Updates on Federal Executive Orders and Research Activities
The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (OVPRI) continues to monitor the 2025 presidential administration transition. Those updates are posted on a separate page. Click the resources for researchers link below.
This page is updated monthly to include critical updates associated with federal funding.
Institutional Updates
Monitoring Targeted Funding Opportunities
We strongly encourage principal investigators (PIs) and departmental grant administrators (DGAs) to regularly check the status of targeted future solicitations prior to submission in case of last-minute solicitation cancellation or expiration given the frequent changes in budgets/programs at federal agencies. Sponsored Projects Services (SPS) will help monitor as well, but we encourage PIs to please check regularly.
Sponsored Activity Dashboard
The Office of the Vice President has added a Sponsored Activity Dashboard to the research website. This new tool provides interactive insights into the university’s externally funded proposals and awards and its research expenditures. The data is pulled from UO’s Electronic Proposal Clearance System (EPCS) daily and from Banner monthly. The dashboard replaces the research stats tool and the Sponsored Projects Services annual report.
The dashboard can be accessed from the Reports and Stats webpage (DuckID required to log in). Users can navigate through the dashboard using the tabs along the bottom of the home screen: Introduction, Overview, Proposals Breakdown, New Awards Breakdown, Amounts Received Breakdown, and Expenditures Breakdown. A user guide is available. The level of data visibility depends on a user’s affiliation with a school or college.
New Human Subjects Research Metrics Dashboard
Research Compliance Services (RCS) is excited to announce that the Human Subjects Research Metrics Dashboard went live June 30. This dashboard provides real-time operational metrics data on active human subject studies, submission and approval volumes, and turnaround times for RCS/Institutional Review Board reviews. The dashboard includes the ability to filter by units and departments as well as by review level and submission type.
The dashboard is available (DuckID required to log in) on the Human Subjects Research Main page.
New Financial Conflict of Interest Training Coming January 1, 2026
PIs and senior/key personnel are required to complete financial conflict of interest training every three years. Currently, the UO uses CITI to deliver the training.
Effective January 1, 2026, PIs and senior/key personnel will instead complete training in MyTrack Learning. Links to the new training will be available on our website and shared in upcoming issues of Frontline.
The new training uses examples relevant to UO research and includes information on federal regulations, UO policy, and UO procedures. The training takes approximately one hour to complete.
Existing training completion in CITI will continue to be valid. Those whose training expires after January 1, 2026, will need to complete the new MyTrack training.
Please email coi@uoregon.edu with any questions about the training requirement.
Advance Index Request Refresh
A reminder that if you need to request a grant index outside the normal SPS process, you can find the appropriate form to submit on the SPS Internal Grant Forms webpage. Please note that there is a separate link for Pre-award Spending requests and other Index Requests (Index Request Form). You can find the following guidance on which form to submit by clicking on the Index Request Form.
- Restricted Index: The award is executed or in-house but there is a pending compliance hold (animal/human subjects protocol, etc.). You will also request a restricted index if you have an approval in principle (AIP) for human subjects research and are awaiting your full IRB protocol approval.
- Expedited Index: SPS has received a fully executed agreement or notice of award and an index is needed within five business days.
- Multiyear Advance Spending: The award is a multiyear project, but the UO is awaiting an amendment or notice of award to authorize the next increment of funding.
- Pre-Award Spending*: The UO is negotiating the contract or sponsor has otherwise indicated a high likelihood of funding. If you have further questions about which form to submit, please reach out to your Post-Award team for guidance.
*Please note that Pre-Award Spending is currently heavily reviewed and granted only in exceptional circumstances due to the uncertain federal funding environment.
Text Guidance for Journal Voucher (JV) and Cost Transfer Justifications
When processing a journal voucher (JV), ensure that no charge is moved to a sponsored project without a clear justification of how it benefits the grant. The invoice text requirements (FOATEXT) should address the nature of the expense being moved on or off the grant, the reason for the transfer, and how the expense is allocable and necessary to the project. Transfers should be completed within 90 days; after this period, a Cost Transfer Justification (CTJ) is required.
Required International Shipment Form
Departments shipping materials internationally (excluding immigration, marketing, or admissions materials and published research materials such as journal articles) must submit an International Shipment Form before sending through UO Mail Services or external carriers, such as US Postal Service, UPS, FedEx, or DHL. If unsure about whether to submit the form, go ahead and submit it or email exportcontrols@uoregon.edu for guidance.
Forms are reviewed within one business day, but additional compliance steps may be required based on shipment contents. Unauthorized shipment of export-controlled items may lead to significant federal civil or criminal penalties, including but not limited to temporary prohibitions on international transactions. Departments are responsible for ensuring they have proper approvals.
Learn more on the export controls website or submit an International Shipment Form.
Reporting Requirements for Contracts and Gifts from Foreign Source
The UO is required to report incoming contracts with, and gifts received from, foreign persons and entities to the US Department of Education and the National Science Foundation.If your department receives:
- Contracts for incoming funds that are not routed through Sponsored Projects Services or Purchasing and Contracting Services, or
- Gifts from foreign donors that do not come through UO Foundation or Advancement,
please email foreigngiftreports@uoregon.edu to be added to our biannual reporting requests.
Most transactions only require basic information for internal reporting. However, full reporting is required if the UO, as a whole, receives $250,000 or more from the same foreign source or $50,000 or more from a source located in a country of concern.
Your cooperation helps ensure the UO remains compliant with federal requirements.
Required Training Matrix Available
To help the research community stay apprised of required training, OVPRI has released a required training matrix. The matrix lists who must take a specific required training, how frequently, where to access the training, how long it will take to complete the training, and a link to the federal requirement that requires the training. We hope this resource will help PIs, departmental grant administrators (DGAs), and others identify and complete training requirements.
Proposal Development Support
Faculty seeking support for how to prepare competitive proposals (or proposal components) under current federal executive orders (EOs) and agency review processes are encouraged to meet with Research Development Services for support. Please email rds@uoregon.edu to request assistance.
Foreign Travel Security Training Encouraged and May Soon be Mandatory
Foreign Travel Security Training is highly encouraged—and may soon become mandatory—for any principal investigator, co-principal investigator, project director, co-project director, senior/key personnel, or any other position specified in a funding opportunity announcement who travels internationally regardless of whether the travel will be charged to a sponsored award.
PIs, co-PIs, and senior/key personnel with active grant awards who have traveled internationally in the previous three years will receive an email with instructions to complete the training.
Training must be complete prior to travel and is valid for six years.
The UO has released its Foreign Travel Security Training, which is available through MyTrack Learning. The training will take approximately one hour to complete. A Duck ID is required to complete the training. More information about the Foreign Travel Security Training can be found on the export control website.
Export Control Training Encouraged and May Soon be Mandatory
Export Control Training is highly encouraged—and may soon become mandatory—for any principal investigator, co-principal investigator, project director, co-project director, senior/key personnel, or any other position specified in a funding opportunity announcement working with export-controlled technologies.
SPS and the Export Control Office will identify PIs, co-PIs, and senior/key personnel who need to complete the training.
The UO will be using the export control module in CITI to satisfy the training requirement. A Duck ID is required to complete the training. Details about how to access the training can be found on the export control website.
Customizable International Travel Checklist Available
In partnership with the Information Security Office, Safety and Risk Services, Business Affairs Travel Office, and Sponsored Project Services, the Export Control Office has launched a customized international travel checklist. The checklist provides recommended and required steps for safety, security, and compliance while traveling internationally, and the checklist is customized by destination. The checklist can also be found on the Export Control Office’s international travel webpage.
Federal Guidance and Critical Sponsor Updates
Drones Purchased with or used in Federally Sponsored Research
Effective December 22, 2025, drones manufactured by companies located in a foreign country of concern are prohibited from being purchased with or used in federally sponsored research. This prohibition includes drones made by DJI or Autel, among others, and the prohibition stems from national security concerns of foreign adversaries gaining access to sensitive data or infrastructure. If your research team currently has any drones manufactured by a company in a foreign country of concern (such as DJI or Autel) or if your research team is unsure about the manufacturer's country of origin, please contact exportcontrols@uoregon.edu for further guidance.
Required Congruence Among Biosketch, Current/Pending Support Document, and Conflict of Interest Disclosure
Federal sponsors have indicated an expectation that documents a researcher submits to a sponsor, like a biographical sketch and a current/pending support document, should match the documents submitted to the institution’s Conflict of Interest Office.
Sponsored Projects Services (SPS) and the Conflict of Interest (COI) Office are working together to help researchers maintain congruence among these documents.
Effective January 2025, researchers may receive correspondence from the COI Office with a request to update their COI disclosure in the Research Administration Portal or to update a biographical sketch or current/pending support document submitted to a sponsor.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
New NIH Policy on Foreign Subawards
In May, NIH issued its Updated NIH Policy on Foreign Subawards (NOT-OD-25-104), which stated that the agency would not issue awards to domestic or foreign entities (new, renewal, or non-competing continuation) that include a subaward to a foreign entity.
On Friday, July 18, NIH issued its Updated Implementation Guidance of NIH Policy on Foreign Subawards for Active Projects (NOT-OD-25-130), which clarifies that NIH has recognized the need to identify an alternative approach for removing the foreign subawards from existing grants and cooperative agreements involving human subjects research at a foreign site. As a result, NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs) will have the option to renegotiate the award structure with a recipient such that foreign subawards are financially removed from the primary award and awarded as administrative supplement (i.e., Type 3) awards. The primary award and each foreign supplement will be issued with a distinct document number and will need to submit separate annual Federal Financial Reports (FFR, SF-425). There will be no rebudgeting allowed between the primary award and supplements within a budget period, although recipients may use the annual Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) process as an opportunity to request a reallocation of future year commitments between the primary and foreign supplement awards, provided the total cost across all awards does not exceed previous committed levels.
NIH notes that this supplement option is meant to be a short-term solution, permitted only for the current competitive segment, and it does not replace the new award structure announced in NOT-OD-25-104 that will apply to upcoming applications, including any planned renewals. Other notable NIH policy updates include:
- Revision: NIH Policy and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research (NOT-OD-25-131)
- NIH Announces a New Policy Requirement to Train Senior/Key Personnel on Other Support Disclosure Requirements (NOT-OD-25-133)
Update to NIH Policy on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use and Number of Submittals Allowed
NIH announced July 17 that is has updated its Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications Policy, as detailed in Notice NOT-OD-25-132, which will become effective for applications submitted September 25, 2025, and beyond. The policy states that NIH will not consider applications that are either substantially developed by AI, or contain sections substantially developed by AI, to be original ideas of applicants. If the detection of AI is identified post award, NIH may refer the matter to the Office of Research Integrity to determine whether there is research misconduct while simultaneously taking enforcement actions including but not limited to disallowing costs, withholding future awards, wholly or in part suspending the grant, and possible termination.
NIH will only accept six new, renewal, resubmission, or revision applications from an individual principal investigator/program director or multiple principal investigator for all council rounds in a calendar year. This policy applies to all activity codes except T activity codes and R13 Conference Grant Applications.
Update to NIH Public Access Policy
As noted in a prior message out to the research community, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, as detailed in Notice NOT-OD-25-047, will become effective on July 1, 2025. This represents an accelerated timeline from the prior December 31, 2025, deadline. This new policy removes the embargo period so that researchers, students, and members of the public have rapid access to these findings. NIH has also issued supplemental guidance on government use license and rights and publication costs. Please refer to OVPRI's policy webpage for more information.
National Science Foundation (NSF)
All PIs and Senior/Key Personnel Accepting Sponsored Awards Must Take Research Security Training Annually
The National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have all recently updated their research security requirements.
As a result, effective October 1, 2025 (and effective August 7, 2025, for USDA researchers), ALL principal investigators (PIs) and senior/key personnel, regardless of sponsor, must annually complete Research Security Training.
The training must be completed prior to submitting a proposal and must be completed annually thereafter. The Research Security Training is available in MyTrack Learning (DuckID required to log in). It takes approximately one hour to complete. More details can be found on the research security training webpage.
NSF, NIH, DOE, and USDA will require PIs and senior/key personnel to certify they completed research security training in the previous 12 months and to re-certify annually for the duration of the award.
This new certification for NSF and USDA researchers is in addition to the annual certification in research.gov for PIs and co-PIs to indicate they are not party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program.
PIs should carefully read all certifications. If you have questions or concerns, contact your SPS post-award team.
New NSF Certification
Beginning June 7, 2025, the National Science Foundation (NSF) requires all PIs and co-PIs to annually certify in research.gov that they are not party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program (MFTRP).
NSF is expected to expand the annual certification to all senior/key personnel on NSF-funded projects at a future date.
PIs should carefully read the certification and ensure that the language in the attestation applies only to MFTRPs. If they have questions or concerns, they should contact their SPS post-award team.
Those who are party to a MFTRP are ineligible to serve as PI on an NSF-funded project.
What you need to know about completing the required MFTRP certification in Research.gov:
There is no organizational certification requirement; the certification requirement is for PIs and co-PIs. Impacted PIs and co-PIs will be prompted to complete the MFTRP certification after signing into Research.gov using the Sign In link at the top of the website.
PIs and co-PIs with more than one active award made on or after May 20, 2024, are only required to certify once annually. Once completed, PIs and co-PIs can view their MFTRP certification response under the Academic/Professional Information section of their profile.NSF is working to expand the MFTRP annual certification requirement for all senior/key personnel roles at a future date. Additionally, NSF is working to provide organizations with access to the annual certifications.
For more information, please visit OVPRI’s Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs webpage.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
2024 updates to the Final Rule
The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) issued the 2024 Final Rule to update the 2005 Public Health Service (PHS) Policies on Research Misconduct. The 2024 updates to the Final Rule establish requirements for addressing research misconduct; the application date for the final rule is January 1, 2026. UO policy changes to comply with the new final rule will be communicated to the research community once available. For more information, see the ORI announcement or contact Sheryl Johnson, the UO’s research integrity officer at sherylj@uoregon.edu.
Department of Energy (DOE)
Department of Energy Researchers Must Take Research Security Training
Effective May 1, 2025, Research Security Training will be required for principal investigators (PIs), co-principal investigators, project directors, co-project directors, senior/key personnel, or any other position specified in a funding opportunity announcement who submit proposals to the US Department of Energy.
The training must be completed prior to submitting a proposal and must be completed annually thereafter. The Research Security Training is available in MyTrack Learning. It takes approximately 1.5 hours to complete and requires a DuckID to log in. More details can be found on the export controls webpage.
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