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Federal Shutdown Guidance

A federal government shutdown began on October 1, 2025, due to a lapse in funding.

Each federal agency is handling the shutdown differently. The points below summarize guidance from each agency’s published contingency plan and are provided for reference only. If you have questions about your federally funded grant, contact Alex Hartvigsen, Director of Post-Award Services.

In general, projects should continue unless you receive specific instructions from your federal or pass-through sponsor.

If you are a principal investigator (PI) and receive direct communication from a federal funder, contact the Office of Sponsored Programs at [email protected]. 

General Guidance

  • Keep your project up and running unless notified otherwise.
  • Follow all posted deadlines and requirements for new or renewal proposals to the best of your ability. Deadlines may be revised by federal agencies once the shutdown ends.
  • New and continuing awards will be delayed, which may affect employment start dates tied to these awards. Use caution when making employment commitments.
  • Federal review of regulatory submissions, such as Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approvals, could delay project initiation.
  • Grants.gov will remain operational; however, there may be limited staff to help depending on the agency.
  • Federal employees will not be traveling to reviews or conferences and meetings or other events scheduled with federal agency employees are likely to be interrupted.

Agency-Specific Guidance

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

USDA Shutdown Contingency Plan

  • Operations at USDA Research, Education, and Economics units (including ARS, ERS, and NIFA) will be reduced except for the preservation of human and animal life and limited other exceptions.
    • NIFA will cease all program activity and will operate with very reduced staff.
  • USDA will cease operations related to (among other functions) payment processing and contracts and agreements not related to exempted programs.
  • The Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP) has determined that all personnel whose access approval expires during the shutdown will remain approved. After the resolution of the shutdown, FSAP will notify entities of the revised access approval expiration date through eFSAP.

Department of Commerce (DOC)

DOC Shutdown Contingency Plan

  • The Department of Commerce will cease operations related to most research activities at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
  • During a lapse, the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America (CHIPS) Program Office (CPO) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) employees in other operating units who are required to support CPO will continue normal operations utilizing funding provided for by the CHIPS Act of 2022. 

Department of Defense (DoD)

DoD Shutdown Contingency Plan

  • Work may continue under existing contracts and payments for contracts under prior year funds will continue.
    • Conditions: no access to government facilities, no active administration by government personnel, no use of government resources in manner that would cause new obligations on government
  • New contracts may not be executed nor may increments of funding be placed on incrementally funded contracts.

Department of Education (ED)

ED Shutdown Contingency Plan

  • Grantees will continue to be able to draw funds on existing awards, for at least the first week of a shutdown.
  • No new grantmaking (except for programs with mandatory or advance funds)

Department of Energy (DOE)

DOE Shutdown Contingency Plan

  • DOE components will continue to operate until prior year balances are exhausted. Certain activities will be limited.
  • Performance under existing contracts and other funding instruments (including grants) will continue.
  • The Bonneville Power Administration is self-funding and will continue normal operations.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

HHS Shutdown Contingency Plan

  • HHS payment systems will remain operational for grant payments for excepted programs.
  • HHS will provide further guidance to grant community in case of shutdown.
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)
    • No grant reviews etc., no new awards, no program management activities
  • The Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP) has determined that all personnel whose access approval expires during the shutdown will remain approved. After the resolution of the shutdown, FSAP will notify entities of the revised access approval expiration date through eFSAP.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

DHS Shutdown Contingency Plan

  • Payments may continue for awards under prior funding.
  • No new grants will be made except for certain excepted functions (e.g., life and property).

Department of Justice (DOJ)

DOJ Shutdown Contingency Plan

  • Grant administration activities will continue with reduced staffing levels as long as sufficient carryover funds remain.

Department of Transportation (DOT)

DOT has not yet made a September 2025 shutdown contingency plan publicly available.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

EPA Shutdown Contingency Plan

  • No new obligations for grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts.
  • Work under grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts can continue.
  • Current grantees can make drawdowns using the Automated Standard Application Payment (ASAP) system but drawdowns requiring EPA staff interaction may be limited.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA Shutdown Contingency Plan

  • Work under contracts, grants, etc. for which funds were obligate prior to the lapse in appropriations can continue, provided such work does not require NASA facilities, oversight, or other input from NASA staff.
  • New contracts, grants, etc. will not be made except in limited circumstances.

National Science Foundation (NSF)

NSF Shutdown Contingency Plan

  • Work under existing grants may continue during their current performance periods.
  • Award Cash Management Service (ACM$) will be available to process valid payments from prior obligations.
  • No new grants, continuing grant increments, cooperative agreements, or contracts will be awarded.
  • No new funding opportunities will be issued.
  • Proposal preparations and submission systems will remain available for use, but proposals will not be processed until normal operations resume.

 

CITI Training for NSF, NIH, and USDA NIFA Programs

All faculty, staff, undergraduates, graduates, and post-doctoral fellows who conduct sponsored program activities and research must complete both of the following CITI online trainings:

1.) Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

2.) Conflict of Interest (COI).

Both courses will require an online refresher course to be completed every 4 years.  

For all existing awards, all individuals who are currently working the research team must complete this training program prior to July 31, 2023. All project team members who begin working on these existing projects after July 30,2023, must complete this training prior to beginning work on the project.

For all programs that begin on or after July 31, 2023, all individuals on the research team (faculty, staff, and students) must complete a training certification program prior to beginning work on the award.

Please note: PIs are responsible to ensure that all faculty, senior personnel, staff, undergraduates, and post-doctoral fellows who are working on their project complete the training modules. PIs will use the attached CITI Tracking Template to record the training completion status of everyone who is working on their project.

To Register for CITI Training at UVU

Go to https://www.citiprogram.org/portal?site=855

  1. Scroll to the bottom of the page. Click the Add a Course  option in the bottom center box in the Learner Tools for Utah Valley University section.
  2. Select Curriculum: Select the Responsible Conduct of Research and Conflicts of Interest sections. Choose "Next" after marking the appropriate curriculum choices.  If you have any questions about whether a course is required for you, please contact OSP for assistance.
  3. Conflicts of Interest: a) Select Basic (Initial) Course if completing this course for the first time. b) Select the Refresher (renewal course) if taking this course again. Select "Next".
  4. Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) - Select the course that best aligns with the research type you are working with. Select "Next".
  5. Complete Courses.
  6. Your CITI training course will now be available for you to begin. The course saves progress throughout, so all modules do not need to be completed at one time.
  7. Submit Completion Certificate.
  8. Once you complete the training modules, PIs will use the attached CITI Tracking Template to record the training completion status of everyone who is working on their project.

Additional CITI training is available for UVU employees. Use these instructions to access CITI's training modules on IRB, Export Controls, and Laboratory Animal Research.

 

Please reach out to Alex Hartvigsen at [email protected] with any questions.