Update on Federal research funding, MOU Policy changes, New Rates for Marlowe, etc

Dear Chairs and Directors,

This month, I’m sharing updates on the following topics:

• Interruptions to federal research funding & June Town Hall
• Revised MOU Policy
• New Marlowe charge rates, starting July 9, 2025
• Expanded services offered by the Research Development Office

Please share relevant parts of this letter with your faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students—anyone who may find the information and links helpful.

Ongoing Interruptions to Federally-Sponsored Research

As of mid-June:

• Stanford has received termination notices on 70  federal grants.
• The notices have come from approximately 10 federal agencies, with more than half from NIH.
• 13 of the terminations were reversed, reinstating the awards.
• For 14 terminations, affected PIs have elected to write appeal letters to the agency, with support from the Office of General Counsel, the Office of Research Administration (ORA), and VPDoR.

For our many other federal grants, Stanford continues to draw down funds without significant interruption, and new proposals continue to be submitted.

With respect to incoming awards, new research funding through nine months of FY25 (Sept 2024 - May 2025) is at a slightly higher level than for the same period last year. However, this is due to an increase in non-federal awards; total federal awards are flat compared with FY24. Focusing on the period since January 2025, federal funding levels for Stanford are lower than for the same period last year, particularly for NIH and NSF. The rate of new award announcements from these agencies has slowed markedly.

To keep our community updated on developments in federal research funding, we have hosted four Town Halls. The next one will be on:

Research Town Hall (Webinar)

Thursday, June 26, 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (PDT) – JOIN HERE

Meeting ID: 961 0367 8755

Password: 614499

You may also submit questions in advance here.

One common question in these sessions is, ‘How can I help?’  One way is to tell our story - what university research is, and what it does for the betterment of society. The Research Matters section of the Stanford Report is a helpful encapsulation of some current projects from across campus. Feel free to disseminate these stories through your networks.

Finally, a reminder that if your faculty receive direct contacts from the federal government regarding interruptions to sponsored research, please share them as soon as possible with your local research administrator. We have also noticed some outreach and inquiries from third parties (e.g., survey companies) related to terminated awards. Anyone who receives such a query should contact their department's research administrator and forward a copy to osr_notifications@stanford.edu. Alternatively, don’t hesitate to contact Russell Brewer, Jodi Prochaska, or me directly. We are also continuing to add guidance to the ORA website, and encourage you to check that page.  

Updates to MOU Policy

As part of the University’s simplification initiative, we have made significant changes to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) policy.  Effective immediately, faculty members may sign MOUs if the memorandum uses the legally non-binding template provided for in the revised policy. Faculty should consult with their school dean or VPDoR if they have questions or concerns regarding MOUs.

Introducing New Rates for Marlowe Users

Starting July 9, 2025, the Marlowe GPU cluster will introduce user charges. Although the platform and associated services will continue to be heavily subsidized by the University, the charges will contribute to Marlowe's infrastructure and operational costs and help support its long-term viability.

The charge rates were set following extensive consultation with Marlowe’s executive committee, a group of faculty and staff with expertise in computing, AI, and data science.  Details of the charge model follow:

• Charges will be applied for GPU-hours, CPU-hours, and project storage.
• This applies to Basic Access (preemptible jobs) and medium and large project allocations.
• The subsidized recharge rates, effective July 9, 2025, are:

If you have questions, please contact the Marlowe Team at marlowe-info@stanford.edu. Additional information is also available on the website.

Expanded services offered by the Stanford Research Development Office (RDO)

Our Research Development Office has expanded its services to offer consultations and feedback on smaller grants and strategies to diversify funding sources, particularly for early career faculty and those pursuing a new funder or program—whether federal, foundation, corporate, or otherwise. If you are interested in support, contact RDO. PIs in the Schools of Engineering and Medicine may be referred to research development services in their schools.

Stay safe and be well,

David

David Studdert
Vice Provost and Dean of Research