ANU Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell announced last week that a research project had been suspended following the withdrawal of US government funding for joint research initiatives by the Trump administration. A spokesperson for the University confirmed it had received a US government letter indicating “ … an intent to terminate funding related to one research project”, but refrained from identifying the specific project in question to protect the privacy of those involved. 

The United States is the “largest source of International funding” for Research at the ANU, with VC Bell confirming that there are currently 16 joint-research projects with the US, worth $9.3 million. According to the Australian Academy of Science (AAS), the US gave $386 million in funding to Australian research nationally in 2024. 

How has Australia’s largest research collaborator suddenly become, to quote AAS president Professor Chennupati Jagadish, a “dangerous” and “unpredictable” threat to Australian science? The US government’s cuts to foreign funding are part of the Trump administration’s pivot to an ‘America first’ foreign policy, an initiative that includes unprecedented cuts to 83 percent of programs funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), an organisation which has previously provided around 40 percent of global humanitarian aid. USAID’s tertiary education funding has been almost completely suspended while the new administration ‘audits’ the organisation’s various projects. 

For researchers, this audit came in the form of a controversial questionnaire received from the US government on 19 March. Group of Eight (Go8) president, Vicki Thomson, says the questionnaire goes “way beyond traditional grant compliance”, focusing primarily on how individual research projects align with the agenda of the Trump administration. Researchers were asked to rate the utility of their project to the Trump administration in 36 questions, which included: 

• “Can you confirm that your organization does not work with entities associated with communist, socialist, or totalitarian parties, or any party that espouses anti-American beliefs? [yes/no]”
• “Does this project directly contribute to limiting illegal immigration or strengthening U.S. border security? [yes /no]”
• “Can you confirm that this is no [sic] DEI project or DEI elements of the project? [yes /no]”
• “Does this project take appropriate measures to protect women and to defend against gender ideology as defined in the below Executive Order? [yes/no]”
• “What impact does this project have in increasing American influence, trust and reputation among foreign publics?”

The questionnaire was received by Universities in conjunction with a memo from the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB Acting Director Matthew J. Vaeth explained that the suspension and review of funding to aid agencies prevents US federal resources from advancing “ … Marxist equality, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering”. The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has labelled the attempt to limit funding to research on social-policy grounds “blatant foreign interference.”

The Australian government and university academics understand that it is unlikely that the new US government will relax its cuts to foreign funding and are now debating solutions to support future international research collaborations. VC Bell confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that the university will “work with affected researchers” and is “developing appropriate remediation plans.” The university is in communication with “relevant government department ministers, … university partners, and collaborators” to support students at the ANU and those studying in the USA. 

Former ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt has taken a bleaker view on the terminated funding, telling The Age, “When you make yourself beholden to your sugar daddy, and your sugar daddy says they want something else, you don’t have a choice … ”. 

Education Minister Jason Clare has, in accordance with the Albanese government’s conciliatory approach to the Trump administration, conceded that the US government can fund any research it deems in its interest. Vicki Thomson confirmed that the government has urged researchers to respond to the questionnaire, an approach that starkly differs from the consensus amongst European universities, where researchers have been advised not to engage with the United States. The precedent set by the Trump administration raises concerns that universities seeking US funding will have to revoke inclusion policies and suspend social-science research, which would threaten employment at a time when universities are already struggling with staffing and funding deficits.

Some academics are suggesting a complete shift away from research partnerships with the United States, urging the government to resume talks with European research fund Horizon Europe after negotiations in 2024 were called off over financial concerns. Thomson wrote that association with Horizon Europe was “vital” following the US government’s suspension of research funding. The AAS backed Thomson’s comments, suggesting Horizon Europe — now the world’s largest research fund — as a key future partner for Australian universities.