We are sharing an update and relevant guidance regarding the current partial federal government shutdown and its potential effects on federally funded grants and contracts.

General Information and Resources:

While many federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of Education and Department of Energy, are not affected by the partial shutdown, some agencies, including National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Transportation (DoT), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), are being affected.

Please refer to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) webpage for various agency-specific contingency plans, as well as  agency-specific websites for updates regarding grants and initiatives. Some of the most relevant agency specific links for WPI researchers are below:

• NSF (for grantees): https://www.nsf.gov/shutdown/grantees.jsp

• NSF (for panelists): https://www.nsf.gov/shutdown/panelists.jsp

• NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/181218_revised_shutdown_plan.pdf
  

Guidance on Current Grants and Contracts:

In most cases, spending on current grants and contracts from an affected agency can continue, as planned, throughout their award period and budget cycle. Current grant holders should comply with any specific additional expenditure guidance they may receive from their funding agency. We also request that should you receive stop work notices from your sponsors, to please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) immediately.

However, during this shutdown period, no new funding opportunities will be announced and no new grants will be awarded by affected agencies. Unless an agency advises otherwise, recipients will be able to continue using funds already awarded, as long as activities are under the already agreed-to award budget and period, as no extensions or supplements would be processed.

Guidance on Submission of New Proposals During the Shutdown Period:

Some agencies, in particular the NSF, are still accepting proposals through online submission portals such as Fastlane and grants.gov.  Unless an agency has issued a specific proposal deadline extension to accommodate the shutdown, we are advising all WPI faculty and staff to assume that proposal due dates remained unchanged.

Note that personnel at federal agencies may not be available to answer questions during the federal shutdown due to staff furloughs.

Access to Federally Run Facilities:

If your work necessitates usage of a facility that is managed by an impacted agency, you may not able to access this facility during the shutdown period.

Further Information

Should you have any additional questions about how the shutdown may impact your research, please do not hesitate to contact OSP.  We will keep you posted as we learn more.