Federal Research Digest | Update on Proposed Uniform Guidance
June 2, 2026
Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to provide a brief update regarding the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) recently proposed revisions to the federal Uniform Guidance (UG), a standing document that outlines policies and procedures for the federal government’s executive branch. On May 29, the OMB released a revision that now includes a standardized framework for managing grants and cooperative agreements across federal agencies, including the NIH.
I am hearing many questions from our faculty, staff, and learners about the OMB’s proposed revisions, and I understand your concerns. I cannot address all these directly in this message. Instead, I would like to provide some NIH-specific context and describe UCSF’s plan for an institutional response.
Importantly, the proposed revisions to the UG largely align with last year’s published NIH priorities and internal operational directives that were developed from the Trump administration’s early 2025 Executive Orders. Indeed, many of these proposed revisions are already being implemented by the NIH’s institutes and centers (ICs). UCSF’s experience with the NIH under these changes is that scientific merit (i.e., peer review) remains central to its grantmaking decisions, and the ICs continue to largely direct the distribution of extramural research awards.
The OMB has opened a 45-day public comment period during which stakeholders across the research enterprise can provide feedback on the proposed changes. My office will be working with the Academic Senate, the Dean’s offices, and others to ensure we address your questions and concerns. UCSF also remains actively engaged with the larger UC system and a broad set of stakeholders who will also be responding. As members of the UCSF research community, you are also free to submit comments reflecting your personal views.
As always, please reach out to [email protected] with questions. Thank you for your continued dedication to our research mission.
Sincerely,
Hal
Harold R. Collard, MD, MS
Vice Chancellor for Research
Professor of Medicine and Health Policy