Last updated April 16, 2025
This page will be updated as new information is made available.
Guidance from the federal government is complex and rapidly changing.
Both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have implemented policies to cap indirect cost reimbursements for research grants to 15%:
- NOT-OD-25-068: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates
- Adjusting Department of Energy Grant Policy for Institutions of Higher Education (IHE)
These policies have prompted multiple lawsuits:
- As of April 4th, a nationwide permanent restraining order (PRO) was issued against the NIH.
- As of April 16th, a temporary restraining order (TRO) was issued against the DOE.
At this time, please adhere to the guidance listed below.
Ongoing litigation and further communications from the federal government may result in changes to these instructions. Updates with any new information will be disseminated as soon as it becomes available.
Please use the RA Teams Network to ask additional questions or seek further clarification.
Proposal Submissions
No-Cost Extensions
New Awards
Reimbursement
Rebudgeting Existing Awards
Invoicing
Proposal Submissions
- NIH Proposals and RPPR Guidance – 4/3/2025
- Proposal submission practices have not changed. We will continue to submit proposals at the negotiated indirect cost rate. Do not submit proposals using the 15% rate.
No-Cost Extensions (NCEs)
- The NCE link in eRA Commons has been reactivated. 2/12/2025, 11:15 a.m. CST
New Awards
- If we receive new awards or flow-through awards with the 15% rate:
- They will be placed on hold until the indirect cost rate is resolved.
- PIs must not charge existing awards for costs associated with a project that is on hold pending resolution of the indirect costs (IDC) rate.
- Project activations for new NIH awards will not be processed by Sponsored Projects Accounting (SPA) until the notice of award (NoA) is received at the negotiated IDC rate. This does not apply to NIH funding mechanisms with IDC rates normally below our negotiated rate such as training grants.
Reimbursement
- Sponsored Projects Accounting will draw down funds from the NIH at the negotiated IDC rate.
- SPA will not draw down funds from the NIH at the 15% rate.
Rebudgeting Existing Awards
- Do not re-budget costs from indirect to direct categories.
Invoicing
- We have seen an increase in requests from departments to send invoices on agreements that are not fully executed. SPA can NOT send invoices for awards that are not fully negotiated and signed.