News & Updates

1. Federal Financial Assistance Regulations Proposed by OMB

• The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a Proposed Rule on May 29, 2026, that would substantially revise federal grant regulations contains in 2 CFR Part 200 (Uniform Guidance). Key proposed changes include expanded agency authority over award management and termination, changes to funding decision processes, restrictions affecting some foreign collaborations and revision to publication and dissemination costs.
• The public comment period closed July 13, 2026. More than 200,000 comments were submitted, including an institutional comment letter from UNCW and responses from national higher education organizations such as the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR). 
• Congress has taken action that would delay implementation of the proposed rule until at least Dec. 11, 2026.
• SPARC is monitoring developments and assessing potential implications for proposed development, award management, research collaborations, publications and compliance. Additional agency-specific guidance is expected if a final rule is issued. SPARC will continue to provide updates as information becomes available. 

2. Proposed Change to NSF Proposal and Award Policy

• The National Science Foundation (NSF) has proposed a substantial revision of its Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG), which would be renamed the Guidance on Financial Assistance (GFA). The proposed changes are intended to align NSF requirements with the proposed federal financial assistance regulations in the OMB Proposed Rule, and would affect proposal preparation, award administration, public access requirements, research security policies, and award management. 
• NSF is accepting public comments on the proposed framework through Aug. 24, 2026. Faculty planning future NSF proposals should anticipate changes to proposal and award requirements beginning in Fiscal Year 2027 if the new framework is finalized.
• SPARC is reviewing the proposed revisions and assessing potential implications for NSF-funded research and sponsored projects administration. Additional guidance will be provided as NSF releases final policies and implementation plans.

3. NIH Requests for Community Input on Federal Financial Assistance Changes

• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has not yet released implementation guidance related to the proposed revisions to federal financial assistance regulations. However, the biomedical research community submitted extensive comments on the proposed changes because of their potential implications for peer review, award management, publication requirements and international collaborations.
• NIH-funded investigators should expect future policy notices and possible updates to the NIH Grants Policy Statement as the Department of Health and Human Services evaluates and implements any finalized government-wide changes.
• Faculty should continue following current NIH policies and requirements until formal implementation guidance is released. SPARC is monitoring developments and will provide updates as additional information becomes available.

4. Fiscal Year 2027 Federal Research and Development Appropriations

• Congress is continuing work on Fiscal Year 2027 appropriations legislation, including funding for major federal research agencies such as NIH, NSF, DOE, NASA, NOAA and other sponsors that support research, scholarship and innovation. Funding levels and policy provisions remain under consideration, and final appropriations outcomes may differ from current proposals.
• Federal appropriations decisions can affect agency budgets, funding opportunities, proposal success rates and the overall federal research environment. Researchers are encouraged to monitor developments through the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), which maintain regularly updated analyses and funding trackers:
  • AAAS FY 2027 R&D Appropriations Dashboard
  • APLU Federal Budget and Appropriations Resources
• SPARC and Research and Innovation are monitoring the federal budget process and will provide updates as additional information becomes available.

With UNCW's success in graduating more than 20 Ph.D. students in the last two years in areas supported by the National Science Foundation, the institution is no longer considered a Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUI) by NSF.

WHY IT MATTERS

With this change, effectively immediately, UNCW is no longer eligible to apply for funding from the "Research in Undergraduate Institutions" (RUI) program. Further, the standard 30% cost-share for non-PUI eligible institutions on awards from the NSF Major Research Instrumentation program will be waived by NSF for five-years starting in FY2023, due to the CHIPS and Science act of 2022.

In addition, the National Institutes of Health has determined effective immediately that the UNCW College of Science and Engineering is no longer eligible to submit proposals to the Academic Research Enhancement Awards ("AREA") opportunities.