NIH: Implementation of New Initiatives and Policies: This page serves as a central location where you can learn more about the status of changes impacting NIH grants process and plans for implementing new initiatives and policies. https://grants.nih.gov/policy-and-compliance/implementation-of-new-initiatives-and-policies
See: Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support (NIH)
To further support a successful transition to the Common Forms, NIH is postponing the May 25, 2025 implementation for all applications and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs). NIH will issue future Guide Notices outlining the new effective date and additional implementation details as they are finalized. NIH applicants and recipients must continue to use the current NIH Biosketch and Other Support format pages for applications, Just-in-Time (JIT) and RPPRs. https://grants.nih.gov/policy-and-compliance/implementation-of-new-initiatives-and-policies/common-forms-for-biosketch
3/26/25: Trump’s test for GOP lawmakers: Defend him or local universities (E&E News) Drastic cuts to federal science programs are draining millions of dollars in research funding from universities in Republican-dominated states, testing the support of conservative lawmakers for President Donald Trump’s chaotic reshaping of the U.S. government. https://www.eenews.net/articles/trumps-test-for-gop-lawmakers-defend-him-or-local-universities/
3/26/25: Exclusive: NIH to cut grants for COVID research, documents reveal (Nature) The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have begun cancelling billions of dollars in funding on research related to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 research funds “were issued for a limited purpose: to ameliorate the effects of the pandemic”, according to an internal NIH document that Nature has obtained and that provides the agency’s staff members with updated guidance on how to terminate these grants. “Now that the pandemic is over, the grant funds are no longer necessary,” the document states. It is not clear how many COVID-19 grants will be terminated. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00954-y See also: 3/25/25: Saying ‘pandemic is over,’ NIH starts cutting COVID-19 research (Science) https://www.science.org/content/article/saying-pandemic-over-nih-institute-starts-cutting-covid-19-research
3/26/25: Grants Management: Recent Guidance Could Enhance Subaward Oversight (GAO-25-107315) Some federal grant recipients pass some of their award funding to subrecipients. However, there have been issues with the completeness and accuracy of information about these subawards. This can make it challenging to track where subaward funds are ultimately spent. While grant recipients are responsible for overseeing their subawards, federal agencies must ensure that they are effectively doing so. This includes reviewing audit findings and checking that reporting is taking place. Recent guidance from the Office of Management and Budget should enhance this oversight, leading to improved data about subawards, among other things. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-107315
3/26/25: Faculty Organizations Sue on Behalf of Columbia Members (Inside Higher Ed) Days after Columbia University yielded to a list of demands from the Trump administration, the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit on behalf of members at Columbia over $400 million in frozen federal research funding. The lawsuit names multiple government agencies, including the Departments of Justice, Education and Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/03/26/faculty-organizations-sue-behalf-columbia-members See also: ‘It Is Remarkable How Quickly the Chill Has Descended’ (The Chronicle) https://www.chronicle.com/article/it-is-remarkable-how-quickly-the-chill-has-descended See also: Researchers in limbo as Columbia bows to Trump’s demands in bid to restore $400M federal funding (AP) https://apnews.com/article/columbia-research-funding-cuts-antisemitism-palestine-israel-6f5f6a66306ec2467fc346b993e87a50
3/26/25: Penn Pledges to ‘Address’ $175M Federal Funding Cut (Inside Higher Ed) Penn learned last week via news reports that the White House had decided to cancel grants and contracts, a move seemingly aimed at punishing the university over its decision to allow a trans woman to compete on the women’s swimming team three years ago. That decision is also subject to a current civil rights investigation. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/03/26/penn-pledges-address-175m-federal-funding-cut
3/26/25: Banning DEI Is Catastrophic for U.S. Science (Inside Higher Ed) Our scientific enterprise in the United States is the envy of the world…. It is not simply the dollar amount of federal funding that makes this system so successful. It is also about how we allocate and distribute the funds. https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2025/03/26/banning-dei-catastrophic-us-science-opinion
3/26/25: AI is transforming peer review — and many scientists are worried (Nature) AI systems are already transforming peer review — sometimes with publishers’ encouragement, and at other times in violation of their rules. Publishers and researchers alike are testing out AI products to flag errors in the text, data, code and references of manuscripts, to guide reviewers toward more-constructive feedback, and to polish their prose. Some new websites even offer entire AI-created reviews with one click. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00894-7
3/25/25: Is It That Easy for Trump to Revoke Visas? (The Chronicle) The State Department has broad authority to revoke visas for students or professors. ICE officers, who are part of Homeland Security, handle arrests and detentions. Customs and Border Protection agents, also part of Homeland Security, can deny entry to a visa holder who has been traveling, even if that person is living in the country or has entered before, experts said. https://www.chronicle.com/article/is-it-that-easy-for-trump-to-revoke-visas
3/25/25: Trump’s picks to lead FDA, NIH confirmed by Senate (Washington Post) Makary and Bhattacharya, both vocal critics of the country’s handling of the covid-19 pandemic, have been confirmed to lead major health agencies. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/03/25/bhattacharya-nih-director-cdc-makary/
See also: Senate confirms Michael Kratsios to lead White House science, technology office (FedScoop) https://fedscoop.com/senate-confirms-michael-kratsios-white-house-ostp-director/
3/25/25: Trump order pushes federal government toward electronic payment methods (FedScoop) T he EO moves “America’s bank account” away from paper-based payments in what the White House says is an attempt to cut costs and target fraud. https://fedscoop.com/federal-government-electronic-payments-trump-order/
3/25/25: As Trump’s Policies Worry Scientists, France and Others Put Out a Welcome Mat (NY Times) European universities have begun recruiting researchers who lost their jobs in the administration’s cost-cutting efforts, or are anxious over perceived threats to academic freedom. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/europe-trump-science-research.html See also: Trump Policies Could Send International Talent Elsewhere, Hobbling U.S. Science (The Chronicle) https://www.chronicle.com/article/trump-policies-could-send-international-talent-elsewhere-hobbling-u-s-science
3/25/25: Trump Is Dismantling the Education Department—With or Without Congress (Wall Street Journal) In cutting parts of the department, Trump is following the same playbook as with other federal agencies—and inviting legal challenges. https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/education-department-cuts-trump-ffa7bf8c?st=rQ2Da8&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
3/24/25: Funding for R&D isn’t a gift to academia (Washington Post, Opinion) Just as we did when the Soviet Union drew ahead in the space race, the U.S. must meet the moment by accelerating strategic investments in scientific research and development of future technologies. The space race and U.S. commitment to putting a man on the moon led directly to our world-leading aerospace, microelectronics and internet industries — as well as the trillions of dollars in private economic activity it spurred. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/03/24/research-development-china-national-security/
3/24/25: Cancer research, long protected, feels ‘devastating’ effects under Trump (STAT) Budget cuts and research delays threaten to reverse progress on what had been a bipartisan cause. https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/24/trump-cancer-research-funding-cuts-patients-researchers-worried/
3/24/25: How the Ph.D. Project, and 45 colleges, became a target of the Trump administration (NPR) The U.S. Education Department announced it was investigating 45 universities with graduate schools that partner with the program, …This comes as some universities have already begun to reexamine their DEI-related partnerships, scholarships and programs. …In late February, the administration launched an online form, at enddei.ed.gov , where people could submit reports of discrimination in schools or colleges. The form says submissions will be used “to identify potential areas for investigation.” https://www.npr.org/2025/03/24/nx-s1-5330715/trump-phd-college-university-investigation-dei-diversity
3/21/25: NSF Implementation of Recent Executive Orders (2 New FAQs)
- Can I revise a proposal that has already been submitted to the agency?
Changes in the content of a proposal may be submitted (a) prior to the deadline date; (b) prior to initiation of external peer review when a target date or no-deadline submission mechanism is utilized; and (c) prior to initiation of external peer review in the case of an unsolicited proposal. If you need to fix a technical issue with your proposal after the deadline, you must get approval from the cognizant NSF program officer. If there are major changes (like new research findings, changes in circumstances or if key personnel become unavailable) that could impact your pending proposal review, you should reach out to your program officer to discuss it. Check Chapter III.C and III.D of the PAPPG for more details.
- Are REU Sites continuing? How do the Executive Orders affect Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs?
NSF continues to fund REU Sites and REU Supplements, and these activities continue to operate as described in the REU solicitation. Like most NSF scholarship, fellowship and traineeship opportunities, admission to REU Sites is highly competitive, with many students applying for a limited number of slots. For the FY 2025 competition cycle (i.e., proposals submitted for the annual deadline in August 2024), program officers are making some awards but are still making decisions about other proposals as NSF’s budget for FY 2025 is finalized. NSF realizes that delayed decisions and notifications may impact sites that were hoping to run during the summer of 2025.
3/20/25: US House chair asks American universities to reveal info on their Chinese nationals (South China Morning Post) The chair of a US House committee on Wednesday sent letters to six American universities, including Stanford and Carnegie Mellon, requesting information about their policies on Chinese nationals, in the latest congressional attempt to curb the flow of Chinese students to the US over national security concerns. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3303065/us-house-chair-asks-american-universities-reveal-info-their-chinese-nationals
