Congress continues to be in a stalemate over the scope of a continuing resolution to maintain government operations, and with the federal government’s funding set to expire on Tuesday (Sept. 30), the prospects of a government shutdown are increasingly possible.
Research impact
We expect little to no immediate impact on research funding. Funds that are already awarded would likely not be affected. However, during a shutdown, agencies not currently funded will most likely not be able to issue new contracts or grants or renew existing projects.
General expectations
Generally speaking, a government shutdown will have little to no immediate impact on the ability of in-place federally funded research to continue, though the University will not be able to receive reimbursement. Absent notification to the contrary, researchers may presume they can proceed as normal. However, it may be prudent to reduce expenses to the extent practical without significantly impacting the research.
Agencies will be prohibited from issuing new grants/contracts or amendments, including those for continued funding increments, supplements, or no cost time extensions requiring explicit prior Federal awarding agency approval.
Most agencies’ staff will not be working. Inquiries about upcoming deadlines, proposal preparation and applications, or actions requiring prior approval will likely go unanswered until the shutdown is resolved.
The proposal review process will be delayed.
Grant payments will be stalled.
Principal Investigators (PIs) should continue to meet all deadlines set forth in their awards and should be able to submit annual and final project reports and Project Outcomes Reports via Research.gov.
Once the shutdown is lifted, there will still be delays as the federal government resumes its operations. Do not expect grants and contracts to be issued immediately after the shutdown ends.
Research projects that will be most directly impacted are those with the closest ties to a federal agency or federal employees. As examples, those include: cooperative agreements with a federal research partner; students receiving direct stipends from the federal government under training grants; and employees who are working on-site at a federal facility.
Contingency planning should take into account what resources are available to projects requiring access to Federal Facilities/Staff: For cooperative agreements, the PI should perform this analysis prior to the shutdown in consultation with the federal program manager and departmental leadership. If the work cannot continue without access to federal facilities/staff, the department should determine if persons working under the agreement can be redirected to other work and/or fund sources.
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Stop Work Orders
Some federal contracts contain a clause that gives the federal agency sponsor the right to order WVU to stop performing work.
If an agency exercises this right under a specified contract, WVU would not be reimbursed for expenses incurred between the effective date of the Stop Work Order and when the order is rescinded. Researchers should promptly forward any Stop Work Orders or other correspondence related to a shutdown to OSP.
As opposed to the scenarios above, expenses incurred during a Stop Work period are generally not reimbursable, even when the government resumes normal operations. Thus, if a campus receives a SWO from a federal agency, they must immediately implement a series of steps to stop work on the project.
For questions, contact OSP_help@mail.wvu.edu.