Department of Energy
To date, SRS has received a small number of SWO orders and project termination from DOE.
Federal Stop-Work and Project-termination Notices
Principal investigators: Immediately forward any federal stop-work or project-termination notice to Sponsored Research Services and your designated associate vice president for research.
To date, Sponsored Research Services (SRS) has received a small number of stop-work orders (SWOs) and project termination from the Department of Energy (DOE). In such cases, representatives from SRS, the assigned associate vice president for research (AVPR) and the research dean from the principal investigator’s college will reach out to the principal investigator (PI) to develop a termination plan according to the SWO and termination mitigation strategies. If you as a PI receive notice from a federal agency of a SWO or project termination, please forward to SRS and the assigned AVPR.
The Department of Energy (DOE ) has posted the following information on their website dedicated to the implementation of Executive Orders, specific to Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research (PIER)plans:
The Office of Science is immediately ending the requirement for Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research (PIER) Plans in any proposal submitted to the Office of Science. All open solicitations have been or will be amended to remove the PIER Plan requirement and associated review criterion. For proposals that have already been submitted to the Office of Science, no action on the part of the applicant is required, but applicants will have the option to resubmit a new application with the removal of the PIER plan. Reviewers will not be asked to read or comment on PIER Plans. Selection decisions will not take into consideration the content of PIER Plans or any reviewer comments on PIER Plans. If you have questions, please email questions@science.doe.gov. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Department of Energy Indirect Rate Cap
On April 11, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a 15% cap on the agency’s federal support of “indirect costs” for DOE research funding. On April 14, a group of higher education organizations, including the Association of American Universities (AAU), the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), filed a lawsuit in a U.S. District Court, seeking a restraining order on the cap. On April 16, the district judge issued a temporary restraining order barring the enforcement of the cap while announcing that a hearing will be held on April 28. We continue to monitor this lawsuit and policy shift closely.