Due to the government shutdown, UF has about two months until it must begin making tough choices about how to fund federally supported research.
UF Vice President for Research David Norton sent out a memo to faculty saying that grant and contract work authorized by federal sponsors should continue, but the university will take over funding the work for a period of at least two months.
For those working via federal grants, the university is equipped and prepared to continue funding its own research, said UF spokesman Steve Orlando.
Last year, the university received $640 million in research funding, more than half of which was from the federal government. Much of that money, along with money from previous years, is being spent now, said Joe Kays, director of research communications at UF.
“We have enough money in reserve to fund things moving forward for two months,” Kays said.
However, some new research proposals are being put on hold until the federal workers in charge of reviewing the proposals return to work, Kays said.
Most federal employees responsible for grant and contract administration will not be working because of the shutdown. Thus, application systems like http://www.grants.gov will only accept and store applications, according to the memo. Using the money from recently granted awards is being considered with caution.
“We’re trying not to spend money that has not been allocated yet,” Kays said.
Another potential impact of the shutdown is to slow the process of sending clinical trial proposals for consideration by the institutional review board, Kays said.
“From basic science to very applied science, everyone is being affected,” Kays said.
There is an extra inconvenience for workers employed at closed federal buildings. Such is the case for Christopher McCarty, associate professor in anthropology at UF and a program officer with the National Science Foundation.
“Because the NSF is shut down, I could go to D.C., but I would have nowhere to go,” McCarty said.
The average student shouldn’t see too much of an effect of the shutdown on his or her research because of the plans in place to keep the university moving forward, Orlando said.
“We’re hopeful that things will get worked out in Washington so that we can get back to the business of pursuing science,” Kays said.
A version of this story ran on page 5 on 10/14/2013 under the headline "UF to use reserves to continue research"
