Executive Director Update – September 2026

Over the past year, the vision research community has helped prevent some of the most damaging outcomes facing federal research. NEI remains an independent Institute. NIH funding has been largely preserved. The Department of Defense Vision Research Program (VRP) was restored. And, most recently, Congress delayed a sweeping OMB proposal that would fundamentally change how federal grants are reviewed, awarded, administered, and terminated.

Those outcomes did not happen on their own. They reflect researchers, clinicians, patients, institutions, professional societies, and advocates making the case that vision research matters and that the integrity of the research enterprise must be protected.

Our advocacy once focused almost exclusively on the top-line funding numbers for NIH, NEI, and the VRP. Today, it has expanded because it is no longer just about how much. It is also about how grants are awarded, administered, and evaluated.

In the coming months, we’ll need the community’s continued engagement. The Continuing Resolution keeps the government open and blocks OMB from finalizing its proposed grant rule through December 11. That’s meaningful progress, but it’s only a pause. The Alliance is continuing to urge OMB to rescind the proposal and is working with Congress and partners to preserve independent scientific review, specialized expertise, reasonable collaboration and dissemination, and predictable rules.

We are also pushing back on NIH’s proposal to stop disclosing overall impact scores and percentiles. We agree that scores within a few points should not be treated as a perfect measure for funding decisions, but transparency should not be the price of flexibility. NIH should look to NEI as an example: NEI considers scientific merit, program priorities, portfolio balance, and available resources without relying on a rigid published payline, while still providing investigators meaningful information, including scores, from peer review. We have prepared an organizational response and guidance to help members of the community submit their own comments before October 13.

Funding for FY27 and regulatory proposals are not final, and you can continue to advocate now. Tell NIH how you use scores to interpret critiques, make resubmission decisions, and plan your research. Ask policymakers to support an independent NEI at $1 billion and to maintain funding for the Department of Defense Vision Research Program. We also need to continue urging Congress and the Administration to rescind the OMB proposal.

The November elections create another important opportunity. Candidates for the House and Senate, as well as incumbents seeking reelection, will spend substantial time in their states and districts between now and November 3. Reach out to candidates of both parties and help them #SeeWhatMatters. Tell them what vision research means to you, to patients and families, and to jobs and innovation in their communities. Better yet, invite them or their staff to visit your laboratory, clinic, or institution and see the work firsthand. These conversations can inform not only the remaining FY27 negotiations, but also the priorities and oversight of the next Congress.

Funding matters. NEI’s independence and specialized expertise matter. And increasingly, process matters. The rules governing how research is reviewed and administered can shape science just as surely as the top-line appropriation. Vision research has an extraordinary story to tell, and the policymakers making these decisions need to hear it from all of us.

Thank you for continuing to stand with us and for using your voice on behalf of research that saves sight and restores vision and for helping us ensure policymakers #SeeWhatMatters.

Sincerely,

Dan Ignaszewski
Executive Director
Alliance for Vision Research