Government shutdown information
Posted Dec. 20, 2024
Preparing for a potential government shutdown
Colleagues,
Although we remain hopeful that Congress will vote to keep the government operating after tonight’s expiration of the current continuing resolution, federal agencies have begun communicating their plans in case of a shutdown and we want to share pertinent information with you.
Work on most active, federally funded projects — including grants, cooperative agreements and contracts — can continue during a shutdown, unless the project passes its end date or the funding agency explicitly communicates that work must stop. Award Management Services will notify investigators of any agency communications related to work stoppage as soon as we receive them; we have not received any notices from agencies signaling an intent to stop work. Work stoppage is much more likely on federal contracts than grants or cooperative agreements, but we will share any relevant agency communications with impacted investigators.
We have cash reserves sufficient to continue to pay personnel for the duration of a shutdown, unless it continues much longer than anyone anticipates.
Several important reminders in the event of a federal shutdown:
- It will not be possible to reach program officers or other personnel at funding agencies until the government reopens. If you anticipate a need to contact an agency official, now is the time to do so.
- AMS will continue to work with PIs on upcoming reports, requests for no-cost extensions or other matters; agency approvals may not be processed while agency personnel are furloughed. Please work with AMS if you have pending agency tasks that are necessary to ensure that work can continue.
- We will provide regularly updated government shutdown information on the KU Research website. Please consult this page for the latest information.
The KU research community has managed through previous government shutdowns, and we are well-prepared to handle most scenarios if Congress does not come to an agreement on appropriations or a continuing resolution today. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you minimize the impact of a government shutdown on your research program. You may contact Alicia Reed at amreed@ku.edu.
Respectfully,
Shelley Hooks
Vice Chancellor for Research
Government shutdown FAQs
A federal government shutdown — even a partial one — can have significant impacts on advanced research projects at U.S. research universities. Below are responses to frequently asked questions about the potential shutdown and how it might affect KU research.
General
A federal governmental shutdown is a partial closing of governmental offices and a reduction of services (non-essential discretionary functions) due to a lapse in funding appropriations from Congress. For the government to be fully funded, the president must sign congressionally passed budget legislation (12 appropriation bills). For federal fiscal year 2025, Congress has not passed any bills to fund the discretionary spending budget.
It is anticipated that no new grants or contracts will be awarded during a shutdown, nor will continuing obligations be processed.
At this time, we believe that all federal websites will remain open for proposal submission. Researchers likely can submit proposals, but proposals will not be reviewed until the government is operational again.
Routine administrative and support services provided by federal agencies to grant and contract recipients likely will not be available.
Agency-required reporting obligations will still be in effect. KU Research will still submit financial reports, and investigators will need to continue to submit programmatic progress reports. However, agency staff may not be available to review and approve these reports.
Proposals
If there is a government shutdown, it is anticipated that the federal application websites (Grants.gov, Research.Gov, NIH ASSIST, etc.) will continue accepting proposals. Due to staffing limitations and peer review panels not occurring during a shutdown, proposals would not be reviewed until the government is operational again.
Please contact Pre-Award Services at kucrpremgmt@lists.ku.edu or your designated research center’s proposal team as early as possible to start preparations for existing opportunities.
If agencies shift or delay deadlines, information will be provided on this site and sent to impacted investigators working with pre-award staff.
Awards
Federal agencies that are fully or partially shut down would most likely not be supporting internal reviews, peer reviews or award issuance. All award setup operations will continue in the KU Office of Research to process any agency-issued award actions. If you have questions about an expected award, please contact Alicia Reed at amreed@ku.edu.
If you have written notice from your program officer/director about an award but have not yet received the funding notice, please discuss requesting a provisional award with your department chair or center director. Provisional accounts will still be considered on a case-by-case basis but may be riskier since the duration of a potential shutdown and how agencies will fund preliminarily awarded projects is unknown at this time.
During a federal government shutdown, work supported by federal assistance agreements (grants and cooperative agreements) may continue, as these types of awards are funded on approved authorizations (existing agency funding). Work on federal contracts and subcontracts (federal flow through) may be halted via “stop work” orders, depending on the agency’s funding methodology and scope of work. Notices to impacted investigators and administrative units will be provided if work must stop.
Awarded projects with scopes of work requiring access to federal facilities, dependencies on federal personnel collaborations or federally sponsored data streams, and/or with restrictive terms and conditions that require administrative action to approve a drawdown of funds will most likely be impacted. If you believe limits on access to a federal resource will negatively impact your award progress, please alert Alicia Reed at amreed@ku.edu.
Federal agency staff likely will not be available to approve no-cost extension requests, grant transfers, rebudgeting approvals or other actions requiring agency approval. KU research operations will still process and file requests, as appropriate; but agency response/approval may not occur. Please contact your designated Award Management Services (AMS) staff member to request routine award management support. View AMS staff assignments.
It is anticipated that federal sites for reimbursement will remain available for fund draw down from federal sponsors, but contingency plans are in place in case the sites go down. KU Research holds approximately 60 days (about 2 months) of operating funds, so work can continue without agency reimbursement for a limited period. The Office of Research is taking steps to maximize federal reimbursement to offset impacts as much as possible.
Additionally, travel for anyone performing sponsored activity could be affected. In the most recent government shutdown, Federal Aviation staffing was not fully funded, creating issues with flights, which could create challenges for fieldwork and conference/collaboration activities.
If KU receives any communication from a sponsor agency, it will be shared with the investigator(s) and the award-owning (administrative) unit as soon as possible. If you receive a stop work order directly from a sponsor, please forward it to Alicia Reed at amreed@ku.edu.
In the case of a government shutdown, staff who are funded on federal contracts or subcontracts that are notified to stop work cannot continue to work on a “stopped” activity. Alternative funding sources should be identified, and alternative tasks associated with that funding assigned for the work stoppage period. Salary and fringe for the time covered by the stoppage cannot be paid on the sponsored project, meaning that no RFAs (retroactive funding adjustments) will be processed to move these alternatively funded staff back on to project funded after the shutdown has ended.
If alternative funding is not available, staff may need to be furloughed. KU Research is working with Human Resources to plan in case alternative funding cannot be identified for individuals directly impacted by a work stoppage. Details are still being finalized and will be provided directly to any individuals impacted.
Researchers should submit their technical reports as their award stipulates. KU will continue to submit financial reports and invoices accordingly. Agency operations to receive and process these submissions may be impacted. If agency guidance is received on reporting, this site will be updated and impacted investigators will be informed. If you receive direct communication from a program officer or agency, please forward this to Alicia Reed at amreed@ku.edu.
The Office of Budget & Management (OMB) requires each federal agency to provide a contingency plan that addresses staffing and how grants/contracts will be handled during a shutdown. KU Office of Research is monitoring these. You can access them on the White House's Agency Contingency Plans website.