Dear colleagues,

As you may know from the news, we could be facing a federal government shutdown on Oct. 1. Congress has until midnight on Sept. 30 to agree to a continuing resolution that would extend government funding until Nov. 21. You may recall we were in a similar situation last March at which time Congress agreed to a continuing resolution, which got us to this point.

Campus leadership, the Office of Research Services (ORS), and the Office of Grants and Contracts (OGC) are closely monitoring changes and emerging impacts surrounding federally sponsored projects. A federal government shutdown communications team monitors the possibility of a shutdown and stands ready to deploy a communication plan as needed.

Given the fluid and unpredictable state of the federal government at this time, we are preparing for a wide range of possible impacts. Effects could expand beyond previous shutdown experiences, including the possibility that the government may not reimburse some costs incurred during the shutdown. While we don’t know if a shutdown will occur at the end of this month, or the length of a shutdown should one occur, we are making preparations.

What principal investigators (PIs) can do:

For federally funded projects, directly funded by a federal agency or through a subaward to CU Denver, we recommend PIs take the following actions as soon as possible:

• No-Cost Extensions (NCE): No-cost extensions (NCEs) that are anticipated within 30 days after Oct. 1 should be submitted promptly. NCE guidance is available on the OGC website. Work with your college/school research administrator to contact the OGC Team through their Post Award email box to help answer questions. Please note that during a shutdown, federal agencies are not able to process NCEs or any other contract modifications.
• Pre-Approvals: Pre-approvals for key personnel changes, sponsor re-budgeting, equipment purchases, and international travel should be submitted through your college/school research administrator to the OGC Team Post Award email box.
• Incremental Funding: PIs should reach out to their sponsor’s technical contact to request incremental funding on projects for which the incremental funding date is approaching.
• Plans for Federal Partners on Awards: For awards that include federal partners on the project, PIs should promptly make plans with the federal partner in case they cannot work on the project during the shutdown period.
• Federal Sponsored Project Billing: In prior years, federal draw systems have remained open. If this continues to be the case this year, OGC will draw and bill via all federal systems that remain open. However, we may experience delays for payments if those invoices require federal employee approval. Should federal systems prevent us from inputting invoices, OGC will submit catch-up invoices once they reopen. For federal flow-through projects, OGC will maintain your regular invoicing schedule to those sponsors.

Additionally, in order to mitigate the risk a shutdown could bring, we may consider implementing the following:

• All non-personnel items, such as travel and equipment/supplies purchases which are charged to federally sponsored grants, would be suspended.
• Any hiring of new or additional personnel, which are charged to federally sponsored grants, would be suspended.

Should a shutdown occur, we will communicate clearly about these and other mitigation measures.

Additional communication and information will be provided to campus and posted to the CU Denver Federal Transition Updates for Researchers webpage as we learn more about the federal government budget.

Please know that CU Denver, in addition to the CU system and our university peers across the country, are working tirelessly to facilitate your success and minimize disruptions to our work and community. Thank you for your continuing commitment to our mission and one another during these challenging times.

Best regards,

Karen Marrongelle, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Phillip De Leon, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research