Webinar
Join Attain Partners‘ Gil Tran for an NCURA live session
Tuesday, December 16, 2025 | 2p ET
On April 22, 2024, OMB made an “extreme makeover” of the Uniform Guidance that results in revisions of 69 out of 191 sections (or 36 percent) from its 2020 edition. The revisions became effective for Federal awards on October 1, 2024.
Since then, we have a new Administration that, on day one, rescinded many Executive Orders (E.O.) that the revisions were based on and issued several E.O.s that drastically altered the grant landscape. In particular, E.O. 14332 – Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking (August 7, 2025). The E.O.s have resulted in abrupt terminations of thousands of grant awards by the agencies.
In addition, since February 2025, several agencies have proposed to cap the indirect cost rate at 15%, which would result in a severe loss of reimbursement to research institutes and cripple US research endeavors. Lawsuits have resulted in a temporary pause for their implementations. In the meantime, the Joint Associations Group (JAG) has worked with the grant community to propose a brand-new model for charging research costs—the FAIR Model.
Based on E.O. 14332, Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking (August 7, 2025), OMB plans to issue another round of revisions to the Uniform Guidance that will align better with this Administration’s priorities. This session will highlight all the Government activities, including OMB proposed revisions, related to the changes in grant landscapes and their impact on research administration at your institution. It will provide an update on the proposed JAG’s FAIR model. It will provide an outlook for the grant landscape in 2026.
About the Speaker
Gil Tran is Senior Specialist Leader, Grants Management at Attain Partners. Previously, he served as a Senior Policy Analyst with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Federal Financial Management (OFFM).
A 27-year veteran of OMB, Gil has often served as a go-to field expert and is a sought-after presenter who has earned a reputation as a source of knowledge and an engaging industry speaker. Among his contributions in shaping the financial assistance landscape for future generations are: helping reduce the audit burden for both auditees and federal government oversight agencies; playing an integral role in the development of the Uniform Grant Guidance (UGG) and consolidating cost principles in the guidance; and, in 2005, leading the development of the first-ever government-wide waiver to provide relief to grantees caused by natural disasters.
Gil’s professional contributions have been recognized with several awards, including the OMB Robert Damus Award, the National Grants Management Association (NGMA) Newton Award, and the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) Frank Greathouse Distinguished Leadership Award—all in 2022—as well as the National College and University Research Administrators Association (NCURA) Joseph F. Carrabino Award in 2015. He is widely recognized as an outstanding leader in the grants management field. Gil received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from George Mason University, Virginia. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Additionally, he chaired the Diversity Committee for the U.S. Tennis Association (Mid–Atlantic Section).
Indirect Cost Rate Policy Updates and Guidance
With decades of experience in the research ecosystem, Attain Partners is ready to help your institution navigate these changes.
Uniform Guidance Resources and Insights
Attain Partners brings decades of federal grants expertise to help institutions interpret evolving Uniform Guidance requirements and apply them across the research enterprise.
