Over the past two weeks, many researchers have received communications from federal funding agencies. These communications describe ways in which agencies, or programs within agencies, may modify or terminate federal research grants to comply with various executive orders. In pursuit of its vital mission, the University of Michigan is committed to compliance with all applicable law, regulations, and agency directives.
At the same time, the situation is complex and evolves on a daily basis. In particular, there are active court cases related to some of the recent directives. For example, on Jan. 31 a federal district court issued a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) regarding proposed limitations of federal funding agency actions. We will continue to monitor these cases, agency communications, and federal guidance.
Please continue to check the OVPR website for updates and information about federal-level and agency-wide actions. If you have a question about a specific program within an agency, please contact your program officer. For more general questions or concerns, or to share information with OVPR, please reach out to [email protected].
In what follows, we offer a general overview of what the federal agencies are doing and options that you have for responding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is important to know about the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued on Jan. 31?
As part of complying with the January 31 TRO, federal agencies were sent a notice, stating, in relevant part:
- Federal agencies cannot pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate any awards or obligations on the basis of [OMB Memo M-25-13], or on the basis of the President’s recently issued Executive Orders.
- This prohibition applies to all awards or obligations—not just those involving the Plaintiff States in the above-referenced case—and also applies to future assistance (not just current or existing awards or obligations).
- Agencies may exercise their own authority to pause awards or obligations, provided agencies do so purely based on their own discretion—not as a result of the OMB Memo or the President’s Executive Orders—and provided the pause complies with all notice and procedural requirements in the award, agreement, or other instrument relating to such a pause.
a. On pages 11 and 12 of the TRO, the Court prohibits agencies from pausing funding “except on the basis of the applicable authorizing statutes, regulations, and terms.” Thus, agencies remain free to exercise their own discretion under their “authorizing statutes, regulations, and terms,” including any exercise of discretion to pause certain funding. Additionally, agencies remain free to take action pursuant to the terms of the relevant award or obligation, such as in cases of grantee noncompliance.
b. Any exercise of agency discretion, however, cannot be based on the OMB Memo or the President’s Executive Orders, given that the Court has prohibited agencies from “implementing or giving effect to the OMB [Memo] under any other name or title[.]” (TRO, pg.12). Additionally, any decision to pause, stop, delay, or otherwise withhold federal financial assistance programs must comply with all notice and procedural requirements in the award, agreement, or other instrument setting forth the terms of the award or obligation.
- Out of an abundance of caution, all federal agencies (even those not named as defendants in the case) should comply with the above-referenced terms.
What guidance are federal agencies offering now?
Some agencies are providing agency-wide guidance. NSF, for example, has created a website for that purpose. Some agencies are providing guidance in the form of communication directly to individual researchers and institutions. The university is tracking agency-level guidance and potential impact. For more information, see the OVPR website.
For cases where agency-level guidance does not explicitly prohibit certain types of activities, individual program officers, or equivalent, have the authority to offer guidance or directives about what activities their specific programs’ allow. When this happens, program officers can pursue their mission in different ways – with the result being differences in directives across programs within the same agency. Guidance offered by one program officer in an agency may not apply to other programs within that agency. So if you are uncertain about whether a particular guidance or directive applies to your program, please reach out to the relevant program officer or equivalent directly.
If you receive guidance or directives from your funding agency or program officer, including with respect to the TRO, it is important to share that communication with any research administrator with which you work for review and appropriate action.
Please note that many more changes are likely to come. Be sure to pay close attention to any communications from your funding agency and the university.
How should PIs respond to federal funding agency directions?
It is important to follow agency directions regarding federal funding, including specific directions from your program officer. If you have questions about how to interpret any agency direction, including the recent notice related to the TRO, reach out to your program officer for clarity. OVPR is also available to help navigate agency directions. Since there are over 1,000 funding programs in the federal government, and many are acting in different ways, we recommend that you reach out to your program officer first.
If you learn that a change in your research program is warranted, then as noted on the OVPR website, “Please consult the assigned Award Management Team member in the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (ORSP) to ensure the proper course of action.”
Are there any special considerations to keep in mind for research involving human subjects or other regulated activities?
The health and safety of human subjects in our research is of paramount importance in everything that we do. If you receive direction from your funding agency that may impact your research involving human participants, it is important to reach out to your program officer to alert them to those implications and to seek additional direction. You must also consult with the IRB overseeing your research for guidance regarding any potential changes to your IRB-approved application. If an external IRB is overseeing your research, contact the relevant U-M IRB first. It will be important to coordinate with your program officer and the IRB on the implementation of any changes to your research that may impact human subjects.
Similarly, if you receive direction from your funding agency that may impact your research involving IACUC approval, IBC approval, RDRDC-SHUR approval, or other oversight bodies, it will be important to alert your program officer to those implications and coordinate with the relevant oversight body on the implementation of any changes.
Are there any special considerations for researchers writing proposals for current or expected solicitations?
We encourage faculty to read all solicitations carefully. Some solicitations have been revised recently. Revisions, including deletions, may or may not be highlighted. It is important to confirm that you are working with the latest solicitation throughout the proposal development process. It is also important to confirm dates related to proposals, including due dates. Some opportunities may be closed or postponed. Some due dates may change.