The National Science Foundation (NSF)’s division of grants and awards is returning previously approved grant proposals for a “secondary review” by the program officers who initially evaluated them. No new awards will be made in the meantime, and it is unclear how long the additional review process will take. It is also unclear how many grants will be affected.
The program officers have been tasked with determining whether projects can be modified to align with President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting federal funding for research on topics his administration considers objectionable, including climate change and “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI). On January 27, the NSF froze all grant payments, including those that had already been awarded, to identify any grants that addressed these topics.