Dear Colleagues,
As the duration of the partial federal government shutdown approaches its fifth week, we are providing this update regarding how these interruptions in the government may impact the way in which we receive federal funding. While we remain hopeful that the shutdown will not impact our federal funding for much longer, the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) continues to provide support and assistance as you apply for and manage your sponsored projects, and are here to help with any questions you may have.
- Proposal Submissions: First and foremost, we expect that Grants.gov, Research.gov, NSF Fastlane, and NIH Assist (and all other federal application systems) will be fully functional and maintained so that grant applications to federal agencies can continue to be submitted during the shutdown. OSP staff are using these systems daily for proposal submission, and as of today, they continue to be functioning normally. If this should change we will send out additional advisory information. Proposal deadlines should be observed according to their originally posted due dates. That said, proposals submitted during the shutdown will not likely be reviewed by affected federal agencies until after the shutdown is over.
- New Awards: If you have received an advance announcement of an impending award, please note that issuance of new grant awards will likely be delayed until after the shutdown is over. If you are experiencing any issues related to the timing of a new or continuing grant award, please contact OSP for assistance.
- Routine Administration of Grants and Contracts: According to some information we have received, re-budgeting, no cost extensions, and award continuations will be delayed in their processing, but we advise submitting these requests into the agency queue’s in real-time, with the understanding that they will be reviewed when the government reopens. Please be sure to forward any award-related correspondence that you may receive directly to Stuart Taub, Director, Office of Sponsored Programs, staub@syr.edu.
- Performance of Work for funded Grants and Contracts: Awardees may continue performance under their issued awards during this temporary shutdown, provided that the funds were previously obligated (e.g.- award notice was received), and the period of performance of the grant has not expired.
- Reports: Technical reports, financial reports, and other reports as required by the sponsor should still be submitted on or before the due date in order to remain compliant with the terms of the award.
- Availability of Funds for Drawdown (accounting function only): For most federal awards, it is expected that the Office of Sponsored Accounting will not be able to draw down or invoice for expenditures until the shutdown ends. This does not affect the expenditure of awarded project funds; and we encourage the continued expenditure of sponsored project funds according to plan.
While NIH and the Department of Education are still funded during this partial government shutdown, others such as NSF, NASA, NOAA, USDA, NIST, and NEH are not. Agency Contingency Plans and FAQs for temporary lapses in federal appropriations can be found on the OMB website: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-for-agencies/agency-contingency-plans/
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding the effect of the government shutdown on sponsored programs.
Best,
Stuart