2025 Federal Transition Updates Pertaining to Research
Last updated: March 4, 2025
Last reviewed: March 5, 2025
As the country transitions to a new administration in Washington, D.C., the Office for Research is closely monitoring developments related to federal research funding.
Many federal agencies are updating their policies and solicitations in response to recent Executive Orders. While some agencies have been providing updates, there remains uncertainty about how many changes will be implemented and executed and how those changes may affect awarded and pending projects from federal agencies or sponsors.
This page is updated as regularly as possible to provide the Northwestern research community with timely and relevant information and guidance. Below is the current guidance on proposals and awards, followed by links to previous leadership communications and additional resources. For institution-wide information and guidance, visit Northwestern's Federal Policy Updates Page.
Urgent questions? Please contact Chief Research Operations Officer Renee Gonzales (renee.gonzales@northwestern.edu).
Proposals
- We will continue to submit proposals.
- As proposal deadlines approach, check program websites and solicitations for any updates on due dates or requirements to ensure that your proposal is compliant.
- Consider signing up for alerts from the agencies you apply to. Also, remain aware of the faculty resources available from Research Development and Sponsored Research.
- Federal agencies may be delayed in reviewing proposals while they navigate temporary pauses in communications and other operations.
Awards
- The terms and conditions of your executed award remain enforceable while your award is active.
- Several 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 you receive a stop-work order or termination notice for a specific project or award from your funding agency. Do not stop work based on rumor. Agencies are required to notify us if there will be changes to your funding once the contract is in place.
- If you receive any of the following, promptly notify Sponsored Research at SponsoredResearch@northwestern.edu. Do not reply to the sponsor without consulting Sponsored Research. The Sponsored Research team will work with you to determine the next steps to ensure compliance.
- Stop-work order
- Termination
- Change in terms or procedures resulting from Executive Orders
- Certifications
- If you receive any of the following, promptly notify Sponsored Research at SponsoredResearch@northwestern.edu. Do not reply to the sponsor without consulting Sponsored Research. The Sponsored Research team will work with you to determine the next steps to ensure compliance.
- We are closely monitoring other notices from federal funding agencies implementing executive orders and are evaluating their potential impact on our federally funded projects. We will share updates and guidance for members of our research community as they become available.
- Try to remain in contact with your program officers, but be aware that some may have a pause on communications.
- Monitor policy updates from the federal agency overseeing your grant for updates on funding or compliance requirements. Also, see the Council on Governmental Relations resource page linked below.
- Please reach out to SponsoredResearch@northwestern.edu with any questions.
Leadership Communications
Feb. 13, 2025. Federal Transition Update (from VPR). On Monday, a U.S. District Court Judge in Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the implementation of the new National Institutes of Health (NIH) policy that caps indirect costs (IDCs or F&A) at 15%. [full message]
Feb. 12, 2025. Immediate measures to address financial challenges. Earlier this year, our annual financial update enumerated some of the potential challenges that lie ahead. Since then, we have seen these challenges emerge in a variety of ways, including a recent National Institutes of Health (NIH) announcement we communicated about on Monday that could have a profound and damaging effect on federally funded research across the country. [full message]
Feb. 10, 2025. Update on NIH funding. On Friday, Feb. 7, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced proposed changes to the federal government's handling of indirect research costs (F&A). We recognize the urgency of this situation and are working internally and with peer institutions, advocacy organizations government leaders and other federal policy experts to understand and respond to this new circumstance. [full message]
Jan. 29, 2025. Northwestern’s response to federal government actions. Monday evening, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced a temporary pause on federal financial assistance programs, an order that was then temporarily blocked by a federal judge late yesterday afternoon. [full message]
Jan. 24, 2025. Impact of HHS freezes on communication and travel. As you may have seen, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued a freeze on public communications, grant announcements, and Federal Advisory Committees, including NIH study sections. [full message]
Resources for Context
Northwestern's Federal Policy Updates page
COGR resource page The Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) has developed a resource page that compiles recent Executive Orders, agency directives and other information relevant to upcoming and existing federal contracts and grants.
HHS Pause on Issuing Documents
Office of Management and Budget "Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan and Other Financial Assistance Programs"
NSF Implementation of Recent Executive Orders (Access to ACM$ has been restored and the system is available to accept payment requests as of 12:00 PM ET on February 2, 2025.)