Dear Colleagues,
As you know, the new administration took office on January 20, 2025, signaling potential shifts in federal R&D funding priorities. Some federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Energy (DOE), have paused funding decisions, external communications, federal personnel travel, and other activities. Additional directives may affect other federal agencies. Similar directives have been issued at the beginning of previous incoming administrations. These are reportedly short-term measures until new officials and staff can ensure operational consistency with the administration’s priorities and policies.
Key Points for Researchers:
1. Proposals
- Continue submitting proposals to active funding opportunities. Before submission, check sponsor websites or Grants.gov to ensure funding opportunities remain open.
- Stay informed: Consider signing up for funding opportunity and agency alerts to track updates on funding opportunities.
2. Awards
- Continue working on active sponsored projects.
- Terms: The terms and conditions for each sponsored project remain enforceable. Invoicing and reimbursements will proceed as usual. Any changes will be communicated via amendments.
- Pending Awards & Pre-Award Costs: Exercise caution regarding spending or extending these until funding availability is confirmed.
- Monitoring: Regularly review your grant agreement, project status reports, and budget balances to avoid deficits.
3. Federal Impacts
- When proposal review panels (study sections) are paused, funding decisions are delayed.
- When review panels resume, agency websites should reflect the updated review schedule—contact program officers to verify the status of upcoming reviews and funding decisions.
Ongoing Support:
UGA’s Office of Research will monitor developments and provide updates to help navigate these changes. Should this situation significantly impact sponsored projects, the university will enact contingency plans to ensure our operations continue and we meet our obligations.
We recently learned of an isolated case where a principal investigator received a communication about his active sponsored project. The federal government did not share this communication with the Sponsored Projects Administration; therefore, if you receive any communication or instructions from federal agencies regarding active sponsored projects, please forward them to:
Jill Tincher: (jill.tincher@uga.edu)
Cathy Cuppett: (cathya15@uga.edu)
For broader inquiries, contact vpr@uga.edu.
Thank you for your adaptability, patience, and commitment during this transition. While the activities of our federal funding agencies may be paused, UGA continues to move forward.
Best regards,
Christopher King, DVM, DACLAM
Interim Vice President
Office of Research | University of Georgia
https://research.uga.edu | vpr@uga.edu