Grace Hopper Artificial Intelligence Research Institute
Dear Colleagues,
As PI or Co-PI of the federal research grants/contracts, you may receive a request to sign attestations for federal grants and subawards that the grant activities comply with recent executive orders. If you receive a request to sign any attestation from your funding agency, please forward the notification with any attachment to me immediately at dhawan@njit.edu and copy Eric Hetherington at erich@njit.edu.
Please do not sign any document sent to you regarding any attestation on the federal research grants.
We will carefully review at the institutional level with the provost and general counsel offices to advise and follow up. The Office for Research and the Office of General Counsel will review the request and respond with instructions for you to follow.
Please visit our website periodically for updates on this situation.
Sincerely,
Atam Dhawan
Senior Vice Provost for Research
RE: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy
Statement: Indirect Cost Rates
Dear Colleagues,
On Friday, February 7, 2025, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a notification pertaining to indirect cost rates on current and future NIH grants. Indirect cost rates are reimbursements for related but indirect costs for facilities and administration necessary to support the funded research activity. Per the notification, award recipients for any new grant issued, and for all existing grants to Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), are capped at a 15% indirect cost rate. NJIT’s current negotiated rate with the federal government is 50.5%.
Yesterday, attorneys general representing 22 states, including New Jersey, filed a lawsuit against the NIH and others, requesting a temporary restraining order to prevent implementation of this change. The judge in that case granted a temporary restraining order. Therefore, NJIT will continue submitting proposals with the federally approved rate of 50.5% at this time. The temporary restraining order is set to remain in effect until a hearing scheduled for February 21, 2025. NJIT leadership continues to work with contacts at federal and state agencies to monitor this situation and will communicate any developments as rapidly as possible.
The faculty, staff, and students of NJIT have long used federal funding to conduct groundbreaking and vital research that positively impacts our state, our nation, and our world, and the university both appreciates and values your commitment to our public research mission as we continue to navigate this rapidly evolving situation.
Please visit our website periodically for updates on this situation.
Sincerely,
Atam Dhawan
Senior Vice Provost for Research
Dear Colleagues,
On Friday, January 31, 2025, a Federal Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) directing Federal grant-making agencies to “...not pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate... awards and obligations to provide federal financial assistance to the States, and... not impede the States’ access to such awards and obligations, except on the basis of the applicable authorizing statutes, regulations, and terms.” You can review the TRO here.
Several federal agencies, such as the NSF, the EPA, and others, have sent notifications that the TRO is in effect and funding can resume until further notice. Additional information is available pertaining to the NSF on the NSF Executive Order Implementation webpage. Please check that website for frequently asked questions (FAQs).
At this time, please follow the notifications and guidelines sent to you by your funding agencies regarding your grant/contract and related activity. If you have not received any notification from your funding agency, or it is not posted on their website, please follow up with your program officer.
If you receive any email to pause your grant/contract activities or funding, please let me know immediately.
Sincerely,
Atam Dhawan
Senior Vice Provost for Research
Dear Colleagues,
Over the past several days, many of you received an email from the National Science Foundation (NSF) or were otherwise made aware of NSF guidance on the implementation of recent federal executive orders. The NSF is maintaining a web page with this information, which can be viewed via the following link:
Please note that this guidance continues to change in response to ongoing events. On January 29, 2025, the White House budget office rescinded the order (OMB Memorandum M-25-13) freezing federal grants. However, federal agencies may proceed with their review of programs and projects to ensure alignment with the new administration’s priorities and executive orders.
We are continuing to monitor the situation and will keep you informed of further developments as we learn of them and determine their impact on NJIT and its research community. If you should receive a stop-work order or a request to modify or terminate an award, please promptly notify me.
Sincerely,
Atam Dhawan
Senior Vice Provost for Research
DoD ONR Memorandum: Implementation of a 15% Indirect Cost Cap on Assistance Awards to Institutions of Higher Education
June 12, 2025
Dear Colleagues,
The Department of Defense issued a memo signed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on May 14, 2025 to cap indirect cost reimbursement rates for higher education institutions at 15 percent.
The memo directed the DOD to develop the new policy within 21 days, marking the fourth federal agency—including the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation—that has enacted a plan to cap indirect cost rates at 15 percent.
So far, universities have been using their respective approved indirect cost reimbursement rates negotiated with the federal government to pay for research infrastructure support costs such as facilities maintenance and administrative personnel necessary to pursue research.
On Friday, June 13, 2025, Principal Investigators (PIs) on active research grants and contracts funded by the DoD Office of Naval Research (ONR) received emails stating that ONR is in receipt of DoD memorandum dated June 12, 2025 directing the implementation of a 15% indirect cost cap for future and existing DoD assistance awards with IHEs. The ONR email advised that an ONR representative would be contacting PIs about their ongoing ONR grant(s) in the near future.
In the DoD memo dated June 12, the following statements on negotiating the indirect costs for new and existing awards are provided:
“For all new assistance awards to IHEs, DoD Components that make financial assistance awards to IHEs are directed not to allow indirect cost rates above 15% in all new assistance awards to IHEs as of the date of publication of this memorandum. In negotiating indirect cost rates for financial assistance awards to IHEs, DoD Components should consider the criteria for identifying and computing indirect cost rates as described in Appendix III to 2 CFR Part 200. However, DoD Components must not exceed the 15% indirect cost rate cap on any award to IHEs. All notices of funding opportunity for DoD assistance awards must be updated to include information about the 15% indirect cost rate cap for IHEs. In addition, all DoD Components that make financial assistance awards to IHEs are reminded that they must ensure that all indirect costs on assistance awards are reported to the Financial Assistance Award Data Collection System, which is the Department's system of record for compliance with the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014.”
“For all existing assistance awards to IHEs, DoD Components must also apply the 15% cap on indirect cost rates. Where possible, DoD Components should renegotiate indirect cost rates on existing DoD assistance awards with IHEs to comply with the 15% indirect cost rate cap. The 15% indirect cost rate cap on existing assistance awards is not required to be retroactive to the beginning of an award but must have an effective date that is not later than November 10, 2025. DoD Components may allow existing awards to operate under their originally determined indirect cost rate until a renegotiation is completed. However, all renegotiations on indirect cost rates must be complete by no later than November 10, 2025. If a DoD Component is unable to reach an agreement with an IHE to limit the indirect cost rate under a DoD assistance award to 15%, the DoD Components shall terminate the assistance award, as allowed by statute, regulation, and the terms and conditions of the award, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.340(a).”
If you receive any such email notification to negotiate the indirect cost rate from any federal agency, or any stop order, termination letter, request for budget change or sign any attestation from, please continue to forward it to me (dhawan@njit.edu) and copy Eric Hetherington, AVP- Sponsored Research Administration (erich@njit.edu).
Please do not respond to program official or sign and submit any document on federal research grants and contracts until you are advised to do so by the Office of Research.
We will continue to carefully review at the institutional level with the provost and general counsel offices to advise and follow up. The Office for Research and the Office of General Counsel will review the request and respond with instructions for you to follow.
Please visit our website periodically for updates on this situation.
Sincerely,
Atam Dhawan
Senior Vice Provost for Research
NJIT Response and Guidelines on Implementation of Federal Executive Orders on Federally Funded Research Grants and Contracts
- Update: Executive Orders and Federally Funded Research (06/16/2025)
- Update: Executive Orders and Federally Funded Research (04/23/2025)
- Update: Executive Orders and Federally Funded Research (04/18/2025)
- Update: Executive Orders and Federally Funded Research (04/14/2025)
- Update: Executive Orders and Federally Funded Research (03/08/2025)
- Update on Federal Research Grants and Contracts (02/11/2025)
- Update: Executive Orders and Federally Funded Research (02/04/2025)
- Executive Orders and Federally Funded Research (01/30/2025)
Federal Executive Orders and OMB Memos
- DoD Memo Dated 06-12-2025: Implementation of a 15% Indirect Cost Cap on Assistance Awards to Institutions of Higher Education
- DoD Memo Dated 05-14-2025: Indirect Cost Cap on Assistance Awards to Institutions of Higher Education
- Recent Federal Executive Orders
- A White House Clarification Memo
- OMB Memorandum on Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs
- OMB Memorandum M-25-13: Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs
- OMB Memorandum M-25-14: OMB Memorandum M-25-13 is rescinded
Agency Specific Notifications Regarding Executive Orders
- NSF Implementation of Recent Executive Orders
- Department of Education: Guidance Related to Temporary Pause of Federal Financial Assistance Programs
Education association statements in response to EOs
- APLU, AAU, & ACE statement
- AAU statement (Association of American Universities)
- ACE statement (American Council on Education)
- APLU statement (Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities)
Frequently Asked Questions
First, it is important to know that the majority of awards at NJIT follow this funding mechanism. This type of funding mechanism means the research institution is reimbursed for the actual costs they incur while carrying out the research project. The institution tracks and documents all eligible expenses, then submits them to the sponsor for reimbursement.
Direct costs are those that can be easily and directly associated with a specific project or activity. They can be specifically identified with a particular project or activity and are budgeted for specific line items within the project budget. Indirect costs, often known as facilities and administration (F&A), are those that benefit multiple projects or activities and are difficult to directly assign to a specific project. They are calculated as a percentage of direct costs and may be limited by the granting agency.
Examples: salaries of project staff, materials and supplies used for the project, travel expenses directly related to the project. More details about charging direct costs may be found here.
Examples: administrative salaries, utilities (heating, water, air), safety, office supplies, etc. Borrowing an example from UW Madison: These so-called “indirect costs” aren’t optional expenses. They are both substantial and an absolutely fundamental part of innovative science. As is the case while running your household, you need both money to buy groceries (direct) and the financial resources to keep a working refrigerator and electricity (indirect) to store your milk and eggs.
A fringe rate is a percentage that represents the cost of employee benefits in addition to their base salary or wages. These benefits, often called fringe benefits, can include things like health insurance, retirement contributions, paid time off, and other perks. Fringe is a distinct category and not included in indirect costs.
The most recently negotiated federal rates are posted here. However, on February 7th 2025, the NIH issued supplemental guidance, specifically "For any new grant issued, and for all existing grants to IHEs retroactive to the date of issuance of this Supplemental Guidance, award recipients are subject to a 15 percent indirect cost rate. .... This policy shall be applied to all current grants for go forward expenses from February 10, 2025 forward as well as for all new grants issued. The NIH notice NOT-OD-25-068 is posted here. Currently, there are three separate lawsuits filed against the NIH and others concerning the rate cut. At present, there are temporary restraining orders in effect in two of the lawsuits that prevent, in the short term, the rate cut from going into effect. This means it cannot go into effect until a further order from the court is made.
The Indirect Cost Return (ICR) provides funding to PI's, departments, colleges, and centers based on collected F&A charges. Generally speaking approximately 15% of the F&A received by NJIT each year from eligible externally funded grants, is equitably distributed between PI's, departments, colleges and/or centers. This provides funds for the purchase and maintenance of equipment, travel, and other research expenses including a potential source of required cost-sharing of future proposals. More details are posted here.
To achieve our research and educational goals, the university’s strategic plan calls for multidisciplinary research collaborations and technology innovation-based entrepreneurship among faculty, staff and students, all of whom have a central part to play in advancing science, engineering and technology to fuel societal progress. We have organized our research into six principal areas.
Highest
NJIT Earns Highest Research Rating (R1)
Source: Carnegie Classification
$180M
in NSF Awards received since 2005
Our mission is to play a leading role in the five emerging areas of research.
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NJIT's strategic plan places a priority on interdisciplinary partnerships, innovation, research translation and technology entrepreneurship to strengthen the university's impact on society and to boost the economy. The new Center for Translational Research will help researchers, for example, convert their science and engineering discoveries into market-ready technologies that will improve quality of life in areas ranging from health care, to sustainable energy, to data privacy. The New Jersey Innovation Institute combines the resources of NJIT and its partners in industry and government to drive innovations that make a direct impact on the economy, health and welfare of New Jersey and the nation.
The artificial intelligence and augmented/virtual reality applications have been evolving rapidly with the futuristic vision for new modes of automation, discoveries, social networking and even co-evolution of machine and human intelligence making important decisions in our daily life from finance to healthcare.
The Robotics and Machine Intelligence cluster also interacts with other research clusters including Bioscience and Bioengineering, Environment and Sustainability, Material Science and Engineering and Data Science and Management in developing smart automation and navigation systems, smart healthcare information systems, intelligent adaptative and data-driven automations in additive manufacturing systems, and intelligent systems for almost every application from education and learning to smart cities and living-assist systems.
NAE and NAS Grand Challenges and NSF Big Ideas within the scope of this cluster include “Advance Personalized Learning”, “Enhance Virtual Reality” “Restore and Improve Urban Infrastructure”, “Engineer the Tools of Scientific Discovery”, and “The Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier”, “Harnessing the Data Revolution”, “Growing Convergence Research” and “The Quantum Leap: Leading the Next Quantum Revolution”.