Report an accessibility problem
ASU home My ASU Colleges and schools
Recent announcement
Find funding
Competitive intelligence

Research Stimulus Funding

Research Development
July 15, 2020

Research Development has established this blog to track research related updates resulting from stimulus funding. Please bookmark this webpage as it will be periodically updated. Notifications will also be sent through the weekly funding.asu.edu newsletter. 

Updates:

NIH COVID-19 Strategic Plan

Earlier this week, the National Institutes of Health released an NIH-wide strategic plan for COVID-19 research. The plan outlines five strategic priorities:

1. Improve fundamental knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 disease progression, outcomes, and recovery
2. Advance research to improve detection by developing and validating new assays and retooling existing diagnostic platforms.
3. Support research to advance treatment by evaluating new or repurposing existing treatments and defining implementation strategies.
4. Accelerate research to improve prevention by developing vaccines, other methods to prevent transmission, and implementation models
5. Prevent and redress poor COVID-19 outcomes in health disparity and vulnerable populations. (Date 7/15/2020)

HHS Award Tracker: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a stimulus award dashboard. The dashboard provides data on the awards made by HHS using emergency supplemental appropriation funding provided in the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act), and Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. (Date 6/8/2020)

2020 Congressional COVID Stimulus Overview (Date 5/6/2020)

There have been 3.5 phases of COVID stimulus to date. 

  • Phase 1 - HR 6074: Passed on 3/6/2020 - The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, $8.3B
    • Provided emergency funding for federal agencies to respond to the coronavirus outbreak
  • Phase 2 - HR 6201: Passed on 3/18/20 - The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, $3.5B
    • Addressed paid sick leave and included insurance coverage of coronavirus testing, nutrition assistance, Tricare support, and unemployment benefits.
    • Included research funding to the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to carry out detection of SARS-CoV-2 or the diagnosis of the virus that causes COVID-19 and testing related visits. 
  • Phase 3 - HR 748: Passed on 3/27/20 - The Coronavirus Air, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, $2T
    • Included $415M to the DOD Defense Health Program for research and development efforts related to vaccines and antiviral pharmaceuticals and for procurement of diagnostic tests. 
    • Almost $1B to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support research, including research on coronavirus and developing countermeasures to prevent and treat COVID-19 disease.
  • Phase 3.5 - HR 266: Passed on 4/24/20 - The Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, $484B
    • Much of the funding in this bill included additional funding provided for the paycheck protection program un the Small Business Administration

$113M for Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation  (Date 4/23/2020)

$113M was transferred from the Defense Health Program appropriation to the Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation appropriation, as part of the CARES Act.

The funding is allocated as follows:

  • Biomedical Technology: +$52.0M to $144.8M (+56%): Funds are required to prevent, diagnose, and treat COVID-19.
  • Materials and Biological Technology: +$53.1M to $269.1M (+25%): Funds are required to test ultra-sensitive methods for diagnosing COVID-19, develop U.S. sourced production capabilities for chemical precursors needed to produce pharmaceuticals critical to SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19, and assess the efficacy of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved therapeutic drug candidates for treatment of COVID-19.
  • Basic Operational Medical Research Science: + $5M to $59.1M (+9%): Funds are required to identify FDA-approved drugs that could be repurposed as effective treatments for COVID-19.
  • Biological Warfare Defense: +$2.0M to $36.6M (+5.8%): Funds are required to rapidly develop and field a potential capability to detect airborne Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and enable persistent, broad-scale environmental screening for contagion, such as in airports, mass transportation hubs and public areas where community transmission control is critical.
  • Information & Communications Technology: +$619K to $429.2M (+0.1%): Funds are required to apply artificial intelligence (AI)-based models to rapidly screen, prioritize and test FDA-approved therapeutics for new COVID-19 drug candidates.
  • ​Defense Research Sciences: +$304K to $432.6M (+0.1%): Funds are required to apply artificial intelligence-based models to rapidly screen, prioritize and test FDA-approved therapeutics for new COVID-19 drug candidates.

The $2 Trillion Stimulus Package was formally passed on 3/27/2020. Details on available funding have been summarized in the articles below. (Date 3/30/2020)

Analysis of the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act by KPMG

$2 Trillion Stimulus Package: The Senate has approved a stimulus package that is now awaiting House approval. The funding totals included below will not be made final until legislative text is passed by both the Senate and House. An article from AAAS details the appropriations as follows:

  • The National Institutes of Health would receive $945 million for “vaccine, therapeutic, and diagnostic research” on COVID-19 as well as on “the underlying risks to cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions."
  • The National Science Foundation would receive $76 million to supplement an ongoing program that allows scientists to conduct pilot studies on all manner of natural disasters.
  • The Department of Energy’s Office of Science would get $99.5 million to cover the additional costs of operating user facilities at its national laboratories, including support for equipment and staff.
  • The U.S. Forest Service would get $3 million to “reestablish experiments impacted by travel restrictions” stemming from the pandemic, including an ongoing forest inventory.
  • NASA would receive $60 million for the costs of rescheduling scientific missions.
  • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would get $20 million to supplement “life and property related services” within its National Weather Service.
  • The National Institute of Standards and Technology would receive $6 million to support “research and measurement science” aimed at developing better diagnostics and testing of the coronavirus.

$14.25 billion has also been allocated to support higher education. At least half of this funding, which would come from the Department of Education, is earmarked for students. But the rest can be spent “to support institutions as they cope with the immediate effects of coronavirus and school closures.” (Date 3/26/2020)

APLU US Senate CARES Act Summary: The Association of Public Land Grant Universities released a summary of the U.S. Senate's Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The Act appropriates additional funds for many research agencies to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. These appropriations include: 

  • $75 million for National Science Foundation
  • $945.4 million for National Institutes of Health
  • $99.5 million for Department of Energy Office of Science
  • $60 million for NASA
  • $415 million for Department of Defense Health Program
  • $75 million for National Endowment for the Humanities

Additional information is on pages 6-9 of the APLU summary. (Date 3/26/2020)

AAAS News - Universities request $13B: Universities have urged U.S. leaders to boost science budgets by 15% (around $13 billion). Universities have asked that these additional funds, “be divided among the major federal agencies based on the size of their extramural research budgets.” In practice, that means the largest funders of academic research, including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Departments of Energy and Defense, would get the largest amounts. (Date 3/19/2020)

OMB Administrative Relief for Recipients and Applicants of Federal Aid: On March 19, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) expanded eligible recipients from its March 9 memo, regarding "Administrative Relief for Recipients and Applicants of Federal Financial Assistance Directly impacted by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)," to provide agencies with additional flexibilities for grants assisting the response to COVID-19. The guidance provides flexibility to grant recipients performing essential research and services necessary to carry out the emergency response related to COVID-19. Twelve relief options are listed, including flexible application deadlines, no-cost extensions on expiring awards, waiver for notice of funding opportunities, allowability of salaries and other project activities, allowability of costs not normally chargeable, and extension of financial, performance and other reporting. (Date 3/19/2020)

$8.3B Emergency Spending Package: Earlier this month, Congress cleared an emergency spending package. This package includes $8.3B for coronavirus aid. The following agencies will receive funding as a part of this relief package:

  • Centers for Disease Control: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would receive about $2.2B, including $1B for state and local preparedness grants; $300M for global health security accounts; and $300M for a fund set up to allow the agency to respond quickly to infectious disease outbreaks.
  • National Institute of Health: This includes $3.1B in discretionary funding to be used by the Department of Health and Human Services by 2024. The bill also includes $836M for the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease and $10M to the National Institute for Environmental Health Services for training to reduce disease exposure for hospital workers, first responders and others.
  • Food and Drug Administration: $61M to "monitor and mitigate" any shortages of medical products as well as to strengthen the country's medical product manufacturing sector. (Date 3/5/2020)

Sponsor Pages: Sponsor content around research stimulus funding as related to COVID-19. This will be updated as additional sponsors develop webpages.

National Science Foundation
National Institutes of Health
United States Agency for International Development
Food and Drug Administration