Transition in Government Administration and Agency Leadership

OSU continues to receive stop work orders and grant terminations. If a stop work order or termination is received, please immediately forward to the Office for Sponsored Research and Award Administration. Each stop work order and termination is reviewed by OSRAA to determine if there is a path forward for the project as planned. If not, we will determine if project changes may be a path forward. If there is no path forward, then we will work with the principal investigator, Research Support Services and OSRAA post-award to submit a final invoice and financially close out the project. 

The vast majority of OSU grants are cost reimbursable, meaning that OSU submits invoices to the federal agency after we have incurred the expense (i.e., we don’t have the cash for the entire grant amount). We fully expect an agency to pay for all allowable expenses incurred prior to the stop work order date. 

The Office of Research Advancement can be a thought partner for PIs on how to pivot programmatically when negotiating scope with a program officer. To register for a proposal consultation, book an appointment online. Anyone who has difficulty with the Bookings link can email [email protected].

Yes, it is critically important that project reports are submitted on time.  Agencies are watching late reports closely. For example, NIH is issuing letters for Research Performance Progress Reports that are one day late, stating that late reports may indicate future funding is not needed. 

Generally, yes, federal agencies are accepting proposals. Some opportunities have been pulled without a new opportunity posted. More have been updated with revised submission requirements. The vast majority of OSU proposals continue to be submitted. January and February had above average proposals submitted (our average month is about 175). 

Sponsor proposal submission and review timelines may be extended while federal agencies navigate pauses on federal assistance funding in specific areas. The Office for Sponsored Research and Award Administration will continue to submit all proposals as we are able. Please keep a close watch on deadlines related to your opportunities.  

Agencies are going through a process to align their funding opportunities with the current administration's priorities. We expect these funding templates to be updated, and then new opportunities will be posted. This timeline may vary among different agencies and different funding opportunities. Please pay close attention to opportunities and their changing deadlines, especially for federal funding that is required to be expended this federal fiscal year (prior to 9/30/25).

Proposal review panels are frequently delayed which would result in delayed funding decisions, and site visits for ongoing projects could be delayed or canceled. Please keep in close communication with your sponsor program director. 

Yes, continue to work on existing, active projects. Yes, OSU expects to be reimbursed for valid expenses on all open awards, unless a stop work order has been received. Active projects with obligated funding should continue as planned. We are experiencing intermittent pauses on payments, but OSU is currently being reimbursed for its expenses from nearly all agencies. We will work with the impacted projects to determine if the payment pause requires action. Unless you receive a stop work order, please proceed with working on your project. If you receive a stop work order or similar federal directive, please promptly send it to [email protected]. 

Please proceed with your project as approved by the agency unless you receive specific instructions from the federal agency on your award. OSU is monitoring court cases on the DEI executive orders. As the court cases evolve, we recommend proceeding with your projects as detailed in the grant agreement until you are given instructions specific to your project from your program officer or your grant agreement is amended by the agency contracting office. If you receive such instructions to change your active project, please promptly send them to [email protected] before taking any action. 

OSU is receiving very few new federal awards. During presidential transitions agencies typically pause issuing, but this transition is longer in time and broader in impact than is typical. We do not know when agencies will return to issuing new awards at their normal volume. 

OSRAA continues to process all awards and amendments that are received. You can check to see if your award has been issued to OSRAA by checking this web page.

Yes, some federal agencies are pausing disbursement of federal funds. Some federal agencies may rescind funding opportunities or consider changing the scope of current awards that were aligned with the past administration’s priorities. As new agency requirements for active funding opportunities are announced, we will attempt to track them in the table found in the field below.

Researchers should continue to work on their grants and contracts as specified in their existing agreements unless their agency or program officer instructs them otherwise.

Existing projects may receive full or partial stop work orders to pause project work, which may be related to a variety of reasons, including the status of the executive orders, an agency has a reduction in budget, or a change in priorities. Stop work orders should come as a formal announcement from the federal grants officer and then be followed by a formal grant amendment. If a stop work order or termination is received, please forward it to our email address: [email protected] before taking any action. OSRAA will review the agency’s action and then discuss options.

Maybe; OSU is receiving very few new awards or amendments and increments of existing awards. Incremental funding may be delayed. We do not know when agencies will resume issuing new awards and incremental funding amendments. 

No, NIH's eCommons website to submit NCEs appears to be working as normal. The NCE button on NIH's eCommons website disappeared for about a week, with no explanation provided by NIH for the change. On Feb. 12, the NCE button reappeared and we are able to submit NCEs to NIH. No other agencies have announced policy changes with regard to NCEs.  

Maybe; the vast majority of federal sponsored projects are invoiced after OSU incurs the expenses. Although some agencies have paused payments, we expect most agencies to continue to allow the ability to invoice and receive reimbursement. 

Please monitor spending on projects nearing the end of their current budget period but for which you are expecting a new budget increment to be issued by the agency. Additional budget increments may be at risk of being delayed or not being issued.