Summary of Key Changes in OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule

Proposed Grantmaking Reforms Prompt Huge, Negative Response

The response to the OMB’s proposed rule on federal financial assistance appears to be overwhelmingly negative, with strong opposition from science groups.

Spending deal comes with a bonus: Blocking political control of grants

Congress pauses the OMB's attempt to rewrite how research is funded.

The Current Crisis: What's Happening to Science in America

The “Terrible Engine of Destruction” That Inspired Federal Science Funding

What can we learn about the relationship between science and the American public from the story of plagues of locusts in the 1870s?

Seth Bannon on Twitter / X

There are some exceptionally good ideas here for reforming and accelerating science.Some of my favorite proposals:Apply the scientific method to science funding (track applications, reviewers, funding decisions, and outcomes, then experimentally test which grantmaking methods… https://t.co/Q0JmqTBPYm— Seth Bannon (@sethbannon) July 22, 2026

THE WEEK OF APRIL 6, 2026

- Trump budget repeats call for science cuts - NIH and NSF issue fewer grants - Jefferson Lab contract winner announced

Why the Gates Foundation Abandoned Article Processing Charges (and What They’re Doing Instead)

In 2024, the Gates Foundation updated their Open Access Policy to redirect funds from APCs to support more equitable models. Ashley Farley explains their thinking and vision for the future.

Jason Shepherd on Twitter / X

I have quite a lot of thoughts on this..that won't fit in a tweet. Bottomline is that there are issues scientists in the US would love to improve - faster review, less grant writing, more stability and freedom to do risky science. The folks celebrating this doc are mostly../1 https://t.co/xlPAH9XYNC— Jason Shepherd (@JasonSynaptic) July 23, 2026

A Science Funding System Beyond the Linear Model

Research funders should embrace a new ontology of scientific work to improve the relationship between science and the public.

The Principles of Open Scholarly Infrastructure (v2.0, 2025)

POSI version 2.0 released October 2025 The POSI Adopters reviewed the version 1.1 principles and consulted with the community to create version 2.0, released in October 2025. The new/always-current …

Guest post: If you’re going to critique science, be scientific about it

Loren K. Mell Editor’s note: This post responds to a Feb. 13 article in The Atlantic, “The Scientific Literature Can’t Save Us Now,” written by Retraction Watch cofounders Adam Marcus and Ivan Oran…

Apr 2023 Issue

We need better economic models, but we also need Congress to free itself from the self-imposed constraints of modeling on the policymaking process.

Governing by dismantling: tech oligarchy and the stifling of public data infrastructure

Published in Science as Culture (Ahead of Print, 2026)

Science: A New Golden Age

President Trump seeks to lay the foundations for a new Golden Age of American Innovation. The Trump administration is working to revitalize the national science enterprise, to secure U.S. leadership in emerging technologies against foreign rivals, and to ensure that all of America’s citizens will benefit from new scientific breakthroughs and technological transformations. The President understands the American story as one of ambition, discovery, and invention, of pioneers who forever seek new frontiers for exploration, particularly now in science and technology.