Federal Updates
Carnegie Mellon University’s Office of the Vice President for Research is working closely with University leadership, professional organizations and peers to understand how the guidance issued by various federal agencies may impact grants and cooperative agreements. This includes reviewing activities that may be implicated by executive orders.
The University will continue to uphold its commitment to create knowledge, drive innovation and advance national prosperity through research. It is one of the most profound ways that CMU serves society.
We have created this site to serve our faculty, staff and student investigators and ensure that we are able to provide timely updates in a rapidly changing research environment.
Guidance for CMU Investigators Federal Agency Guidance and Updates
Guidance for Carnegie Mellon Investigators
If you are planning to submit a proposal:
- Carnegie Mellon researchers are encouraged to continue to submit proposals. The federal agency submission systems are operational.
- Sponsor proposal review timelines may be extended while federal agencies navigate pauses in specific areas.
- There may be changes to proposal deadlines. Reconfirming deadlines is recommended
- Confirm that the funding announcement has not been revised or postponed.
- Consider signing up for funding alerts from the sponsor.
- Award decisions may be delayed, so monitor program websites and FAQs for any news.
- Recognize that NIH and NSF have temporarily paused peer review meetings so grant review and award decisions will be slower than normal.
If you are managing an active award:
- Continue your work on federally funded research activities unless you have received a suspension, stop order order, or other award specific notice from the federal agency or your program manager directly.
- Continuations, no cost extensions and post-award action approvals by federal agencies may be delayed or denied.
- Review your award to ensure you understand your funding availability and reimbursement terms.
- 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.
- Prioritize the submission of any technical reports or deliverables, especially those that may be past due.
- Keep an eye on communications from your funding sponsor.
- If PIs receive any award modifications or other notices, please forward them to the Office of the VP for Research as soon as possible at funding-questions@andrew.cmu.edu so that these can be reviewed and processed quickly.
- Notify the Office of the VP for Research at funding-questions@andrew.cmu.edu if you received a "Stop Work" notice from a federal sponsor for an award. A stop work order typically means that all project work needs to stop immediately and no expenses can be incurred on the project as of the effective date of the stop work notice. In order to provide you with compliant responses please mark email Privileged Communications and the Office of General Council will monitor this inbox.
- In collaboration with the Office of Government and Community Relations, the VC Research Office is gathering examples of impacts that recent White House Executive Orders and agency directives are having on campus research.
- If you experience interruptions to your research, please submit them to us at funding-questions@andrew.cmu.edu In order to provide you with compliant responses please mark email Privileged Communications and the Office of General Council will monitor this inbox.
Federal Agency Guidance and Updates
Executive Actions
- Presidential Actions – The White House
- COGR’s Summary of Executive Orders – Includes details about EOs that impact research and/or grants and contracts.
- APLU Overview of President Trump’s Executive Orders – Association of Public and Land-grant Universities – 1/23/2025
Executive Actions Most Impacting Research
- Implementing the President's "DOGE" Cost Efficiency Initiative – 2/27/2025
- Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-based Opportunity – 1/21/2025
- Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing 1/20/2025
- Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid – 1/20/2025
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
- Memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget – M-25-13 01/27/2025
- Q&A from the Office of Management and Budget – 01/28/2025
- Memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget – rescinds M-25-13 01/29/2025
Federal Agency Guidance
CHCO – Chief Human Capital Officers Council
- Initial Guidance Regarding DEIA Executive Orders – 1/21/2025
DOE – Department of Energy
- https://www.energy.gov/science/articles/executive-order-update-pier-plan-requirement (1/28/2025)
- Agency-wide Review of Program and Administrative Activities – 1/20/2025
DHHS – Department of Health and Human Services
- Payment Management System (PMS) Payment Delays Due to Executive Orders – 1/27/2025
- Effective immediately, PMS is only available during the hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST, Monday – Friday. The limited hours are in effect until a further notice.
- PAYMENT DELAYS: Due to Executive Orders regarding potentially unallowable grant payments, PMS is taking additional measures to process payments. Reviews of applicable programs and payments will result in delays and/or rejections of payments.
NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NIH – National Institutes for Health
- NOT-OD-25-068, Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates - 2/7/2025
- PA-23-189, “Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research” – Expired
NIJ – National Institute of Justice
- NIJ has cancelled all previously posted Notices of Funding Opportunity and associated webinars. 1/27/2025
NSF – National Science Foundation
- Executive Order Implementation webpage – 1/28/2025