The National Science Foundation has revised the grant-policy changes it proposed in June 2026, and the new version drops the provisions that depended only on the Office of Management and Budget’s proposed grantmaking rule. AIP FYI reported the change in its newsletter for the week of 2 November 2026. NSF’s notice is dated 28 October 2026, and the revised proposal is now under a 30-day review at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).
What changed
According to AIP FYI, NSF revised its proposal after receiving more than 3,000 public comments. The June 2026 proposal was meant to align NSF with OMB’s proposed rule, and the October update followed strong pushback from scientists and lawmakers. The new version removes language that rested solely on the OMB proposal. AIP FYI says that language would have:
- eliminated fixed-price awards;
- disallowed publication costs;
- allowed grant terminations for convenience; and
- suggested that indirect-cost recovery depends on the availability of funds.
AIP FYI reports that NSF “reiterates that it will continue to follow its established merit-review process” and that it will address future changes to the Uniform Guidance after final government-wide requirements are issued. In AIP FYI’s words, for now NSF will not align its grant decisions with the proposed OMB rule, according to agency documents.
Timeline and status
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 24 June 2026 | 60-day notice for the NSF Guidance on Financial Assistance collection (91 FR 38030) | OIRA record on reginfo.gov |
| 27 October 2026 | “GFA Summary of Changes” document dated on the reginfo.gov record | NSF comment summary page |
| 28 October 2026 | 30-day notice dated (91 FR 67875) and the collection submitted to OIRA, status “Received in OIRA” | OIRA review record |
| Week of 2 November 2026 | AIP FYI reports the walk-back | AIP FYI |
| 28 November 2026 | Comment deadline listed by AIP FYI for NSF’s request for comment on its draft Guidance on Financial Assistance | AIP FYI |
| 11 December 2026 | Date to which a stopgap funding bill blocks OMB’s proposed grantmaking rule | AIP FYI |
The OIRA record identifies the collection as “National Science Foundation Guidance on Financial Assistance” (OMB control number 3145-0058, reference 202610-3145-004), a revision of a currently approved collection. The Federal Register notice is Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; National Science Foundation Proposal/Award.
Who is affected, and when
AIP FYI reports that the changes would apply only to new awards or new funding added to existing awards. NSF said it “will allow sufficient time” between publication and implementation so that recipients can make necessary changes. AIP FYI also notes that OIRA can approve the proposal or find that NSF has not adequately addressed the public comments, and that after approval NSF may finalize immediately.
The OMB rule is still pending
The walk-back removes NSF’s dependency on OMB’s proposal; it does not withdraw OMB’s proposal. AIP FYI reported that Congress paused the OMB grantmaking proposal until 11 December through a stopgap funding bill. In an earlier AIP report on that bill, the provision blocks rules “arising out of” OMB’s notice of proposed rulemaking, or “substantially similar” rules, and the bill funds the government through 11 December. That report also described a second NSF comment period as expected before NSF finalizes its rules, and noted that it was unclear how the provision affects similar proposals at NSF and the Department of Education. For the earlier stages of this story, see CASRAI’s coverage of the status of the OMB 2 CFR 200 rewrite, the political-appointee sign-off and peer-review advisory, the stopgap bill that blocks the rule, and NSF’s draft Guidance on Financial Assistance.
What research offices can do now
- Decide whether to comment by 28 November 2026. AIP FYI lists that date as the deadline for comments on NSF’s draft Guidance on Financial Assistance. The newsletter does not explicitly tie the date to the revised-policy item, so confirm the deadline against the Federal Register notice before relying on it. Comment on the revised text, not the June version: provisions that rested only on OMB’s proposal are gone, so concerns should address what remains.
- Re-read the revised guidance against your award-management practices. The reginfo.gov record lists a “GFA Summary of Changes” document. Use it to see what moved, and map any remaining changes to your pre-award, post-award and cost-allowability procedures. Because changes would apply only to new awards or new funding on existing awards, flag which active awards could receive new funding.
- Watch the OIRA review. The collection is recorded as received on 28 October 2026. Track its status on reginfo.gov for approval, or for a finding that NSF has not adequately addressed comments. Since NSF may finalize immediately after approval, have an internal review owner ready.
- Watch 11 December 2026. The pause on OMB’s rule runs to that date. AIP FYI notes that Congress returns from recess on 9 November. What happens to the stopgap and the OMB rule after 11 December determines when NSF would address Uniform Guidance changes, which NSF says will follow final government-wide requirements.
- Do not rewrite policies for provisions that were dropped. Fixed-price awards, publication costs, termination for convenience and indirect-cost recovery are described by AIP FYI as removed from NSF’s version, but they remain part of OMB’s pending proposal. Keep any contingency planning separate from NSF-specific changes.
Sources
- AIP FYI, week of 2 November 2026: NSF walks back changes based on OMB proposal
- OIRA review record, NSF Guidance on Financial Assistance (reginfo.gov)
- NSF supporting documents, reginfo.gov
- Federal Register notice, 28 October 2026
- AIP FYI: Congress delays OMB grantmaking rule with stopgap funding bill
