The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has today issued a notice to the extramural grantee community regarding the lapse of federal government funding.

Depending on the length of the funding lapse, once NIH non-excepted staff are authorized to resume operations, it will take time for full operations to be resumed. In other words: prepare to wait.

Depending on the length of the funding lapse, the Electronic Research Administration (eRA) system may require at least one business day after operations resume. The NIH has requested patience when trying to contact its staff once operations resume, as there will be a backlog of information to process.

For the duration of the funding lapse, there will be no access to voicemail, e-mail, fax or postal mail, as NIH extramural employees will be prohibited from working (remotely or in the office). Any communications or correspondence will not be acted upon until operations resume.

In the event of an emergency involving human safety, please contact Dr. Sally Rockey at rockeysa@od.nih.gov.

In addition, the NIH strongly encourages applicants not to submit paper or electronic grant applications during the period of the funding lapse. Adjustments to application submission dates that occur during the funding lapse will be announced once operations resume.

For more information on grant applications, peer review and council meetings, awarded grants, and animal welfare, please read the full NIH notice.