Updates on Federal Actions Related to Research

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

Last updated August 19, 2026.

 

Open Forum for Research

The next open forum for research will be Wednesday, September 23, from 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. via Zoom.

View prior open forum slides. 

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

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

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.

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.

The Association of Public & Land-grant Universities (APLU) provides an overview of appropriations priorities annual requests and a summary of the FY26 President’s Budget Request.

APLU’s Office of Governmental produced a detailed analysis of FY26 funding levels for the association’s priority accounts spanning research, student aid, and other federal programs. 

APLU also maintains a tracker compiling F&A language across all FY26 appropriations bills. 

FAQs for Researchers

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Tracking Terminations and Appeals

  • Grant terminations received: 20, totaling $3.7 million
  • Change from previous week: 1
  • Relevant agencies: NEA, NEH, NSF, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Economic Development Administration, DHHS
  • Active appeals: 0
  • Terminations lifted: 13 (NIH: 11; NSF: 1; Corporation for National Community Service: 1), totaling $6.4 million

These figures are current as of 4/14.

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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, August 19, 2026.

Summary

  • NSF announces 12 new funding opportunities; researchers are urged to review carefully as there are changes to submission windows and caps on the number of proposals that a principal investigator can submit. 
  • NSF proposes changes to PAPPG; comment period is open until August 24. 
  • NIH proposes changes to its grant application scoring system; comment period open until October 13. 
  • IES has announced its 2027 grant competitions and priorities. 

Dear research community, 

As I begin my second week as vice president for research and innovation at the UO, I want to reiterate how excited I am to help support your research and scholarship, and I want to ensure continuing communications regarding federal actions related to research. I am committed to keeping our research community informed of major federal changes. 

Today’s update is lengthy as several important issues have arisen in the last week, and the OVPRI team wants to provide comprehensive guidance to the UO research community. 

National Science Foundation (NSF) Announces Foundational Research Funding 

Monday, August 18, NSF announced a $1.5 billion group of funding opportunities for those doing foundational research as part of its “New Golden Age of Science” initiative. The solicitation encourages early-career researchers in particular to submit proposals.  

In reviewing the 12 funding opportunities, we noticed that there are changes to deadlines and proposal guidance, including different windows for submission and the number of grant submissions a single principal investigator may submit. Please review the opportunities carefully, as familiar patterns to these solicitations may have changed. 

Our Research Development Services team is on deck to help people navigate these changes at NSF. Please reach out with questions by emailing rds@uoregon.edu. 

Proposed Changes to Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 

NSF is proposing to replace the PAPPG and replace it with Guidance on Financial Assistance (GFA). These changes will have significant consequences to the review process and administration of NSF awards. Further, the NSF intends for the GFA to align with the White House Office of Management and Budget’s proposed revisions to Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards or Uniform Guidance (found at 2 C.F.R.  § 200)—which at this time has been delayed until December 11. 

The public comment period concerning PAPPG is open until August 24. NSF has provided information about how to comment. The UO will provide an institutional response letter. For those inclined to submit their own comment, a reminder that providing comment on the proposed change is entirely at the discretion of the individual and it should be made clear in responses that individuals are sharing specific perspectives of potential impacts to their academic discipline or job function and not on behalf of the UO. 

Proposed Changes to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Peer Review Scoring 

NIH also proposes changes to its review process. “Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review” (NOT-OD-26-088) would remove the traditional peer-review application scores and replace them with three broad categories: “most competitive” (for those that score in the top 25 percent for “overall impact”), “competitive” (for applications that score between the 26th and 50th percentile), and “not discussed” (for those that fall below the 50th percentile or are not considered).  

Critics of this proposed change are concerned that in addition to making the grant application evaluation process opaque and difficult for researchers to interpret (and therefore harder to successfully revise and resubmit), it would also obfuscate the reasons for which a grant proposal was accepted or denied. Inside Higher Ed offers an analysis of the proposed change. 

The public comment period is open until October 13. We are engaging with NIH stakeholders on campus that will inform the UO’s institutional response letter. 

Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Opens 2027 Grants Competition 

IES has announced a 2027 grants submission period. The first of three tranches includes five competitions and future 2027 competitions for limited research areas. 

We are also seeing decisions on grant proposals that were submitted in 2024 and have remained pending since. At least one submission from the UO has now been awarded ahead of the September 30 funding expiration deadline. Inside Higher Ed provides analysis. 

We continue to track and monitor the U.S. Department of Education situation. 

Prior Emails

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