Updates on Federal Executive Orders and Research Activities

This webpage is dynamic and updated frequently. Please check back often.

Last updated November 19, 2025

 

Guidelines for the Research Community

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (OVPRI) continues to monitor the 2025 presidential administration transition. Below are some helpful guidelines.

  • Closely monitor obligated budget balances to avoid deficits while awaiting future obligations. Anticipated future funding remains subject to availability of funds and should not be considered guaranteed.
  • If you are waiting to hear back from a program officer, please be aware they may not be able to respond during the agency communications pause.
  • Ensure all technical reports and deliverables are submitted by their due dates and prioritize the submission of any that are past due.
  • Monitor policy updates: Keep an eye on announcements from the federal agency overseeing your grant for any updates on funding or compliance requirements.
  • Principal investigators are encouraged to ensure that they have access to and control over datasets.
  • Continue to submit proposals. Closely monitor the funding announcement to see if the proposal criteria changes.
  • OVPRI and the Office of General Counsel ask that you forward any communications from granting agencies relating to stop work orders, modifications to existing grants, requests for attestations, and spending justification requests.

OVPRI has adopted a process to appeal the termination of contracts and grants by federal agencies (requires DuckID to log in).

Additionally, the UO continues to monitor and communicate any immigration updates, and their potential impact to our international, Dreamer, and undocumented students, faculty, and staff.

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Recent Federal Actions

Past Federal Actions
Statements in Response to Federal Actions

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Resources for Researchers

At this time, the Council on Government Relations (COGR) is providing the most complete guidance on how the executive orders could affect operations, including a summary of executive orders. COGR's mission is to empower an unparalleled US academic research ecosystem by advancing sound federal policies and regulations that are vital to US science and innovation leadership and our nation’s health, security, and prosperity. Request access to the COGR membership portal.

Please note this page is dynamic and information could be incomplete.

The Chronicle of Higher Education is tracking the actions of President Trump's administration that affect higher education. Chronicle of Higher Education's Trump's Agenda for Higher Ed Tracker (sign in with your DuckID to access Chronicle content)

The Chronicle is also tracking the development of an indirect costs (also known as facilities and administrative, or F&A) model. Read more about the Financial Accountability in Research (FAIR) model (requires UO VPN or account to access).

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has compiled a fiscal year (FY) 2026 research and development appropriations dashboard. It compares the White House, House, and Senate spending proposals for science and technology programs in FY 2026.

FAQs for Researchers

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Email Updates

The following message was sent to graduate students, tenure track and research faculty, department grant administrators, OVPRI centers and institutes, core facility staff, Government and Community Relations, Office of General Counsel, and OVPRI staff on Wednesday, November 19.

Tracking Terminations and Appeals

  • Grant terminations received: 20, totaling $1.8 million
  • Change from previous week: 0
  • Relevant agencies: NEA, NEH, NSF, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Economic Development Administration
  • Active appeals: 15
  • Terminations lifted: 12 (NIH: 11; NSF: 1), totaling $6.2 million

These figures are current as of 11/19.

Agency reopening guidance, Department of Education structural changes, NIH notices concerning funding compliance

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued two new compliance notices related to research funding on Tuesday, November 18. The first, “Reminder of Compliance Requirements for NIH Extramural Recipients Related to Renegotiated Aims, Objectives, Titles, and Abstracts” (NOT-OD-26-007), is a notice to NIH-funded researchers about processes for implementing changes to terms and scope of awards.

The second notice, “Updated Terms and Conditions of Award – Termination and Compliance with Court Orders” (NOT-OD-26-009) shares language that will be included on all notices of award beginning on or after October 1, 2025, noting an award “is dependent on availability of appropriated funds, recipient satisfactory performance, compliance with the Terms and Conditions of the award, and may also otherwise be terminated, to the extent authorized by law, if the agency determines that the award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities.”  

Rather than speculating what the possible implications of these notices might be, OVPRI is working with the Office of General Counsel and other partners to develop a more informed view. We intend to further update the research community in a future weekly message.

NIH Guidance on Resumption of Operations

NIH had additionally issued an “Interim Guidance on Reopening of NIH Extramural Activities” (NOT-OD-26-005). The key points of the guidance state:

  • October and November grant application submission deadlines are being rescheduled, with specific dates to be announced in a future notice.
  • Peer review meetings and council meetings that were scheduled between October 1 and November 14 have been cancelled and will be rescheduled, with details to come.
  • Please be aware that staff response time may be longer than usual as operations return to normal.

However, until NIH provides further clarification, please proceed with your proposals as currently scheduled. You may reach out to your pre-award sponsored projects administrator at Sponsored Projects Services with any questions.

National Science Foundation Guidance on Resumption of Operations

Additionally, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has also published a “Resumption of Operations at NSF” webpage. NSF does not provide as clear guidance on whether proposal guidelines will change, but as with NIH proposals, we strongly encourage principal investigators to proceed with original deadlines set prior to the federal shutdown.

US Department of Education to be Partially Dismantled

Secretary for Education Linda McMahon announced Tuesday, November 18 that the US Department of Education will be partially dismantled with many of its primary functions partitioned off to other federal agencies: the Departments of Labor (DOL), Interior (DOI), Health and Human Services (HHS), and State. At this time, the redistribution of Department of Education units does not include special education and rehabilitation services, student civil rights enforcement, student loans, or the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The UO has historically been a leading recipient of IES grant funds.

We want to acknowledge that this reorganization may cause considerable anxiety and confusion for those members of our faculty, research staff, and graduate students who have been awarded research, technical assistance, and personnel training funding through the Department of Education. OVPRI staff are closely tracking the situation and how national education priorities will continue to evolve.

Prior Emails

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