A message to the campus from Mike Malone and Laura Vandenberg on 5/8/25
Dear Colleagues,
Please accept this gentle reminder that our fourth Research & Engagement Campus Listening Session will take place on Monday, May 12, 2025, from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. in LSL S340 (also available via Zoom). To receive a Zoom link, please register here using [email protected] for your email. We strongly encourage in-person attendance. Please submit questions ahead of time so that we can make the best use of our time. Submit questions here.
Other Recent Updates:
Change to National Institutes of Health (NIH) No-Cost Extension Functionality in eRA Commons
NIH released a notice on May 7, 2025 to Update NIH Processes for No-Cost Extensions. This notice alerts the extramural community that NIH has temporarily disabled the university-approved No-Cost Extension functionality in eRA Commons. NIH staff will now be reviewing all NCE requests to ensure that NIH awards do not fund off-mission activities or projects. When preparing no-cost extension requests, we urge you to be thoughtful about the remaining activities on your project, clearly articulate why you need additional time, and explain how your remaining budget will be utilized to complete the objectives.
At this time, please submit your NCE requests to the Office of Post-Award Management (OPAM) and work with your OPAM award administrator to ensure the most complete and accurate response is submitted to the sponsor for review. NCE requests can be made 90 days prior to the expiration date of a grant. At this time, we are not aware of NCEs being rejected by NIH for UMass Amherst researchers, but we will continue to monitor these decisions and will keep the community apprised of any changes.
Budgeting for National Science Foundation (NSF) Indirect Costs
The National Science Foundation (NSF) released an updated policy notice on May 2, 2025 reducing Indirect Costs (IDC) on grants to 15%, effective May 5, 2025. This change in IDC is only intended to affect new awards and subawards, not grants that we have already received. The Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities (APLU), the Association of American Universities, and the American Council on Education filed a joint lawsuit in the US District Court of Massachusetts against NSF on May 5th, seeking to halt this rate cut. Although similar policy changes to IDC rates at other federal agencies have been met with temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in federal courts, this has not yet happened in the NSF case. For all NSF grant submissions, budgets for UMass proposals should continue to use the federally negotiated rate to calculate IDC. We have developed the following NSF-specific language to include in your budget justifications:
Indirect costs have been calculated using the university’s federally approved facilities and administrative cost rate for on-/off-campus research/instruction/other sponsored activities based on the approved indirect cost rate agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services DHHS dated September 9, 2022. The costs of any proposed equipment, capital expenditures, graduate fees and tuition, rental costs of off-site facilities, scholarships, fellowships, participant support costs, and the portion of each sub-award in excess of $25,000 are excluded from the indirect cost base. We acknowledge the NSF Policy Notice mandating a 15% indirect cost rate effective May 5, 2025 and will make adjustments at the time of award should this guidance still be in effect.
Halting of New International Subawards - National Institutes of Health
On Friday, May 1, 2025, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued new policy guidance NOT-OD-25-104 regarding the inclusion of international subrecipients in NIH funded awards. Effective 5/1, NIH will no longer issue awards (new, renewal or non-competing continuation), that include a subaward to a foreign entity. Additionally, NIH will no longer accept prior approval requests to add a new foreign component or subaward to an ongoing project. The updated policy does not apply to funds to support foreign consultants or purchasing equipment or supplies from foreign vendors. R&E staff are working with the Office of General Counsel to provide guidance to PIs managing current and pending awards that include foreign subrecipients. While the percentage of UMass NIH grants with foreign subrecipients is low, we understand and appreciate the importance of these individuals to the work.
White House’s proposed “skinny” budget would decrease R&D spending
On May 2, 2025, the White House released the FY2026 President’s Skinny Budget Request (PBR) to Congress. The APLU and other organizations representing colleges and universities are advocating for budgets that support higher education and our research mission.
Researchers at UMass Amherst continue to do excellent work despite the many disruptions affecting our scholarship and many aspects of work and home-life. We know that many researchers across campus are being negatively affected by these federal actions, and these actions are distracting from your important work. We appreciate all you are doing to continue your work. As always, we reiterate our continued commitment to supporting you and your research, and to our values, which remain unchanged.
We look forward to connecting with you at the listening session on Monday.
Sincerely,
Mike Malone
Vice Chancellor for Research & Engagement
Laura Vandenberg
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research & Engagement
Vice Provost for Research