Dear Campus Community,
As you probably are aware, Congress is currently negotiating a deal to avoid a federal government shutdown. If an agreement is not reached, certain portions of the government will temporarily go unfunded when legislation expires to appropriated funding for the prior fiscal year.
UNCG has been carefully planning for a shutdown scenario, and our campus is well prepared. The Office of Sponsored Programs and the Contract and Grant Accounting Office are coordinating closely with the appropriate agencies of the federal and state governments as we determine the possible impact on the University.
At this point, every indication is that a short-term shutdown would have a minimal impact on the U.S. higher education community. Currently, the University is operating on a normal basis. We will continue to use available funds to support work related to research contracts and grants. Students receiving federal financial aid will not experience any changes to their awards.
No one can predict how long a shutdown might last. A longer-term scenario could present challenges for some areas of University operations, and we will continue our analysis to determine what steps the campus may potentially need to take moving forward.
We are committed to keeping you informed about how the federal government shutdown affects you, your externally funded scholarship and research, and our campus. The University’s Office of Research and Engagement has created this website to help the campus community access information about the current federal budget issues related to the shutdown.
Please visit this page regularly to find relevant information, including specific federal agency communications and links to individual agency shutdown plans.
In addition, senior administrators in related areas other than research and engagement (e.g., Human Resources) will communicate directly with you if needed about the impact of the federal shutdown and operations in these areas.
Sincerely,
Terri L. Shelton
Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement
Please be aware that a government shutdown may have some impact to federally funded projects, although in most cases, spending on existing awards may proceed as usual and proposals may still be accepted. Work on federally funded projects can continue as usual, unless sponsoring agencies communicate otherwise or they issue a stop-work order.
Stop-work orders are more common for contracts than grants and are typically issued for individual projects. Stop-work orders advise that all work needs to stop immediately, and no expenses can be incurred on the project until further notice. In some cases, however, more specific restrictions are added to the award terms, for example, restrictions on travel.
Please direct all agency correspondence to [email protected] immediately upon receipt of a stop-work order and coordinate with OSP in all stop-work situations. OSP will review the stop-work order and provide guidance to help come to a common understanding on what transactions are allowable and what transactions cannot be charged during the stop-work period.
It is important that correspondence and documentation regarding a stop-work order be sent to OSP immediately to allow for timely review and action.
Some agencies will continue to accept automated proposals during the shutdown, but others will not. Please check the sponsor’s web site to be sure. A link to specific agency contingency plans can be found here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/agency-contingency-plans/.
If you have specific questions about your proposal submission, please contact your Grants Specialist in the Office of Sponsored Programs. These individuals will be identified and assigned to your Funding Proposal in Cayuse.