Dear colleagues,
I’m writing to address the government shutdown, effective October 1st – as well as its likely effect on research.
With a shutdown, we expect all federal agencies to be impacted – and that they will no longer be able to:
- engage in new rulemaking;
- post new notices of funding opportunities;
- look at proposals, although electronic submissions systems have remained active to receive submissions in the past;
- send proposals out for peer review;
- convene review panels or advisory committees;
- make new awards or contracts;
- or make manual payments to existing awards (letter of credit draws will likely still be available).
Most agency staff will be furloughed and will not be allowed to access their government email, meaning they will be unable to communicate about grant programs, active awards, or potential proposals. This will create a backlog, so further delays on announcements of awards or new grant programs is likely.
The FDA has, during past shutdowns, continued to process some types of submissions (IND, NDA, Expanded Access), but we do not know what will happen this time. Please contact the Office of Regulatory Support for help if you have concerns about your FDA related applications.
If you are waiting on award announcements for solicitations that closed earlier this year, please be aware that a government shutdown may also lead to delays in award announcements.
ORPA has prepared more detailed guidance on what to expect. Additionally, links to the contingency plans published by funding agencies will be shared by ORPA.
Regards,
Steve Dewhurst, PhD
Vice President for Research