Education, research and culture

Executive Order 13185: To Strengthen the Federal Government-University Research Partnership

President: Bill Clinton

Directed agencies to reduce unnecessary research-administration burdens and strengthen the federal partnership with universities.

Status: In effect. Is Executive Order 13185 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 13185 remains in effect. See Federal Register record.

What does Executive Order 13185 do?

EO 13185 instructed federal research agencies to make grant administration more consistent, consult universities, improve cost principles and reduce unnecessary administrative burden while maintaining accountability. It created an interagency coordinating group and a senior-level council. The original bodies are historical, but uniform grant rules, research-security law and current agency partnership programs now carry much of the field.

Claim-level review October 2, 2026: The order directed improved administration of federal research grants and interagency-university coordination. Current Uniform Guidance standardizes grant rules, but it does not establish that every partnership objective in EO 13185 was achieved.

Administration position: The order sought simplification but did not waive audit, research-integrity, national-security or proper-use-of-funds requirements.
SignedDecember 28, 2000
Lead coordinationOffice of Science and Technology Policy
FocusResearch grants and administrative burden

Before and after

Before the order

Universities faced differing federal research rules and recurring disputes over indirect costs and administrative burden.

After the order

Agencies coordinated reform efforts, later consolidated through uniform assistance rules and statutory research policy.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
Research agenciesReview and harmonize administrative requirementsContinuing through later rules
OSTP and OMBCoordinate policy and cost-principle workContinuing under later authority
UniversitiesMaintain stewardship while participating in reformContinuing

What happened next

EO 13185 established partnership principles.

Signed text, official disposition and the cited later implementation records for EO 13185 rechecked.