Federal Agency Updates Digest

Published March 17, 2026, via Research News

This digest highlights recent announcements and updates issued by federal agencies, but is not comprehensive. Regularly check sponsor websites to see all announcements.

DOE – Department of Energy
January 28, 2026

DOE P 203.1 Chg. 1: Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence

  • This policy sets forth the principles and requirements governing the secure responsible identification, adoption, development, deployment, and use of GenAI tools.

NIH – National Institutes of Health
February 25, 2026

NOT-OD-26-046: Updated Elements of an NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan

February 24, 2026

eRA Enhancements: Ability to Consolidate Multiple Accounts

  • A release scheduled for late March 2026 will enhance eRA Commons so that users will only need a single set of eRA Credentials. This enhancement will allow users with multiple accounts to consolidate into a single account that can then be mapped to Login.gov.
  • eRA Commons users with multiple accounts are encouraged to consolidate their accounts as soon as possible.

February 18, 2026

NOT-OD-26-043: Reminder of Requirement for Certification of IRB Approval

  • The NIH issued a reminder that certification of IRB approval is required for all nonexempt human subjects research. Applicants must submit the date of final IRB approval, which is the date that all protocols in the proposed research application received IRB review and approval (i.e., the date of the last protocol approval).  Submission of pending (e.g., conditional, pre-approval, interim) or expired IRB approval dates is not acceptable.

February 10, 2026

NOT-OD-26-040: NIH No Longer Requires Advanced Permission for Conference Grant Applications

  • NIH will no longer require applicants to request written permission from the ICO and/or document receipt of permission as part of the Cover Letter attachment on the SF424 (R&R) Form. Modifications to the NIH Grants Policy Statement 14.1 and the NIH Parent R13 NOFO to align with the policy change are forthcoming. The application due dates remain unchanged.

February 9, 2026

NOT-OD-26-038: Correction to Guidance on Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements FY 2026

  • This notice corrects the previously provided effective date for the updated salary limitation for Executive Level II of $228,000 from January 11, 2026 to January 1, 2026.

January 30, 2026

NOT-OD-26-020: Notice of Temporary Extension to Early-Stage Investigator (ESI) Eligibility Period

  • The NIH announced an automatic, short-term extension of Early-Stage Investigator (ESI) eligibility through March 31, 2026, for those with end dates in late 2025.

NOT-OD-26-021: Notice of Temporary Extension of Eligibility for the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00)

  • This notice grants a temporary, automatic extension for K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award eligibility.

January 29, 2026

NOT-OD-26-032: Basic Experimental Studies in Humans (BESH) Will No Longer Be Considered Clinical Trials by the NIH

  • NIH is notifying the community that Basic Experimental Studies Involving Humans (BESH) will no longer be subject to the requirements under the NIH Clinical Trial Definition.
  • Effective with applications submitted to due dates on or after May 25, 2026, BESH will no longer be considered clinical trials by the NIH.

January 28, 2026

NOT-OD-26-029: NIH Removing AIDS Application Due Dates from NOFOs

  • NIH is removing AIDS application due dates from the application process. This policy change is effective for applications submitted for January 2027 and later Advisory Council Reviews.

January 22, 2026

NOT-OD-26-028: NIH Policy on Research Involving Human Fetal Tissue

  • This notice prohibits the use of NIH funds for research involving human fetal tissue (HFT) obtained from elective abortions, covering both intramural and extramural programs.

December 17, 2025

NOT-OD-26-025: Reminder: NIH Applications Must Be Complete and Compliant with NIH Policy and Application Instructions at Time of Submission

  • This notice reminding applicants and sponsored programs offices that applications must be fully complete and compliant at the time of submission. NIH will consistently enforce long-standing policies on application completeness and compliance and may withdraw applications that do not meet requirements before peer review outlined in NIH Grants Policy Statement 2.3.2, Eligibility external site along with 2.4.4, Disposition of Applications, consistent with 2 CFR 200.204 and 200.205.

December 3, 2025

NOT-OD-26-019: Updated Application Policies: NIH Administrative Burden Reduction Effort – Removal of Requirements for Letters of Intent and Unsolicited Applications Requesting $500,000 or More in Direct Costs

  • NIH will no longer request or accept Letters of Intent (LOIs) for any Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Any LOIs already submitted will not be acknowledged or reviewed. Applicants should continue to review NOFO instructions carefully for updates.
  • Applicants requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs (excluding consortium F&A) are no longer required to contact an NIH Institute or Center before submitting.
    • A cover letter documenting IC agreement to accept the application is no longer required.
  • WashU Research News announcement, published December 9, 2025

December 2, 2025

NOT-OD-26-018: NIH’s Implementation of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2026

  • Individuals serving as senior/key personnel must certify annually to their participation or non-participation in a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP) by uploading a certification statement in RPPR Section G.1, Special Notice of Award and Funding Opportunity Announcement Reporting Requirements, as a flattened PDF file.
    • The certification statement language included in the RPPR must align with the statement within the Common Forms for Biosketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support, and state: I [insert name] certify that, at the time of submission, I am not a party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program.
    • The file for each senior/key person must be named ‘MFTRPcert_[Name].pdf’ without quotations, where ‘[Name]’ is the name of the senior/key person and the PDF must be flattened prior to upload.
  • The NIH has clarified that Senior/Key personnel are only required to upload the MFTRP certification on the RPPR if they have not been required to upload an updated Common Form Biosketch or Current and Pending Support document. If you are submitting either a Common Form (SciENcv) Biosketch or Current and Pending (Other) Support document for an individual on the RPPR, you do not need to also provide the MFTRP certification.
  • WashU Research News announcement, published January 20, 2026
  • WashU Research News announcement, published December 18, 2025

NSF – National Science Foundation
January 22, 2026

Proposal & APPG 24-1 Supplement 2

& In Case You Missed It…
July 25, 2025

NOT-OD-25-132: Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications

  • NIH applications substantially developed by AI will not be considered original and may be deemed non-compliant.
  • Use of AI that results in plagiarism, fabricated citations, or other misconduct may lead to serious consequences, including referral to the Office of Research Integrity.
  • NIH will only accept six new, renewal, resubmission, or revision applications per calendar year from an individual PI or Multiple PI. This policy applies to all activity codes except T-series training grants and R13 conference grants.
    • The percentage of applications from PIs submitting an average of more than six applications per year is relatively low; however, there is evidence that the use of AI tools has enabled PIs to submit more than 40 distinct applications in a single application submission round. (NIH FAQs)
  • WashU Research News announcement, published July 17, 2025

If you have agency updates you would like to add to future digests, email rei@wusm.wustl.edu.