Yale’s public comment on proposed revisions to federal grant framework

Dear Colleagues,

In May, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed a rule to revise the Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance. If implemented as written, the new rule would significantly alter nearly every aspect of federal grantmaking. Given the substantial impact these changes would have on university research and scholarship, we asked members of the Yale community to help shape the university’s public comment.

We are grateful to the many of you who shared your perspectives and provided specific examples of how the proposed revisions would affect your scholarship. Thanks to your feedback and input gathered from deans and a working group of faculty from across the university, Yale has crafted and submitted its response to OMB.

The university’s comments detail the profound and far-reaching impact OMB’s proposed revisions would have on research and scholarship conducted at Yale and across the country on behalf of the American public. You are welcome to read the full response here.

Following the public comment period, which concluded on July 13, OMB will review the hundreds of thousands of comments submitted by organizations and individuals across the country, determine what revisions will be made, and issue a final rule. OMB intends to implement the regulation on or around October 1, though this timeline may shift. We will monitor the situation closely and share updates through the Federal Administration Transition website and the Federally Funded Research newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.  

Alongside partners such as the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), and others, we will also continue to advocate vigorously for a federal grant framework that transparently and responsibly advances our nation’s well-being, security, and vitality. These efforts will be guided by our commitments to academic freedom, to excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship, and to the work Yale has long conducted in partnership with the federal government to advance the public good.

Thank you again to the hundreds of you who provided input or contributed your own individual comments to OMB. As you continue to devote your attention to new discoveries and insights, we remain committed to maintaining the environment necessary for this important work to flourish.

Sincerely,

Maurie McInnis
President
Professor of the History of Art

Scott Strobel
Provost
Henry Ford II Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Michael Crair
Vice Provost for Research
William Ziegler III Professor of Neuroscience and Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science