September 29, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

Despite the ongoing discussions in Congress regarding funding for Federal Fiscal Year 2024 (FFY24), it seems likely that there will be a federal government shutdown on October 1, 2023.

Although no official federal guidance has been given in regard to procedures during a shutdown, it is expected that each federal agency will post their operational contingency plans and disseminate specific guidelines. In preparing for such an event, this guidance provides measures to prepare for the potential shutdown.

During a government shutdown, the following activities can be affected:

• Limited Contact with Federal Employees: Due to furloughs, federal employees will generally be unavailable for inquiries and support.
• Proposal Submission: Proposal submission systems should remain online; however, each federal agency will provide guidance on the status of the proposal submissions and possible submission deadline extensions. Proposal submissions will not be processed until a shutdown ends. 
• Limited Support for Proposal Submissions: Some Help Desks for system submissions, including Grants.gov, may become unavailable.
• Peer Reviews and Council Meetings: No peer reviews or council meetings will take place, which may have an impact on the evaluation and approval process of proposed projects.
• Awarded Grants and Cooperative Agreements: Generally, awarded grants and cooperative agreements will continue with minimal disruptions.
• Federal Contracts: Some contracts may be subject to stop-work orders. Determinations will be made by each agency on a contract-by-contract basis.
• RPPRs and Technical Reports: Unless the federal agency provides additional guidance, RPPRs and technical reports will still be due on current due dates but will not be processed or reviewed during the shutdown.
• No  Cost Extensions: NCEs requiring agency approval may not be processed during a shutdown. Process any NCE requests by September 30th.
  
• New Awards and Contracts: New awards will not be issued, and contracts will not be executed.

Prior to September 30th, in anticipation of a government shutdown, we recommend contacting the program staff with any issues regarding upcoming funding opportunities and other programmatic matters.

The Office of Research & Innovation will continue to closely monitor the situation and keep you apprised of agency-specific guidance as it becomes available.

Resources for Government Contingency Plans can be found here:

• Complete List of Agency Contingency Plans
• DHHS
  
  • NIH
  • SAMHSA
  • CDC
  • HRSA
• NSF
• DoD
• DoJ
• DoE
• NASA
• NEH
• NEA

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Sarah Saxton, Executive Director, Sponsored Programs at sms559@drexel.edu.

Sincerely,

Aleister Saunders
Executive Vice Provost for Research & Innovation

Sarah Saxton
Executive Director, Sponsored Programs