Responding to 2025 White House Executive Orders and Agency Directives

UPDATED: 5/19/25

Since January 2025, many federal agencies have updated their policies and solicitations in response to White House Executive Orders and evolving agency communications. UC Berkeley and UCOP continue to monitor these changes intensively. 

Please review the Federal Updates provided by the UC Office of the President (UCOP), as well as UC Berkeley’s Federal Updates. These sites cover not just research funding but also other topics that affect our community.

UC Berkeley Emergency Research Fund 
for investigators receiving terminations or stop work orders

Like all universities across the U.S., UC Berkeley has received numerous notifications of award cancellations from federal agencies, affecting investigators and research across the campus. Chancellor Lyons and EVCP Hermalin have established an Emergency Research Fund, to be administered by the Vice Chancellor for Research Office in collaboration with deans, to assist affected investigators in mitigating the impact of these cancellations. 

Emergency Fund background, guidelines and process (rev 5/19/25)

This document will be updated periodically, with all changes clearly noted. We will be working on an FAQ as questions come in.

If you have questions about the Emergency Research Fund, please contact vcr@berkeley.edu.


Longer Term Research Continuity Planning

In addition to termination of awards, many investigators are starting to experience other impacts, such as the cancellation of anticipated federal funding opportunities, or loss of anticipated awards that may have scored highly in pre-January 2025 review sessions. Indeed the future federal landscape at UC Berkeley and nationally remains highly uncertain.

The Provost has convened a working group of campus administrators and Academic Senate representatives to jointly develop recommendations for a longer-term contingency research fund to address possible future scenarios. 


For Principal Investigators and Their Teams: What You Can Do

Pre-submission and pre-award:

  • The VCRO and SPO advise PIs and RAs who are working on federal proposals to continue with your normal process for proposal submissions until further notice, and to consult with your SPO Contract and Grant Officer (CGO) for guidance.
  • As proposal deadlines approach, check program websites and solicitations for any updates on due dates or requirements to ensure that your proposal is compliant.
  • Award decisions may be delayed, so monitor program websites and FAQs for any news.
  • Consider signing up for alerts from the agencies you apply to. Also sign up for Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) news and updates.


Existing awards:

  • Continue to work on your grants and contracts unless you are notified directly by the agency or SPO. Do not stop work only on the basis of rumor or internal agency guidance. Agencies are required to notify us if there will be changes to your funding once the grant or contract is in place.
  • Be mindful that no cost extensions may be delayed, or may not be approved, so spend accordingly. This applies to spending beyond the end of currently-approved NIH non-competitive award periods.
  • Try to remain in contact with your program officers, but be aware that some may have a pause on communications.
  • Monitor policy updates from the federal agency overseeing your grant for any updates on funding or compliance requirements. See also the COGR resource page linked in the right panel.
  • If PIs or RAs receive any award modifications or other notices, please forward them to SPO as soon as possible at spoawards@berkeley.edu so that these can be reviewed and processed quickly. In particular, notify spoawards@berkeley.edu if you receive a stop work order for an award. A stop work order typically means that all project work needs to stop immediately and no expenses can be incurred on the project as of the effective date of the notice.
  • Closely monitor obligated budget balances to avoid deficits while awaiting future obligations. Anticipated funding remains subject to availability of funds and should not be considered guaranteed.
  • Continue to meet existing deadlines for technical reports or other deliverables.
  • If you have questions about your awards, please contact your SPO Contract and Grant Officer.
     

If you experience interruptions to your research, please submit them to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research through this form.

At a glance

UC Berkeley Emergency Research Fund (rev 5/19/25)

Other useful sources of information include: