Federal sub-agency · Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health

National Institutes of Health obligated $5B on federal contracts in FY2026 across 13,441 contract actions (−9.4% vs FY2025). Its largest recipient was LEIDOS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INC ($415.6M). It also awarded $35.7B in federal grants and other assistance in FY2026.

Obligations · FY2026
$5B
Actions
13.4K
New awards: 4,037
Sole-source
13%
Small business
31%
Open in the contracts explorerRelationship graphFederal contracts

Spending by fiscal year

Obligations per federal fiscal year (October–September).

  1. 5.2BFY2017
  2. 5.2BFY2018
  3. 5.5BFY2019
  4. 7.3BFY2020
  5. 7.5BFY2021
  6. 8.4BFY2022
  7. 7.8BFY2023
  8. 7.4BFY2024
  9. 5.5BFY2025
  10. 5BFY2026

Top recipients

Obligations in FY2026.

  1. LEIDOS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INC$415.6M8.3%
  2. M. A. MORTENSON COMPANY$237.8M4.7%
  3. DELOITTE CONSULTING LLP$149.5M3.0%
  4. AXLE INFORMATICS, LLC$131.4M2.6%
  5. BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC$106.6M2.1%
  6. KELLY SERVICES, INC.$102.1M2.0%
  7. WESTAT, INC.$100.3M2.0%
  8. GENERAL DYNAMICS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, INC.$92.7M1.8%
  9. DLA TROOP SUPPORT$73.4M1.5%
  10. GAP SOLUTIONS, INC.$72.8M1.5%

What was bought · Where the work was performed

Obligations in FY2026.

What was bought

  1. Professional services$1.4B29%
  2. Research & development$1.4B28%
  3. IT & telecom$973.4M19%
  4. Construction & real property$575.7M11%
  5. Facilities & utilities$214.1M4.3%
  6. Health & medical$178.5M3.6%
  7. Other equipment & supplies$156.4M3.1%
  8. Equipment maintenance$56.1M1.1%
  9. Education & social services$16.7M0.3%
  10. Transportation & logistics$14.6M0.3%
  11. Fuel$3.9M0.1%
  12. Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles$498.3K0.0%

Where the work was performed

  1. Maryland$2.9B58%
  2. Virginia$610.2M12%
  3. North Carolina$274.7M5.5%
  4. District of Columbia$188.5M3.8%
  5. California$155.5M3.1%
  6. Pennsylvania$115.3M2.3%
  7. Michigan$95.9M1.9%
  8. Massachusetts$93.9M1.9%
  9. New York$73.3M1.5%
  10. New Jersey$64.5M1.3%

Integrity signals

Shares of the year's obligations, next to the country's.

  • Low competition35%
    US 39% · $1.7B
  • Sole-source awards13%
    US 30% · $667.8M
  • Single-offer competitions21%
    US 8.7% · $1.1B
  • Urgency justifications0.0%
    US 5.1% · $2M
  • Year-end rush22%
    US 6.1% · $1.1B
  • Undefinitized contracts0.7%
    US 5.0% · $37.6M
  • Time-and-materials pricing16%
    US 4.2% · $799.5M

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Offices with the most sole-source money

  1. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH OLAO$322.4M24%
  2. NIH A E CONSTRUCTION$245.2M34%
  3. NIH NCI$24.2M3.1%
  4. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH - CC$22.3M39%
  5. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NLM$17.3M6.7%

Largest awards

  1. OPER OF GOVT R&D GOCO FACILITIES$4.8B
    LEIDOS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INC· Frederick County, MD· Facilities & utilities· Nov 29, 2016 – Aug 7, 2026· HHSN261200800001E
  2. NCI OPERATIONAL TASK ORDER$1.8B
    LEIDOS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INC· Frederick County, MD· Facilities & utilities· Aug 31, 2020 – Jun 18, 2026· 75N91020F00003
  3. C103157: SURGERY, RADIOLOGY, AND LABORATORY MEDICINE (SRLM) BUILDING CONSTRUCTION$765.9M
    HENSEL PHELPS CONSTRUCTION CO· Montgomery County, MD· Construction & real property· Mar 22, 2022 – Sep 24, 2026· 75N99022F00003
  4. THE POPULATION ASSESSMENT OF TOBACCO AND HEALTH (PATH) STUDY PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: 04/01/2016-11/30/2016 BASE AWARD$505.3M
    WESTAT, INC.· Montgomery County, MD· Research & development· Nov 18, 2016 – Sep 28, 2026· HHSN271201600001C
  5. NCI OPERATIONAL TASK ORDER, FY26-FY27$483.8M
    LEIDOS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INC· Frederick County, MD· Research & development· Aug 29, 2025 – Sep 28, 2026· 75N91025F00016
  6. R12 UPGRADE - SYSTEM INTEGRATION AND HOSTING SUPPORT$465.6M
    DELOITTE CONSULTING LLP· District of Columbia, DC· IT & telecom· Feb 22, 2017 – Apr 9, 2026· HHSN31600002
  7. NCI OPERATIONAL TASK ORDER$432.4M
    LEIDOS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INC· Frederick County, MD· Facilities & utilities· Aug 30, 2019 – May 21, 2026· 75N91019F00129
  8. C100663 - BUILDING 10 E-WING RENOVATION$302.3M
    WHITING-TURNER CONTRACTING COMPANY, THE· Montgomery County, MD· Construction & real property· Sep 28, 2017 – Sep 28, 2026· HHSN292201700010C

Federal grants & assistance awarded

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

National Institutes of Health obligated $35.7B in federal assistance in FY2026, on 120,007 actions (15,822 new awards), +1.2% vs FY2025. Its largest program was 93.855 · Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research ($4B).

Assistance · FY2026
$35.7B
New awards
15,822
Actions
120K
Since FY2021
$208.9B

Assistance by fiscal year

  1. 32.5BFY2021
  2. 34.7BFY2022
  3. 35.7BFY2023
  4. 35.1BFY2024
  5. 35.3BFY2025
  6. 35.7BFY2026

By type

  1. Grants$33.8B95%
  2. Direct payments$1.9B5.3%

Top programs

  1. 93.855 · Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research$4B11%
  2. 93.866 · Aging Research$3.9B11%
  3. 93.837 · Cardiovascular Diseases Research$3.1B8.7%
  4. 93.859 · Biomedical Research and Research Training$3B8.5%
  5. 93.847 · Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research$2B5.7%
  6. 93.853 · Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders$2B5.7%
  7. 93.242 · Mental Health Research Grants$1.8B5.0%
  8. 93.279 · Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs$1.5B4.3%

Top recipients (organizations)

  1. THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY$870.1M2.4%
    BALTIMORE, MD
  2. REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE$835.3M2.3%
    SAN FRANCISCO, CA
  3. REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN$748.3M2.1%
    ANN ARBOR, MI
  4. THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY$734M2.1%
    REDWOOD CITY, CA
  5. TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, THE$729.9M2.0%
    PHILADELPHIA, PA
  6. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, THE$715.3M2.0%
    SAINT LOUIS, MO
  7. YALE UNIV$685.9M1.9%
    NEW HAVEN, CT
  8. UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH - OF THE COMMONWEALTH SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION$652.9M1.8%
    PITTSBURGH, PA

Where it went

  1. California$5.1B14%
  2. New York$3.6B10%
  3. Massachusetts$3.5B9.8%
  4. Pennsylvania$2.3B6.5%
  5. Texas$1.8B5.0%
  6. North Carolina$1.6B4.6%
  7. Maryland$1.4B3.9%
  8. Illinois$1.3B3.7%
  9. Washington$1.2B3.4%
  10. Michigan$1B2.8%

By state of the place of performance.

Source: Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 10, 2026, loaded Oct 10, 2026 · FY2021–FY2026.

Federal grants & assistance

Subawards under this agency's awards

First-tier subawards that recipients of this agency's contracts and financial assistance reported, by the fiscal year of the subaward.

FY2026

  • Sub-contracts: $298.4M (535 subawards)
  • Sub-grants: $4.5B (21,815 subawards)

2,572 sub-recipients

Largest sub-recipients

  1. TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, THE$90M1.9%
    PHILADELPHIA, PA · 410 subawards
  2. THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY$87.9M1.8%
    BALTIMORE, MD · 397 subawards
  3. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO$83.4M1.7%
    LA JOLLA, CA · 214 subawards
  4. REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE$78M1.6%
    SAN FRANCISCO, CA · 314 subawards
  5. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL$73.5M1.5%
    CHAPEL HILL, NC · 307 subawards
  6. REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN$67.7M1.4%
    ANN ARBOR, MI · 340 subawards
  7. THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY$66.9M1.4%
    STANFORD, CA · 275 subawards
  8. UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON$65.7M1.4%
    SEATTLE, WA · 311 subawards
  9. THE GENERAL HOSPITAL CORPORATION$65.6M1.4%
    BOSTON, MA · 287 subawards
  10. EMORY UNIVERSITY$62.5M1.3%
    ATLANTA, GA · 324 subawards

Primes report first-tier subawards of $30,000 or more themselves, and many go unreported (GAO-24-106214). Reporting moved from FSRS to SAM.gov in March 2025 and fewer sub-contracts have been reported since. Amounts are what primes reported; they are never added to prime award totals.

Source: Subawards (first-tier sub-contracts and sub-grants reported under FFATA) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov (reports filed in SAM.gov, formerly FSRS)), data current to Oct 10, 2026, loaded Oct 10, 2026 · Subawards loaded from FY2021.

Who lobbies this agency

Organizations whose quarterly lobbying reports list this agency as contacted, ranked by the reports' spending. A report's amount covers all its issues and every agency it lists; reports do not split it.

Lobbying in 2026
$64.1M
Clients
155
Reports
290

The whole amount of every report that lists this agency.

Organizations lobbying it, 2026

  1. American Medical AssociationAI match · 99%$13.1M
    0.0% of its family's FY2026 contracts from this agency · Health issues, Budget and appropriations, Medicare and Medicaid
  2. GILEAD SCIENCES, INC.AI match · 100%$4.8M
    No FY2026 contracts in its family · Health issues, Budget and appropriations, Medicare and Medicaid
  3. PFIZER INC.AI match · 100%$4.4M
    No FY2026 contracts in its family · Health issues, Medicare and Medicaid, Trade (domestic and foreign)
  4. Oracle CorporationAI match · 100%$4.1M
    0.0% of its family's FY2026 contracts from this agency · Health issues, Budget and appropriations, Defense
  5. American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc.$3.5M
    Not matched to a contract recipient · Health issues, Budget and appropriations, Medicare and Medicaid
  6. Alzheimer's Association$2.3M
    Not matched to a contract recipient · Health issues, Budget and appropriations
  7. BEER INSTITUTE$2M
    Not matched to a contract recipient · Budget and appropriations, Taxation and the Internal Revenue Code, Agriculture
  8. ALKERMES, INC.$2M
    Not matched to a contract recipient · Health issues, Medicare and Medicaid, Alcohol and drug abuse
  9. BIOTECHNOLOGY INNOVATION ORGANIZATION$1.6M
    Not matched to a contract recipient · Health issues, Budget and appropriations, Medicare and Medicaid
  10. Association of American Medical CollegesAI match · 100%$1.4M
    No FY2026 contracts in its family · Health issues, Budget and appropriations, Medicare and Medicaid
  11. AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY$1.3M
    Not matched to a contract recipient · Health issues, Medicare and Medicaid, Tobacco
  12. University of California$1.1M
    Not matched to a contract recipient · Health issues, Budget and appropriations, Medicare and Medicaid
  13. American Academy of PediatricsAI match · 100%$1.1M
    0.0% of its family's FY2026 contracts from this agency · Health issues
  14. Astellas Pharma US, Inc.AI match · 100%$1.1M
    No FY2026 contracts in its family · Health issues, Medicare and Medicaid, Taxation and the Internal Revenue Code
  15. AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY$980K
    Not matched to a contract recipient · Health issues, Budget and appropriations, Medicare and Medicaid

6 more clients ($400K) are counted but not named: their names may be a person's.

Lobbying amounts are the filers' own good-faith estimates on quarterly LD-2 reports (the law asks for amounts rounded to $10,000; under $5,000 need not be itemized), latest amendment only. When an organization files its own report, it replaces what outside firms report for it that quarter. Matches are by name. Lobbying and political giving are legal and public: they show engagement with government, not influence over any award. Correlation is not influence: these organizations' lobbying and their contracts are shown side by side, and nothing here implies either affected the other.

Source: Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives), data current to Oct 10, 2026, loaded Oct 10, 2026 · 2023–2026.

Source: Committees, candidates and committee contributions to candidates (Federal Election Commission), data current to Oct 10, 2026, loaded Oct 10, 2026 · 2026, 2024, 2022.

Matches: Analisa AI name judgments (entity-match@1), updated Oct 5, 2026.

Committees that oversee and fund it

Congressional committees whose jurisdiction includes this agency, and the appropriations subcommittees that write its spending bill (Analisa's reading of the House and Senate rules; committees share jurisdiction). Leaders as currently published.

…

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 10, 2026, loaded Oct 10, 2026.