Federal Grant News 2025

April 17, 2025

Dear faculty and staff colleagues,

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced a 15% cap on indirect costs for research. However, on Wednesday, a federal court judge issued a temporary restraining orderhalting implementation of that cap. 

The restraining order was issued in response to a lawsuit brought by the Association of American Universities (AAU) and others. Dartmouth senior leaders and our Office of General Counsel moved quickly following the DOE announcement to contribute language to that lawsuit, ensuring the court would be made aware of the harm that such an action would have caused.

No immediate impact to Dartmouth is expected due to the issuance of the temporary restraining order. In the meantime, faculty members who may have received a notice of conditional termination from DOE should not respond and should instead forward the notice to the Office of Sponsored Projects.

The DOE action is distinct from—although broadly consistent with—the 15% indirect costs cap that the National Institutes of Health sought to impose in February. Implementation of that funding cut also remains blocked by the court. The federal government intends to appeal.

We continue to follow both of these lawsuits closely as they move through the courts and will share updates if the impacts to the Dartmouth community change.

Best,

Dean Madden

Vice Provost for Research

Jill Mortali

Director of Sponsored Projects

Impact of New NIH Indirect Costs Policy. 

Please also see the resource page to learn more about indirect costs.

March 25, 2025

Message to Investigator and Roundtable Lists

Dear colleagues,

I want to ensure that you reviewed the message below from Dave Kotz and Scott Frew and noted the possibility of short-term, emergency “bridge” funding for most ongoing federal grants that may be terminated or paused or otherwise interrupted by an administrative delay in anticipated funding, e.g., through a non-competing or highly scored competing renewal. As of today, Dartmouth has not received any cancellations or stop work orders for direct federal awards, but we are preparing, nonetheless.  

This short-term bridge funding will supplement existing faculty, departmental, and school resources to ensure the safety of participants in ongoing studies and/or to provide an opportunity for already funded or highly ranked programs:

To preserve and complete data already collected;
To bridge a delay in receipt of anticipated funding;
To pivot to alternative funding sources;
Or to enable the orderly conclusion of ongoing work.

Faculty who receive stop-work, termination, or other funding notices should not reply, and should instead immediately contact the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP)—or me directly—through an email to sponsored.projects@dartmouth.edu. Please note that federal agencies and subcontracting entities generally send such communications to OSP under the award terms. OSP will support researchers as we work collaboratively to assess the implications of the specific notice and to develop and communicate responses on behalf of Dartmouth. 

If needed, short-term bridge funding requests can then be prepared by faculty members in consultation with chairs (Geisel), associate deans (A&S) and the dean’s office (all schools), and with support from departmental grant managers. Your dean will submit those requests to Vice Provost for Research Dean Madden, who will review them in consultation with OSP and the applicable deans, chairs, and PIs as necessary. The provost will make the final decision.

I hope this demonstration of Dartmouth’s ongoing commitment to research will provide you and your teams some reassurance.

Best,

Jill Mortali
Director of Sponsored Projects

March 5, 2025

Dear colleagues,

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction yesterday that further formalizes and extends a pause on recent National Institutes of Health guidance that would cap indirect cost payments on current and new NIH grants at 15%.

The injunction replaces a temporary restraining order that was issued and then extended last month, and it will remain in place as multiple lawsuits make their way through the courts, including one brought by the Association of American Medical Colleges and another by the Association of American Universities—both organizations of which Dartmouth is a member. The conditions for issuing a preliminary injunction include an assessment that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their case, and that there is a high likelihood of irreparable harm if the proposed changes are allowed to proceed. The court agreed with the associations’ position, basing its assessment in large part on the statements filed in these cases by universities and including several references to the declaration filed by Provost Dave Kotz.

Additionally, the NIH appears to have resumed scheduling and posting of study section meetings. We encourage those affected by canceled meetings to check NIH sources and reach out to their Senior Research Officer or to the Office of Sponsored Projects (sponsored.projects@dartmouth.edu) for assistance in obtaining information.

We also encourage you to continue submitting information on the impact of the federal transition via this OSP survey. We understand from the 60+ responses received thus far that there have been disruptions on multiple levels including canceled review meetings, delayed award notices, and other issues. That feedback helps to inform our advocacy on behalf of Dartmouth and its mission through ongoing meetings with congressional representatives and staff, professional organizations, and members of the news media to ensure the impact is visible. 

As previously communicated, faculty, staff, students, and postdocs should continue their normal activities unless otherwise notified by OSP. Past updates and information about executive orders and government directives related to research funding are posted on our website. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you receive direct communication from any federal agency regarding a specific grant or contract. We continue to be a resource on as many of these issues as possible.

Sincerely,
Dean Madden
Vice Provost for Research

Jill Mortali
Director of Sponsored Projects

You can find earlier announcements at this link.