Recent Legal Updates & Current Guidance for UMN Researchers

NIH Policy Updates: New Research Security Training, Mandatory Common Forms, and Application Burden Reduction (December 15, 2025)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will implement several policy changes affecting proposal submissions, starting in early 2026.

• NIH policy notice (NOT-OD-26-017) - Effective May 25, 2026, all senior/key personnel must certify on their Biographical Sketch that they have completed research security training within the previous 12 months, and Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) must provide institutional certification of this completion.
• NIH policy notice (NOT-OD-26-018) - Effective January 25, 2026, the use of the new Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support becomes mandatory for all submissions, and senior/key personnel must also certify non-participation in a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP) both at the time of application and annually.
• NIH policy notice (NOT-OD-26-018) - To reduce administrative burden, the NIH has immediately eliminated the requirement for Letters of Intent (LOI) and the need for applicants requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs to contact the funding institute prior to submission.

See the latest Federal Funding Updates for more information.
 

Federal Government Reopening: Guidance for the Research Community (11/14/25)

The federal government has reopened after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. See information for the research community about the reopening of the federal government including a potential influx of new awards as federal agencies begin processing a significant backlog of research-related activities.
 

Federal Government Shutdown Starts October 1 (10/1/25)

Because federal budgets were not resolved by midnight on September 30, the federal government has shut down as of October 1, 2025. Please see the 2025 Shutdown Guidance webpage for the latest guidance and resources for the research community.
 

Guidance on International Collaborations under the NIH Policy on Foreign Subawards (9/19/25)

In May 2025, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that it would no longer be accepting new applications that request funds for foreign components using the traditional grant subaward/consortium structure. (See the May 8 memo on this topic.)

On September 12, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a Notice on the New Application Structure for NIH-Funded International Collaborations (NOT-OD-25-155) to provide additional direction on how international collaborations will be structured in applications under the new foreign subawards policy announced in May 2025.

The new policy includes several changes to application structure, review and evaluation, award structure, and reporting. More detailed information may be found in the September 19 memo from April Coon and David Hagen. 
 

Supreme Court Rules on NIH Grant Cancellation (8/26/25)

On August 21, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the federal government to terminate more than $783 million in active research grants from the National Institutes of Health. The 5–4 decision, issued August 21, allows the Trump administration to proceed with its cancellation of thousands of grants tied to topics such as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), gender identity, HIV/AIDS, and COVID-19. The majority held that disputes over individual terminated grants likely must be heard in the Court of Federal Claims, not in district courts.

University of Minnesota staff are currently analyzing the court’s decision and will keep the community updated.
 

Executive Order on Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking (8/8/25)

On August 7, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking. The EO includes significant policy guidance related to agency grantmaking and grant oversight processes, considerations for discretionary awards, the Uniform Guidance, and termination clauses. This fact sheet provides additional information. 

University of Minnesota staff are currently analyzing the EO and will keep the community updated.
 

Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction in Lawsuit Challenging DoD's F&A Policy (7/21/25)

On July 18, Judge Brian E. Murphy of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts released his decision granting a preliminary injunction in the lawsuit challenging DoD’s F&A policy. The injunctive relief is granted to all plaintiffs and their members.

His order reads:

"The Court, therefore, pursuant to Rule 65(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, PRELIMINARILY ENJOINS Defendants, their agents, and anyone acting in concert or participation with Defendants from implementing, instituting, maintaining, or giving effect to the immediately effective portions of the Rate Cap Policy, i.e., those portions implementing a 15% cap for all awards issued on or after June 12, 2025, including but not limited to rejecting or treating adversely proposals for DOD funding submitted at universities’ negotiated rates rather than the 15% rate, in any form with respect to University Plaintiffs and Organizational Plaintiffs’ member universities until further order issued by this Court. This includes where a University Plaintiff or Organizational Plaintiffs’ member university is a sub-grantee or collaborator."
 

Science Funding Agencies Issue Research Security-Related Updates (7/21/25)

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Science Foundation (NSF), and National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently published research security-related notices:

• USDA - The America First Memorandum for USDA Arrangements and Research Security (July 8) lists requirements for researchers and institutions receiving research and development (R&D) and science and technology (S&T) support from USDA to–
  • Certify completion of research security training within the twelve month period prior to proposal submission,
  • Disclose specified arrangements with non-U.S. organizations and programs, and
  • Certify non-participation in malign foreign talent recruitment programs (MFTRPs).

USDA does not provide an effective date for these requirements in the memorandum, so the timing is not yet clear.

• NSF - Important Notice No. 149: Updates to NSF Research Security Policies (July 10) reminds the research community of certain measures already in effect (institutional foreign financial disclosure reporting, no MFTRP participation). The notice also states that beginning on October 10, 2025–
  • Senior/key personnel will need to certify they have completed research security training within the twelve month period prior to proposal submission,
  • NSF may perform enhanced research security risk assessments of proposals and take further actions as warranted, and
  • Applicant institutions must certify they do not have arrangements with a Confucius Institute.
• NIH - NOT-OD-25-1333, New Policy Requirement to Train Senior/Key Personnel on Other Support Disclosure Requirements (July 17), requires recipient institutions to develop a policy and training program to ensure senior/key personnel understand their responsibility to disclose all resources made available in connection with their research, regardless of monetary value and location. The policy and training program must be implemented by October 1, 2025.

RIO will disseminate more detailed guidance about the requirements and training plan in the coming days. Please contact RIO’s Export Controls and Research Security team ([email protected]) with any questions.
  

NIH Releases New Policy to Target AI Generated Grant Applications (7/17/25)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a new policy to target AI generated grant applications, which:

• Prohibits applications that were substantially developed with AI
• Opens the door to research misconduct investigations for suspected AI use (if identified post award)
• Limits PIs to six new, renewal, resubmission, or revision applications for all council rounds in a calendar year (single or MPI) - exceptions for T and R13 applications.

The policy goes into effect September 25, 2025.
 

Stop Work Orders and Terminations and Associated Appeals (Updated 7/17/25)

The University continues to receive terminations or full stop work orders and there are additional partial orders impacting a project by stopping certain work, temporarily halting payments, eliminating outyear funding, or otherwise modifying the terms under which work can be conducted. Each communication is being evaluated to ascertain whether the University can legally “push back” on the specific action, given the evolving status of the temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions. Where a case can be made, and with the PI’s concurrence, the University will submit appeals.
 

NIH Rescinds "Notice of Civil Rights Term and Condition of Award" (Updated 6/17/25)

Effective immediately, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) rescinds “Notice of Civil Rights Term and Condition of Award” (NOT-OD-25-090). NIH is awaiting further Federal-wide guidance and will provide a future update to the extramural community. The previous guidance is no longer in effect.

Questions about specific awards may be directed to your SPA Grant and Contract Officer.
  

Unsolicited Inquiries from NSF (Updated 6/13/25)

SPA staff have heard about multiple cases recently of National Science Foundation (NSF) personnel reaching out directly to principal investigators (PIs) and asking them to: a) modify their scope of work, b) certify their adherence to NSF’s new priorities, and/or; c) certify their adherence to Federal anti-discrimination statutes.

If you receive such a request, please contact your SPA Grant and Contract Officer (GCO) immediately. Please also copy your associate dean for research on any such correspondence. SPA GCOs will coordinate with their managers and with PIs in developing a compliant response.

The requested scope changes may involve a request to remove DEI-related activities. While work scope changes do not need to go through SPA, SPA staff can assist in coordinating appropriate responses.
 

NSF Policy Notice to Implement a 15% F&A Rate (Updated 6/20/25)

On May 2, the National Science Foundation (NSF) issued a Policy Notice implementing a standard 15% Indirect Cost Rate (or F&A rate) on modified total direct costs (MTDC) for Institutions of Higher Education (IHE). It also states that NSF funding opportunities issued after May 5, 2025 will include notice of this policy change. NSF asserts that this new policy overrides previously negotiated rates for all awards. A lawsuit contesting this F&A reduction is pending. NSF has agreed not to require the 15% cut pending a court hearing on June 13. 

Until further notice, PIs may continue spending on existing awards using the F&A rate shown on the Notice of Grant Award and approved budget. This policy change does not impact awards issued prior to May 5, 2025.

For proposals that need to be submitted immediately, PIs should continue to budget normally using our federally negotiated rates. More information will be shared as it becomes available.

UPDATE: On June 20, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated NSF’s 15% Indirect Cost Rate policy (NSF 25-034). In compliance with the court’s decision, NSF will not implement the policy at this time.
 

Updated DoD Decision Matrix (Updated 5/14/25)

The Department of Defense (DoD) published an updated Decision Matrix to Inform Fundamental Research Proposal Mitigation Decisions, effective for all proposals submitted on or after May 9, 2025. The updates include removing the requirement for institutions to have a policy prohibiting participation in a malign foreign talent recruitment program, changing some of the dates that would trigger expected or suggested mitigation measures, and removing the distinction between “associations” and “affiliations.”
 

Executive Order on Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research (Updated 5/7/25)

On May 5, President Trump issued the Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research Executive Order (EO). This order pauses research that could make a naturally occurring pathogen or toxin more dangerous to American citizens and directs federal agencies to develop a new policy within 120 days. The new policy is intended to replace the 2024 Policy for Oversight of Dual Use Research of Concern and Pathogens with Enhanced Pandemic Potential (DURC-PEPP Policy) and supersedes its previously set May 6, 2025 implementation. 

This EO is far more broad reaching than the DURC-PEPP policy. All investigators conducting research involving infectious agents or toxins should review the EO and be prepared to evaluate the new policy when it is released to understand how their work will be impacted. The NIH has released a notice (NOT-OD-25-112) to specify that it intends to suspend ongoing funding in accordance with guidance developed under Section 3(b) of the Executive Order. Also, the NIH will not accept competitive applications for grants and cooperative agreements submitted for due dates after 5/7/25 and/or R&D contract proposals submitted to solicitations issued after 5/7/25 for dangerous gain-of-function research. Please read the notice and visit the University's DURC-PEPP webpage for more detail. 
 

NSF Award Terminations and Statement of Priorities (Updated 4/21/25)

On April 18, the National Science Foundation (NSF) issued a Statement of Priorities reaffirming its commitment to supporting research aligned with its mission and statutory obligations. This includes continued use of the Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts review criteria, as well as emphasis on broadening participation in STEM in ways that "create opportunities for all Americans" that do not "exclude individuals or groups based on protected characteristics."

As part of this shift, NSF has also undertaken a review of its award portfolio and notified institutions of the termination of specific awards that the agency has determined no longer align with current NSF priorities. This action, effective immediately, was made under the “Termination and Enforcement” clause of NSF’s General Conditions (GC-1). At the University of Minnesota, six awards have been terminated as of April 18, 2025.

We are closely monitoring the situation, including any further guidance or implications this may have for active or planned proposals. NSF has already shared some guidance in its FAQs. 

More information may be found in the April 21 memorandum from April Coon and David Hagen. 
 

DOE Policy Flash to Implement a 15% F&A Rate (Updated 4/16/25)

On April 11, the Department of Energy (DOE) released a Policy Flash (2025-22) that instructs DOE contracting offices and grants offices to implement a 15% F&A rate for institutions of higher education. The memo stated that the DOE will no longer use a University's federally negotiated indirect cost rate and will instead use a standardized 15% indirect cost rate. DOE has said that they intend to terminate all existing awards that do not use the 15% rate, but that recipients will receive separate notice and guidance.

On April 14, a legal challenge contesting this F&A reduction was filed jointly by the American Association of Universities, the American Council on Education, and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, along with several impacted research universities. And on Wednesday, April 16, the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order that prevents the DOE from implementing the changes in the Policy Flash.

Until further notice, PIs may continue spending on existing awards using the F&A rate shown on the Notice of Grant Award and approved budget.

If a termination notice is received within the coming days or weeks from DOE or anyone other than SPA, immediately send it to your SPA Grant and Contract Office and copy April Coon ([email protected]) and David Hagen ([email protected]).

More information may be found in the memorandum from April Coon and David Hagen.
 

NIH Rate Cut Continues To Be Paused (Updated 4/4/25)

On March 5, a preliminary injunction replaced the original February 21 temporary restraining order and extended the prohibition against NIH implementing a 15% F&A cap until further notice. The preliminary injunction applies to all institutions nationwide, and applies to both current and future awards. In addition, the existing federal appropriations Continuing Resolution (CR) for FY2025 includes the same language as in recent past years restricting NIH from altering the way they calculate F&A. This means that the University of Minnesota will continue to use our federally negotiated rates (e.g, 54% MTDC for on-campus research) in all proposals and awards, as well as continue to accept federally negotiated rates from our subrecipients.

UPDATE: On April 4, 2025 a Massachusetts District Court Judge converted a preliminary injunction against NIH into a permanent injunction and entered a final judgement upholding the use of our federally negotiated rates.