Research Update on Federal Executive Orders

At this time it isn't clear. Recent federal directives, including the now-rescinded OMB Memorandum M-25-13, temporarily paused financial assistance for various programs. While this order was blocked in part by a federal judge, and later rescinded by M-25-14, some agencies—such as DOE, NASA, and NSF—have issued their own guidance restricting DEIA-related expenditures. Drexel’s Office of Research & Innovation (ORI) is actively assessing the situation and will provide updates as needed.

Yes. You should continue your federally funded research as usual, unless you receive an official stop-work or termination order.  If you receive such an order, immediately contact ORI (ori@drexel.edu) and temporarily cease related activities. For projects involving human subjects or animal models, please review the operational updates found in this slide deck [PPT]. 

ORI will continue to share timely updates via email and here on this Federal Research Updates 2025 page on the ORI website. Please monitor these resources regularly and avoid speculation.

Yes. ORI will proceed with grant submissions as long as federal agency submission systems remain operational. However, some proposal deadlines may change, and agencies may experience delays in reviewing proposals.

What to do:

• Confirm proposal deadlines, as they may be revised.
• Check whether the funding opportunity announcement has been updated or postponed.
• Sign up for alerts from federal agencies or sponsors when available.

Yes. The terms and conditions of active awards remain enforceable, including the ability to invoice and receive reimbursement. If your award is affected, ORI will receive an amendment for review and execution.

As this is a rapidly evolving situation, ORI advises the research community to continue budgeting Drexel’s federally negotiated rates for NIH proposals until further guidance is issued.

Please include this caveat in your budget justification: Drexel University requests our current federally negotiated rate, but we will accept the NIH approved rate at the time of award.  

For more information, please see the "FAQs Related to NIH Funding Cap" section below.

If you have already made travel plans or were in the process of making travel, please contact your sponsor to determine if you need to suspend them until further notice.

Possibly. Some federal agencies may implement new compliance requirements related to research security, export control, human subjects, animal research, or conflict of interest (COI). If ORI receives such updates, we will notify affected researchers. You may also receive direct instructions from your Program Officer.

Contacts for compliance matters:

• Research security/export control: export@drexel.edu
• IRB (human subjects research): hrpp@drexel.edu
• IACUC (animal research): iacuc@drexel.edu
• COI (conflict of interest): fcoi@drexel.edu

Possibly. Federal agencies may implement new reporting or deliverable requirements for ongoing projects. If ORI receives such updates, we will notify affected researchers. You may also receive direct instructions from your Program Officer.

What to do:

• Monitor communications from your federal sponsor and Program Officer.
• Ensure compliance with any new reporting requirements to avoid funding risks.
• Contact your OSP Grants Administrator for assistance with reporting requests.

If a federal program is defunded or restructured, you may experience delays in accessing funds or meeting new criteria. Agencies overseeing affected programs will issue guidance, which ORI will promptly share.

While rare, payments could be paused or delayed if a program’s funding is rescinded or redirected. To mitigate risks:

• Review your Notice of Award/Award Agreement for terms related to funding availability.
• Monitor your obligated budget balances to avoid deficits while awaiting future funding.
• Stay in communication with your Program Officer for any funding-related updates.

It is essential to closely monitor your budget balances to prevent deficits while awaiting future funding. Anticipated funding is not guaranteed and depends on fund availability.

What to do:

• Track your budget balances regularly to avoid overspending.
• Ensure all billing and invoicing is up to date, including subrecipient payments.
• Be cautious when requesting preliminary projects or extensions, as future funding remains uncertain.

If you have concerns about your budget or funding status, consult your OSP Grants Administrator for guidance.

PolicyMap has confirmed that it will continue to provide access to key datasets recently removed from federal agency websites, including data from the CDC PLACES, the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), and the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST). If you typically retrieve data directly from federal sources, you may find PolicyMap to be a valuable alternative.
 
For background, Drexel Libraries provides campus-wide access to PolicyMap, a data, mapping, and analytics platform. As a Philadelphia-based company with strong government and academic partnerships, PolicyMap proactively collects and preserves federal datasets, ensuring uninterrupted access to data for Drexel researchers.
 
PolicyMap can be accessed via Drexel login here. 
 
PolicyMap is set up on Drexel’s SSO authentication system. All members of the Drexel community must sign in via Drexel Connect in order to access the tool. This guide with more details on accessing resources from on and off campus.

All current Presidential Executive Orders, Memoranda, and Proclamations are available on White House News. 

Agency-Specific Guidance:

• Department of Energy Guidance (Jan 20, 2025) [PDF]
• NASA Guidance (Jan 23, 2025) [PDF]
• NSF Implementation of Recent Executive Orders (Jan 28, 2025)

 For further questions, please contact ORI (ori@drexel.edu).

On February 7, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that it intends to implement a 15% cap on the amount of funding allocated to reimburse institutions for costs of maintaining research facilities and administration (F&A), also called indirect costs, indirect expenses, or overhead, within research awards.

For each institution, these reimbursement rates are individually negotiated with the federal government and can range from 8-70% of the total NIH award. Starting February 10, the NIH will limit this amount to 15% for all awards, which is a significant reduction that will negatively impact lifesaving research at so many universities, including Drexel.

On February 11, a federal judge imposed a temporary restraining order that blocked the implementation of this cap for the time being.

The NIH defines indirect costs as research “facilities” and “administration” (F&A). This infographic illustrates various costs of federally sponsored research and which are considered direct versus F&A costs.

Examples of F&A include the construction, maintenance, and operational costs of laboratories and high-tech research facilities and buildings; energy and utility expenses, safety, security, and regulatory compliance costs, and support personnel (security, financial, administrative, technical, maintenance, and facilities staff members).

Both types of expenditures are essential for an institution’s ability to conduct safe and high-quality research.

The 15% cap will limit the amount of grant funding that universities can allocate for indirect costs related to research facilities and administration (F&A). Universities will likely need to reallocate resources, potentially reducing administrative support and altering how research facilities are managed.

Drexel’s leadership is closely monitoring the situation and working to determine how to proceed reducing F&A rates.

Salaries and stipends for researchers and graduate students are considered direct costs and are not part of the 15% cap on research facilities and administration (F&A); however, significant reductions on F&A rates may impact available research infrastructure and support services as well as the university’s budget.

On February 11, a temporary restraining order was enacted that temporarily halted the implementation of the 15% F&A cap. Therefore, for now we will be utilizing our current federally negotiated F&A rate.

Given the temporary restraining order, we will continue budgeting Drexel’s full negotiated F&A rate as appropriate in NIH proposals until further guidance is issued. Please include this caveat in your budget justification: Drexel University requests our current federally negotiated rate, but we will accept the NIH approved rate at the time of award.

We understand that this change raises significant questions and concerns and there have already been legal challenges to the new policy.

First, please continue to check and read your Drexel email for updates as this is a rapidly evolving situation.

Drexel’s leadership is communicating the University’s institutional position on this matter. Drexel has in-house and external lobbyists to represent the University and to ensure our compliance with federal, state and local lobbying laws, which we can only achieve if we are well coordinated.

You may also be asked through your professional network, such as the national associations to which you belong, to support advocacy efforts. As a private citizen, you should feel free to engage in these efforts and share your story.

Please reach out to the Office of Research & Innovation (ori@drexel.edu) if you have any questions.