The White House is laying out a new science and research funding strategy that moves money away from universities and toward individual scientists and other non-institutional channels. In a Tuesday memo, officials directed federal agencies to prioritize awarding funding to individuals and to experiment with evaluation approaches that do not rely solely on peer review. The approach reflects a broader effort already underway in this administration, including the termination of some university-based grants and proposed changes that would elevate political appointees in the award process. While the administration stopped short of removing higher education from the scientific enterprise, it signaled a clear preference for diversifying funding mechanisms beyond academia. Federal agencies with large R&D budgets are required to submit implementation plans within 90 days. The memo also calls for programs designed to let researchers move grants between institutions, which administration officials say could increase competition for early-career talent. For colleges and universities, the guidance raises near-term planning risks: grant portfolios, staffing models tied to institutional overhead, and the operational cadence of proposal preparation may all need to adapt to a funding ecosystem that is less institution-centered and more investigator- and agency-design dependent.