For months, the biomedical research community has been wringing its hands over the slow pace of grantmaking at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), worrying the agency will be unable to spend the $47.2 billion Congress gave it for this fiscal year, which ends on 30 September, 2026. But recent analyses of NIH outlays have somewhat brightened the picture, suggesting NIH may be able to catch up, as it did after a similar lag last year. With a concerted push over the next 3 months, the agency says it should be able to get its money out the door.

At the same time, however, the figures suggest NIH will, for the second straight year, award thousands fewer new grants than it did in the 4 years before President Donald Trump took office in 2025. The White House budget office wants the agency to award many multiyear grants as a single lump sum, meaning NIH can fund fewer new grants and renewals of expiring awards. That could leave many academic labs scrambling to stay afloat or force them to close.

Source https://www.science.org/content/article/nih-likely-award-fewer-grants-it-races-spend-2026-budget

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