Federal Grant News 2025

Impact of New NIH Indirect Costs Policy. 

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

February 12, 2025

Dear colleagues,

A judge has paused implementation of the new National Institutes of Health guidance capping indirect cost payments at 15%. The pause is in effect—including for Dartmouth—pending a hearing on Feb. 21.

The temporary restraining order resulted from a lawsuit brought by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) on Monday around the same time as the Association of American Universities (AAU) lawsuit described in Provost Kotz’ message below. The AAU lawsuit was also reviewed by a judge but did not result in additional action because the order issued in the AAMC suit covers the same parties as the AAU suit.

Faculty, staff, students, and post-docs supported by federal funding should continue their normal activities unless otherwise notified by the Office of Sponsored Projects (sponsored.projects@dartmouth.edu). We will continue to share related information as it becomes available.

As a reminder, several members of the senior leadership team and I will attend a faculty gathering in Paganucci Lounge tomorrow at 8 a.m., where we will answer questions about Dartmouth’s response to the recent executive orders and administrative directives.

Sincerely,

Jill Mortali

Director of Sponsored Projects
 

Sent Monday, February 10

Dear faculty and staff,

As we shared this weekend, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued new guidance on its indirect costs policy, capping those payments at 15% for existing and new NIH grants. Today, the Association of American Universities (AAU) and others filed a lawsuit challenging that policy update and seeking to halt the proposed cut.

As an AAU member, Dartmouth submitted a declaration in support of the lawsuit, outlining the negative impact of this policy on our own research infrastructure and operations, our ability to employ thousands of people in rural New Hampshire and beyond, and the life-saving discoveries we produce.

We understand that these changes—and the continually evolving landscape we are navigating—are causing considerable concern and uncertainty in our community. Nevertheless, we are not pausing research or grant spending on existing awards and we will continue to update you on any related legal or executive actions.

Several members of Dartmouth’s senior leadership team and I will attend a previously scheduled faculty gathering in Paganucci Lounge this Thursday morning at 8 a.m., where we will answer questions about our response to the recent executive orders and administrative directives.

The Office of Sponsored Projects remains the primary resource for anyone with questions about how emerging agency guidance may affect specific grant awards and contracts or new funding proposals. You can reach them at sponsored.projects@dartmouth.edu.

Best,
David Kotz ’86
Provost

February 8, 2025

Dear faculty and staff colleagues,

Last night the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued supplemental guidance on its indirect costs policy, capping those payments at 15% for existing and new NIH grants to higher education institutions.

As many of you know, indirect costs include the portions of a grant that support facilities, equipment, maintenance, and other overhead expenses necessary to operate a research enterprise. We are mobilizing quickly in close partnership with Dartmouth Health, our peer universities, and professional organizations such as the Association of American Universities to understand the implications.

We will provide further updates to this community in the coming days but want to assure you now that we are focused on this issue and will continue to support our faculty, staff, and students in their important research endeavors. Please continue to email the Office of Sponsored Projects (sponsored.projects@dartmouth.edu) with questions regarding the impact to specific grants.

Sincerely,

Jill Mortali

Director of Sponsored Projects

February 2, 2025

Recent DOJ and Agency Communications on Research Funding

Dear faculty colleagues,

As referenced in previous communications (all available on the Office of Sponsored Projects website), we are continuing to assess the potential impact of recent federal executive orders, legal rulings, and agency directives on Dartmouth.

Faculty, staff, students, and post-docs supported by federal funding should continue their normal activities unless otherwise notified by OSP. Please share this information with your teams.

A federal court issued a Temporary Restraining Order on Jan. 31 preventing the government from continuing its “pause” on federal funding. This order is in place while the court considers further information from the parties involved in the lawsuit. The Department of Justice, in turn, provided guidance to all federal agencies to ensure that they would be in compliance with the court’s order. The DOJ communication directs federal grant-making agencies not to “pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate any awards or obligations on the basis of the OMB Memo, or on the basis of the President’s recently issued Executive Orders.”

We are aware that some researchers have received announcements from their funding agencies—including a Feb. 2 email to National Science Foundation principal investigators—which cite that DOJ communication. OSP has received similar messages from several other federal agencies, including HHS, NIH, and ARPA-H. Please note that NSF and other agencies may refer to Dartmouth’s access to federal disbursements via their systems (e.g., the NSF Award Cash Management Service ACM$). The process is managed by OSP and there was never any disruption to researchers’ access to grant funds at Dartmouth.

In addition to the OSP website listing recent messages on this topic, the OSP resource page includes guidance for Dartmouth researchers and ongoing updates from federal agency sponsors. If you receive any change notifications or additional information from your program officer or other federal agency staff, please send them to sponsored.projects@dartmouth.eduso that we can advise you—and not only to your department administrator or assigned OSP contact. It is important to check with OSP before assuming that your project is affected by general guidance.

We appreciate your patience and continue to welcome your questions as we navigate this evolving landscape together.

Best regards,
Jill Mortali
Director of Sponsored Projects

Office of Sponsored Projects

January 29, 2025

Dear faculty colleagues,

As the president and provost indicated in their message last night (see below), we continue to assess federal executive orders and agency directives for potential impacts to Dartmouth. 

Today, the Office of Management and Budget rescinded its memo from earlier this week that directed federal agencies to temporarily pause new awards and grant disbursements to universities, state and local governments, nonprofits, and other entities.

As is always the case, individual funding agencies may still issue “stop work" orders on specific grants that they determine are in violation of executive orders. They may also choose to stop awarding new grants. 

To reiterate last night’s message, faculty, staff, students, and post-docs supported by federal funding should continue their normal activities unless otherwise informed by Dartmouth’s Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP).

OSP will continue to be in direct contact with PIs whose awards or contracts are impacted by new and emerging federal guidance. Please continue to monitor the OSP website for further updates and direct all questions to sponsored.projects@dartmouth.edu.

Best,

Jill Mortali
Director of Sponsored Projects

Office of the President

Message dated January 28, 2025

Dear faculty colleagues,

The federal government has issued several executive orders and directives this week—and indeed, over the past 24 hours—that are relevant to the conduct of federally sponsored research and contracts. We know there is uncertainty in our community associated with these changes. Although we have limited information, we wanted to update you with what we do know, as well as the actions we are taking to support your work and advocate for Dartmouth and the important role we play in research, discovery, and societal impact.

Two important points:

First, we are not pausing research or grant spending on existing awards at this time. Faculty, staff, students, and post-docs supported by federal funding should continue their normal activities unless otherwise informed by Dartmouth’s Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP). Please share this information with your research team members who are not receiving this message directly.

Second, OSP has been and will continue to be in direct contact with PIs whose awards or contracts are impacted by new and emerging federal guidance. OSP has thus far received communications from USDA, NASA, the Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation with guidance related to active grants through those agencies. The National Institutes of Health clarified some elements of its communication freeze, while the NSF has joined NIH in canceling some review panel meetings.

We have also reviewed the Office of Management and Budget memo that directs federal agencies to temporarily pause new awards and grant disbursements to universities, state and local governments, nonprofits, and other entities until Feb. 10. Additional statements from the White House this afternoon suggest that only funding related to recent federal executive orders will be affected by this pause. Again, OSP will be in direct contact with PIs whose awards or contracts are impacted.

Dartmouth is carefully assessing all federal policy updates, as are many of our peer universities, and we are in close contact with the professional organizations we are involved in (such as the Association of American Universities) and the federal agencies themselves.

Please reach out to OSP Director Jill Mortali via sponsored.projects@dartmouth.edu with all questions regarding the impact of executive orders and agency announcements on your grant awards. The OSP staff is also available to consult with anyone in the process of preparing grant proposals, and they are compiling all available updates and incoming guidance on the OSP website.

We are working closely with your deans as this situation evolves. Our goal, as always, is to ensure the important research our faculty, staff, and students conduct is supported and that we are in compliance with applicable laws. We are navigating this process with you and will continue to send updates as we have them.

Sincerely,

Sian Leah Beilock 
President

David Kotz ’86
Provost

OSP Announcement About Federally Funded Research 2025

Friday January 24, 2025

Dear Colleagues,

Several Executive Orders were issued this week that are relevant to the conduct of federally sponsored research and contracts.

Dartmouth’s Office of Sponsored Projects has received its first communication from a federal agency (NASA) with guidance on permitted activities under existing grants and contracts as well as how the orders will impact previously issued solicitations and requests for proposals.

We are also aware of the moratorium on certain agency communications and activities, which, at the moment, does not appear to be inconsistent with other periods of transition between presidential administrations. The current pause on study section and advisory council meetings at the National Institutes of Health also appears similar to actions taken in the past during temporary federal shutdowns.

This is a rapidly evolving situation, and we are carefully assessing all federal policy changes related to your important research. We will be in direct contact with PIs whose awards or contracts are impacted by new federal guidance and are available to consult with those of you who are in the process of preparing grant proposals.

Otherwise, please contact our office (sponsored.projects@dartmouth.edu) with any questions regarding compliance with grant terms/permitted activities, funding concerns, or proposal submissions.

Thank you for your patience as we work through these new expectations and requirements. We will share new information as it becomes available via our investigator listserv and our department grant management listserv.