The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine

National Institutes of Health competitive grant funding In the past decade, the National Institutes of Health awarded top scientists $9 billion in competitive grants each year, to find cures for diseases and improve public health . This year, something unusual happened... Starting in January, the Trump administration stalled that funding. By summer, funding lagged by over $2 billion, or 41 percent below average . But in a surprising turn, the N.I.H. began to spend at a breakneck pace and narrow this gap. There was a catch, however: That money went to fewer grants. Which means less research was funded in areas such as aging, diabetes, strokes, cancer and mental health. To spend its budget, the N.I.H. made an unusual number of large lump-sum payments for many years of research, instead of its usual policy of paying for research one year at a time. As a result of this quiet policy shift, the average payment for competitive grants swelled from $472,000 in the first half of the fiscal year to over $830,000 in the last two months. While this might sound like a boon for researchers, it’s actually a fundamental shift in how grants are funded - one that means more competition for funding, and less money and less time to do the research. In the past, the N.I.H. typically awarded grants in five annual installments. Researchers could request two more years to spend this money, at no cost. Under the new system, the N.I.H. pays up front for four years of work. And researchers can get one more year to spend this money. Which means that they get less money on average, and less time to spend it. And because these fully funded grants commit all of their money up front, it means the agency’s annual budget is divided into fewer projects, instead of being spread among a larger number of scientific bets. The new policy directive came from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, which in the summer instructed the N.I.H. to spend half of its remaining funds to fully fund research grants. In the past, the agency would do so only in special circumstances. The White House has said this would “ increase N.I.H. budget flexibility ” by not encumbering its annual budget with payments to previously approved projects. It has said it plans to continue this policy in 2026, while proposing to shrink the agency’s budget by $18 billion , or nearly 40 percent . (The Senate and House rejected the White House’s proposed budget cuts, but have not yet agreed on the agency’s budget.) “My sense of it was that the administration wanted to clear the decks,” said Sarah Kobrin, a branch chief at the N.I.H.’s National Cancer Institute, who said she was sharing her views, not those of the institute. The new policy is being carried out as the Trump administration has tightened its hold over federal science funding. Earlier this year, it delayed reviewing grants in order to vet research by political...

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