The UO office for Research, Innovation and Graduate Education issued a message directed to the research community on Tuesday, following the announcement of the U.S. government shutdown.

The statement includes information about how the shutdown may affect UO researchers, such as the fact that payment processing will not occur and agency personnel may not be available for approvals, supervisory support and other administrative functions during a shutdown.

“A short‐term shutdown may impact only a relatively small number of our sponsored activities,” the statement says. “A longer closure could put significant pressure on campus financial and personnel administration supported by federal awards.”

The statement directs faculty to a UO Government Shutdown website where new information and announcements are being posted. The site includes updates from federal agencies and organizations such as the National Institutes of Health and useful information such as the operational status of the Grants.gov system. Researchers can also be alerted to new shutdown- and sequestration-related announcements and other breaking news items by following UO Research on Twitter.

“We will need to continually adapt our approach and monitor our financial positions more closely than ever before,” the UO Research message concludes. “The office for Research, Innovation and Graduate Education will continue to monitor the federal situation with our colleagues in government affairs and at our Association of American Universities (AAU) and Association of Public Land Grant Universities (APLU) sister institutions”

Researchers with concerns about their awards are encouraged to contact their Sponsored Project Services administrator by calling 541-346-5131, or sending an email to: orsa@uoregon.edu.

- from the UO Office of Research, Innovation and Graduate Education