UB expects minimal short-term impacts to current research projects and no interruption in the disbursement of student financial aid should the federal government shut down on Oct. 1.

UB research projects that have already received federal grant funding should not be immediately affected by a shutdown. However, with agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation likely to furlough workers during a shutdown, UB researchers would be unable to receive new federal grant funding or technical assistance from federal agencies on new or recently submitted grant applications.

Venu Govindaraju, vice president for research and economic development, shared a memo from the SUNY Research Foundation (RF) with principal investigators and associate deans for research on Sept. 21, outlining possible longer-term impacts on research activities and steps the RF is taking to minimize impact on current projects should the federal government experience an extended shutdown.

“The disruptions or delays from a federal agency as it relates to SUNY research activities will vary as each agency adopts specific protocols and procedures under their approved contingency plans, so all Principal Investigators and research administration need to stay current on the latest communication from sponsoring agencies,” noted the RF memo.

Campus PIs are encouraged to contact the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development at vpr@research.buffalo.edu with any questions or concerns.

For students, federally funded financial aid such as Pell Grants are considered mandatory spending and should not be impacted if a potential shutdown is short-lived in nature. In addition, most federal financial aid funds have been drawn down and disbursed for the fall semester, mitigating any direct student impact.