Preparing for a potential government shutdown

From: Shelley Hooks, Vice Chancellor for Research
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2025, 11:50 a.m.
To: KU Lawrence/Edwards faculty & academic staff; research administration staff

Dear Colleagues,

The Office of Research is monitoring closely the FY25 budget process occurring in Washington, D.C. The current continuing resolution expires on March 14, and a new fiscal year budget or continuing resolution will need to be in place March 15 to avoid a federal government shutdown.

We are working closely with KU’s federal liaison and experts from multiple national organizations to understand possible outcomes and impacts. Combined with reductions in the federal workforce and recent executive orders that direct agencies to scrutinize grants and contracts, a potential government shutdown adds another layer of uncertainty.

What you can do now to prepare for a possible shutdown:

  1. Assess current sponsored award status in conjunction with your Award Management Services support staff.  Determine whether a no-cost extension, carryforward, rebudget, or other agency approval action will be necessary in the next 60 days. Now is the time to initiate these proactive actions, since a shutdown could further impact availability of  program officers or other agency personnel until the government reopens. Please work with AMS if you have pending agency tasks that are necessary to ensure work can continue during a shutdown.  
     
  2. Continue work on existing awards, in alignment with any agency communications related to executive orders. Office of Research will continue to draw funds to reimburse expenditures, as long as disbursements are available from the federal government.  
     
  3. Continue to submit proposals for available opportunities and ensure proposal materials are provided by 5 p.m. the day before the submission deadline. Although we know review is currently disrupted, we encourage you to continue planning and preparing for future funding to ensure continuity of your work. Pre-Award staff are monitoring changes to opportunities, and though we do not anticipate disruption of submission portals, early submission allows mitigation of any issues that may arise. 
     
  4. Continue to monitor the Government Shutdown Informationwebpage for the latest updates and guidance.

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. 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