This morning’s shutdown of the U.S. federal government has caused federal agencies, including those responsible for research funding, to suspend most of their activities. During the period of the shutdown, federally funded investigators may continue to carry out their projects, but support services and payments from the agencies will likely remain suspended pending a resumption of government functions.

Click “Continue reading” for a summary of statements from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health regarding the status of activities during the shutdown.

National Science Foundation

• Investigators may continue to perform their projects, but no payments will be made during the shutdown and no funds can be obligated for amounts exceeding available awards.
• No new funding opportunities will be posted and no new grants, contracts or continuing grant increments (CGIs) will be awarded.
• FastLane will be unavailable; while Grants.gov may be operational, the NSF will not be processing proposals or checking for compliance with proposal requirements.
• No-cost extensions cannot be processed, so investigators are cautioned not to expend funds past the expiration of their grant period.
• No reports may be submitted through Research.gov.

National Institutes of Health

• Investigators may continue to perform their projects, but no payments will be made until after resumption of activity.
• Applicants are encouraged not to submit grant applications for the duration of the government shutdown.
• Application due dates that fall during the funding lapse will be adjusted following resumption of operations.
• NIH staff will not have access to email, voice mail, fax or postal mail, and eRA Commons will be unavailable during the shutdown.