Updated: Mar. 1, 2025

The administration has issued executive orders and other guidance that impact federal priorities, awarded projects, and impending funding from federal agencies or sponsors.

Virginia Tech will comply with all applicable laws and executive orders.

At this time, the full and precise impact of these executive orders remains unclear as agencies interpret these directives.

Virginia Tech’s Office of Research and Innovation in coordination with university leadership will provide the research community with guidance, updates, and links to relevant resources.

The university community is encouraged to be alert and proactive as these changes unfold. Actionable guidance will be shared as it becomes available.

Principal investigators are encouraged to monitor federal websites for changes in proposal deadlines, requirements, or other actions. Keep an eye out for communication from sponsors and share all communication with the Office of Sponsored Programs. See below for agency-specific instructions; these will continue to be updated as they are received.

For Questions, contact the Office of Sponsored Programs

Leadership Messages

View All Messages

Latest Updates

Note: for agency specific guidance, see the section below for more information.   

Mar. 1, 2025 | 10:53 a.m.

  • Information in the Proposals and Awards sections has been expanded.

Feb. 21, 2025 | 12:21 p.m.

  • Federal court extends temporary restraining order on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) cap on facilities and administrative (F&A) rate of 15%.
  • Visit this webpage to learn more about Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs, also referred to as indirect costs, and what they cover.

Feb. 14, 2025 | 11:23 a.m.

Feb. 14, 2025 | 11:14 a.m.

  • Consistent with the district court's order, National Science Foundation (NSF) awardees may continue activities consistent with the current terms and conditions of their NSF awards at this time (FAQ #12).

Proposals

The Office of Sponsored Programs will continue to submit proposals.

Be Proactive:

  • Principal investigators should reconfirm that the funding announcement has not been revised or postponed. If available, sign up for alerts from the federal agency or sponsor.
  • In some cases, changes in federal priorities are not yet reflected in requests for proposals and solicitations with upcoming deadlines. For questions about the requirements of a proposal you are working on, first contact the sponsor or program manager, and then contact Linda Duffy.
  • Sponsor proposal review timelines may be extended or updated. Double check deadlines.
  • For questions regarding the scope of activities under your proposal, reach out to the funding agency to have your questions addressed.

Awards

The Office of Sponsored Programs is receiving communications from federal agencies. They are reviewing agreements, terms, and conditions and working directly with the agency to revise contract clauses, if needed.

Be Proactive:

  • Continue to make progress on meeting research goals and timelines, especially for projects nearing the end of their award period. As you conduct work on project objectives, seek to accurately and quickly charge all labor and expenses so that the Office of Sponsored Programs can timely process invoices.
  • Consider fiscal restraints on financial commitments such as large equipment purchases or issuing subcontracts where such expenses are not critical to near-term progress.
  • Regularly check this page for new information. If you believe your program is impacted, communicate with the agency program or grant officer to confirm there are no changes to your award.
  • If you receive a communication directly from an agency, do not stop work on the award until you have confirmed with your award grant manager in the Office of Sponsored Programs the purpose of the communication. Some agency memos are only advising recipients of changes to some of the agreement clauses and not terminating the award. Thus, it is important to provide the communication to the Office of Sponsored Programs in order to be advised.
  • Monitor obligated budget balances to avoid deficits while awaiting future instructions from the agency. Anticipated future funding remains subject to availability of funds and should not be considered guaranteed.
  • Prioritize the submission of any technical reports or deliverables that may be past due and submit progress reports timely.

Agency-Specific Guidance

Virginia Tech has received messages from federal agencies with instructions for implementing executive orders. In some cases, the university has received instructions on specific awards; those messages are communicated with affected principal investigators. See these requirements below.

Note, information included is subject to change. Check the page frequently and monitor federal websites for changes in proposal deadlines, requirements, or other actions.

Feb. 21, 2025

Federal court extends temporary restraining order on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) cap on facilities and administrative (F&A) rate of 15%.

Feb. 7, 2025

NIH released Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates (NOT-OD-25-068), implementing a new cap on facilities and administrative (F&A) rate of 15%.

Feb. 14, 2025

National Science Foundation (NSF) Implementation of Recent Executive Orders webpage, FAQ #12: Consistent with the district court's order, NSF awardees may continue activities consistent with the current terms and conditions of their NSF awards at this time.  

Feb. 2, 2025

Access to the Award Cash Management Service (ACM$) has been restored and the system is available to accept payment requests as of 12:00 p.m. ET on Feb. 2, 2025. See FAQs for more information.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

FAQs were developed from a review of community questions organized under major topics.

 

Jan. 29, 2025

Message to the National Science Foundation (NSF) principal investigator community

Guidance on CDC awards funded in whole or in part with United States Government foreign assistance funds

Frequently Asked Questions

Continue work on your award unless notified by your sponsor to stop all work or restrict certain types of activities. It is important that you continue to make progress on meeting research goals and  timelines.  If you believe your award may be impacted, consider fiscal restraints such as large equipment purchases or issuing subcontracts at this time. Please also ensure you are meeting project reporting deadlines for existing projects. 

If you are contacted by your program manager, it is important to move swiftly in response. Share all communications with your Office of Sponsored Programs contacts. In some cases, work will not be stopped but may be re-scoped in response to recent executive orders.

Reach out to agency contacts for clarity on RFAs.

Promptly provide that notice to your grants manager in the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP). 

Cease incurring expenses on the project as of the date indicated in the stop work notice. This includes stopping payroll charges to the grant. Reach out to your department about alternative sources of funding to use. 

All projects with a full stop work order will have a hold (or freeze) placed on the account in the financial system. 

If you have applicable protocols associated with the program, notify Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance (SIRC) at: IRB@vt.edu, IACUC@vt.edu, or IBC@vt.edu so your protocol coordinator can record this on your approval. Notify SIRC both when your work ceases and if or when it starts up again.  

A Stop Work notice gives the federal agency at least 90 days to:

  • Extend the stop work action;
  • Authorize work to restart; or
  • Terminate the contract. In the event the contract is terminated, Virginia Tech may submit a proposal to the government to request costs incurred as a result of the stop work order, including rent obligations that can not be terminated, software licenses, etc. 

If you have questions, reach out to your OSP grants manager.