Feb 2026 Partial Federal Government Shutdown

During a lapse in federal funding, federal agencies will not issue new awards, extensions or renewals.

Actions under negotiation at the time of the shutdown, as well as multi-year contracts extending beyond the current fiscal year, may be paused at the discretion of the sponosoring agency.

Additionally, federal staff will be unavailable to conduct routine business during the shutdown period.

No. Peer review meetings and panel evaluations are typically cancelled or postponed, which may delay proposal decisions.

Yes, continue proposal preparation and internal submission processes. Submit on time unless explicitly instructed otherwise. 

The OSP will continue to review, approve and submit proposals to federal sponsors to the greatest extent possible. However, some agencies may temporarily suspend acceptance of new applications depending on their internal contingency plans.

During a shutdown, federal electronic systems may remain operational but with limited or no technical support. For example: 

• NSF: According to it's contingency plan, Research.gov will remain accessible for proposal submission, but responses and processing will be deferred until normal operations resume. 
• HHS/NIH: Grants.gov will remain operational with reduced staff. In previous shutdowns, NIH accepted submissions via Cayuse to Grants.gov, but they were held and not processed by eRA Commons until after the shutdown. The eRA Commons Help Desk was also unavailable.The Department of Health and Human Services contingency plan

Federal agencies are required to maintain contingency plans and implement them during a lapse in appropriations. OSP will continue to monitor agency operations and post updates as they become available. For more information, see the list of Agency Contingency Plans

Review panels, peer reviews/study sections, etc. are expected not to occur. Please anticipate delays in start dates if awaiting review. If you are a reviewer, it is likely that reviews scheduled during the shutdown will be cancelled and rescheduled to a later date.

Decisions regarding spending on awards or award modifications not yet received rest with the unit responsible for administering the award. The OSP will continue to process all approved requests for pre-award spending, preliminary projects, and preliminary extensions.

eAward approvers should carefully assess the additional risks posed by the shutdown. If needed, they are encouraged to consult with OSP before endorsing such requests.

The University's ability to support federally funded projects during a shutdown depends on the financial resources available at each campus and any alternative funding sources. The longer the shutdown persists, the greater the potential impact on affected projects and personnel. 

Very unlikely. Routine operational and administrative activities relating to the management of grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts will be temporarily suspended during a lapse in federal funding. This includes processing requests for no-cost extensions, transfers, and other approvals.

Federal agency personnel are unlikely to be available to provide oversight, approvals, or administrative support during the shutdown.

Payment processing during a shutdown varies by agency and the systems they use.

Systems like PMS and ASAP will remain operational, allowing drawdowns of perviously obligated funds.

Please note, recipients of grant awards with restrictive terms and conditions, or requests that trigger one of the PMS edit checks and/or the drawdown limit controls, may not be able to drawdown funds. Recipients can continue to complete and submit their Federal Financial Reports (FFR) in PMS. However, some agency staff (including NIH) will not be available to review and process FFRs until operations resume. 

In some cases, other payment operations may be suspended until funding is restored. Continue submitting invoices as usual, if possible.

Work on currently funded federal awards may continue as long as sufficient funding is available and no federal staff involvement is required, unless the sponsoring agency issues a stop-work order.  

If a stop-work order is issued, OSP will be notified by the federal sponsor and will follow the established Stop Work Order Procedure. Projects funded through contracts or cooperative agreements are generally more susceptible to stop-work orders or suspension notices than those funded by grants.

Please note: The shutdown does not waive or alter the University's responsibility to comply with the terms and conditions of active awards, as well as all applicable federal regulations, policies, and guidelines.

No. Projects conducted within federal facilities may be disrupted due to closures or limited access.

Likely not. Most federal employees will be furloughed and unavailable for communication. Expect delays in responses to inquiries or requests for prior approvals.

PIs should continue to meet all reporting deadlines.

However, if federal systems are inaccessible, document your attempt (e.g., submit a help ticket) and submit once systems are restored. 

Keeping records of any disruptions, delays, or changes to project activities due to the shutdown may be useful in future reporting or justifications.

Immediately notify your Sponsored Projects Officer and provide a copy of the communication. Follow the Stop Work Order Procedure