Proposed Changes to Uniform Guidance – UW–Madison Monitoring and Assessment

Dear Colleagues,

Many of you are likely aware that the Office of Management and Budget recently released proposed revisions to the Uniform Guidance and related federal research administration regulations for public comment. These proposed changes are broad in scope and have generated significant discussion across the national research community.

UW–Madison is actively reviewing the proposal and assessing potential implications for our research enterprise, including the conduct of research, research administration, compliance, and sponsored programs operations. We are also monitoring analyses and responses being developed by national higher education and research organizations, including AAU, APLU, ACE, AAMC, and COGR. The National Association of College and University Business Officers has a summary of the rule posted on their website – https://www.nacubo.org/News/2026/6/OMB-Proposes-Major-Changes-to-Federal-Grant-Rules.

We are working closely with many on campus, as well as our campus partners and national organizations, to understand the potential implications for our researchers and research operations. The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and the Office of Federal Relations are compiling campus input on the proposed Uniform Guidance changes. If you have specific concerns, examples, or suggested comments you would like considered as part of the university’s review, you may submit them to UGfeedback@rsp.wisc.edu. Contributions should be considered part of the public record.

I want to assure the UW–Madison research community that university leadership is actively engaged and is coordinating our institutional response. At this stage, these are proposed changes only, and the federal comment period remains open through July 13, 2026. The university anticipates submitting a response ahead of the deadline.

We expect this to be an evolving conversation over the coming months and will continue to keep the campus research community informed as our assessment progresses. As a reminder, updates will also continue to be made on the Federal Relations webpage.

Best regards,

Dorota Brzezinska
Vice Chancellor for Research
University of Wisconsin–Madison