Government Shutdown Guidance for Sponsored Activity

What is a full or partial federal shutdown?

Congress must pass 12 appropriation bills that make up the discretionary spending budget and set funding levels for federal agencies by October 1 each year. When this does not happen, the federal government shuts down – meaning governmental operations slow or stop until Congress acts to pass appropriations bills. Essential governmental functions will continue during a federal government shutdown.

Congress can decide to pass none, some, or all of the 12 appropriation bills. If some of the bills pass, only federal agencies without a budget appropriation will be shut down.

What is the impact on federally funded projects?

A short-term federal government shutdown will have limited immediate impact on current federally funded projects. Principle investigators should not proceed with large expenditures (for example, equipment purchases) during the government shutdown period. Otherwise, Principal Investigators (PIs) may proceed as normal unless notified otherwise by the ECU Office of Research Administration or their federal sponsor.

Will my ongoing project be affected?

Principal Investigators should continue to work on their grants and contracts unless otherwise instructed by their agency, program officer, or the Office of Research Administration. PIs should communicate regularly with their post-award administrator and check the REDE webpage for updates.

Any “stop work” orders received on federal grants and contracts should be forwarded to your sponsored projects officer immediately for guidance prior to responding: rede.ecu.edu/ora/liaisons

Can I submit reports during the shutdown?

Principal Investigators should continue to meet all deadlines set forth in their awards and should be able to submit all financial and technical reports. However, the availability of submission systems and access to program officers and support staff may be limited, which could result in delays in reporting deadlines. Stay informed about updates from the funding agency regarding any changes to reporting requirements and deadlines.

What happens to funding increments or administrative actions on existing awards?

During a shutdown, federal agencies will be prohibited from issuing new grants, contracts, amendments, continued funding increments, supplements or no-cost time extensions requiring explicit prior federal awarding agency approval.

Most federal agency staff will not be working. Inquiries about upcoming deadlines, applications or actions requiring prior approval will likely go unanswered until the shutdown is resolved.

How will proposal submissions be affected?

Principal investigators should proceed as if there will be no change in submission deadlines and submit proposals in eTRACS according to the 10/5/2 policy by the deadline set by the federal awarding agency unless notified otherwise. It is possible that some government systems may not be working during the shutdown. If this occurs, Pre-Award will process them according to the current agency guidelines once the shutdown is over.

For those submissions that can be submitted during the shutdown, the federal agency peer review process will likely be delayed.

What happens to funding disbursements and existing awards?

Disbursement of funds will be suspended for any agency affected by the federal government shutdown. However, this will not impact your ability to continue to work on your research up to the authorized amount (excluding equipment purchases over $5,000) unless there is a specific stop work order issued for your project. Federal agencies responsible for fund distributions may not be able to process payments until the shutdown is over.