FAQs) based on community feedback.

Sethuraman Panchanathan 
Director

• January 28, 2025:
  NSF Implementation of Recent Executive Orders: Message to the NSF Principal Investigator Community

• February 5, 2025:  
  Memo: Further Guidance Regarding Ending DEIA Offices, Programs and Initiatives

• January 29, 2025:
  The Secretary of Transportation has ordered a ten-day review of all DOT programs that are implicated by the recent executive orders related to climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, racial equity, gender identity, DEI goals, environmental justice, or the Justice40 initiative. Following the review, the Department will, to the greatest extent allowed by law, terminate DOT programs—including funding agreements—found to be implicated by the orders.

• January 27, 2025:
  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has implemented an immediate suspension of all USDA actions related to funding opportunities, including Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding. The freeze does not apply to no-cost extensions or no-cost modifications. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has removed all FY25 requests for applications (RFAs) from their website, removed all submission deadlines from their calendar, and removed open packages from grants.gov. A notice is currently posted on the NIFA website that states: “All NIFA Requests for Applications are currently under review. Check back for updates or subscribe to NIFA Funding Opportunities for email updates as they happen.”

• August 22, 2025:
  Implementation of Gold Standard Science at USDA
   
• January 24, 2025:
  The U.S. State Department announced a 90-day freeze on nearly all foreign assistance worldwide, which included immediate “stop work” orders on existing foreign assistance and also paused new aid from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for programs worldwide. A memo sent by Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that within 85 days, the administration will develop standards for reviewing foreign foreign assistance to determine whether it is “aligned with President Trump’s foreign policy agenda.” Exemptions from the freeze include aid to Israel and Egypt as well as emergency food aid.
   
• January 24, 2025:
  USAID: Notice on Implementation of Executive Order on Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid 

• February 10, 2025:
  The National Endowment for the Arts has updated its FY 2026 grant guidelines, with deadlines in March and July 2025. These changes impact organizations applying in the Grants for Arts Projects or Challenge America categories. A webinar covering the updated Grants for Arts Projects guidelines will take place on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. ET. (Free to attend; however, registration is required. A recording will be posted shortly after the presentation in the Applicant Resources section of the Grants for Arts Projects webpage.)

The Challenge America opportunity is canceled for FY 2026. Organizations that have applied or were planning to apply to the FY 2026 Challenge America grant opportunity are encouraged to apply to the Grants for Arts Projects category at the March or July deadlines instead. This change will help NEA staff focus resources more efficiently in their work. 
NOTE: Projects funded through the Challenge America program are also eligible in Grants for Arts Projects. If you are planning an Artist Community or Design program, be aware that applications for these disciplines are accepted at the March Grants for Arts Projects deadline only.

The National Endowment for the Arts has revised the FY 2026 Grants for Arts Projects guidelines. A set of Frequently Asked Questions addressing the changes is available in the guidelines.

As part of these changes, the February 13, 2025, Grants for Arts Projects deadline has been canceled. The FY 2026 deadlines are now March 11, 2025, for GAP 1 and July 10, 2025, for GAP 2. Organizations that have already submitted an application must submit a new application under one of these deadlines.