Congress must pass a budget before October 1, 2025, to avoid a federal government shutdown. Without the passage of any budget or continuing resolution (CR), many government services will be disrupted and only federal workers classified as “essential” will report to work so we may not be able to reach federal sponsors for programmatic questions.
While we may not be able to draw down grant funding during a federal government shutdown, we do not anticipate an immediate impact to UC ANR in the short-term. However, if the duration of the shutdown lasts for an extended period of time, we will start experiencing impacts. For that reason, we are providing the following guidance to Principal Investigators of federal grants.
Specific Guidance to Principal Investigators from the Office of Contracts and Grants:
Due to the uncertainty surrounding the current federal budget situation, we wanted to provide the following guidance in the Contracts & Grants area to help principal investigators plan for a possible Federal Government shutdown on October 1, 2025. A link from the Research Policy, Analysis and Coordination Office at UCOP includes additional details as well as talking points from UCOP: Federal Government Shutdowns.
During a Shutdown:
Affected federal agency operations cease during a shutdown unless the function is considered an excepted activity. The federal agencies may temporarily cease communicating information on proposals and awards and may also stop making payments to ANR.
Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) will continue with business as usual within any constraints created by unavailable sponsor systems and staff. OCG’s goal is to process items received to the extent possible.
New Awards:
Federal agencies will likely not issue new notices, awards or other actions during the shutdown.
Award Impacts: Can I continue to work on the project?
At this time, ANR projects funded by affected agencies, should a shutdown occur, can continue work unless:
- A notice from the agency or sponsor was received to stop the work (Stop Work Order).
- OCG will notify the PI, County/REC/Statewide Program Director, Office Manager, Contracts & Grants Accounting, and subawardees on the project if a Stop Work Order is received.
- If the PI or County/REC/Statewide Program Director receives a Stop Work Order, send to OCG@ucanr.edu (please put “Shutdown Stop Work Notice” in the subject line).
Amendments to Current Awards for Additional Funds:
Current award amendments, if a shutdown occurs, will not be issued by the affected agencies until they can resume work and get up to speed on their backlog. If your project is expecting additional funds from an affected agency during the shutdown, please contact OCG@ucanr.edu and let us know (please put “Shutdown” in the subject line).
No-Cost Extension Requests to Affected Agencies:
No-cost extensions to affected agencies requiring agency approval are on hold awaiting agency review should a shutdown occur. These will be delayed until affected agencies can resume their work and get up to speed on their backlog. If a shutdown should occur and your project end date is coming up and you need agency approval to continue (or you are not sure), please contact OCG at OCG@ucanr.edu and let us know (please put “Shutdown” in the subject line).
Thank you,
Kimberly Lamar, interim director of Contracts and Grants
Anne Megaro, director of Government and Community Relations