Federal Agencies Reopen with Uncertainty

The 44-day government shutdown created chaos and uncertainty across federal agencies. Now that the government has reopened, federal employees are back to work but face new uncertainties about the future.

Acting Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Brian Stone circulated a memo to staff outlining the agency’s plans for resuming its activities. According to the memo, priority will be placed on processing backpay for employees and restoring NSF’s capacity to make awards. However, the memo explains that as a result of the lapse in funding, the agency will not be able to administer all of its programs as planned. The memo states, “We cannot recover the time missed during the lapse, which means we cannot conduct all the programs and activities that we had originally planned for FY 2026. The agency will prioritize funding actions, in alignment with Administration and other priorities, in order to achieve the mission within the time remaining in FY 2026.” This leaves many wondering how exactly NSF will handle its backlog of research proposals.

NSF has posted information on “Resumption of Operations at NSF” on its website aimed at the external research community. With respect to how the shutdown may have impacted funding decisions it states, “Some delays are expected in processing new awards and funding actions. Priority is being given to awards supporting time-sensitive research, student or trainee funding, and projects with critical field of seasonal components.”