Announcement from NSF concerning government shutdown
psmagorinsky who-is-at uoknor.edu
Wed, 24 Jan 96 11:53:27 -0600
Another forwarded message concerning NSF funding:
>
>
>The Office of the Vice President for Research received the following
>announcement:
>
>
>NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
> Office of the Director
> ARLINGTON, VA 22230
>
> January 19, 1996
>
>
> Dear Colleague:
>
> The National Science Foundation is now emerging from the longest work
> stoppage in its history, almost four weeks resulting from the partial
> shutdown of the Federal government for three weeks and the blizzard that
> followed immediately thereafter. During the shutdown, NSF's allowable
> activities were strictly circumscribed. No proposals were logged into
>our
> systems; program officers neither sent requests for nor received
>reviews;
> review panels did not meet; and we were unable to obligate funds for
> new or continuing awards. We were able, thanks to an OMB decision
> made after the shutdown began, to process requests for funding to
> existing awards that were based on prior obligations.
>
> Because the time period of the shutdown occurred during semester
> breaks for many academic institutions, NSF's shutdown may have had
> little apparent impact. The attached Important Notice 96-01 describes
> some of the impact we expect our partnering institutions to experience
> within the next six to nine months. The Important Notice covers
> effects of the shutdown itself as well as the uncertainties related to
> operating for almost one-third of Fiscal Year 1996 on successive
> continuing resolutions. We still have no Fiscal Year 1996
> appropriation, and cannot at this point guess when we might have one.
>
> The combined effects of the extended shutdown and the uncertainty about
> our Fiscal Year 1996 budget are severe. We have only a prorated
> portion of our estimated Fiscal Year 1996 funds available to us, which
> limits our ability to meet commitments in a timely way. Planning for
> this year and next has been complicated by the budget unknowns.
>
> In all of this, NSF staff are committed to minimizing the damage to
> science and engineering and permitting the researchers and educators
> we support to continue with their work uninterrupted. But however
> heroic staff efforts may be, NSF cannot conduct business as usual.
> The time period we have lost is one that is critical to the smooth
> functioning of the proposal review process, and we can expect delays
> in award actions. Some continuing awards have already experienced a
> brief funding hiatus due to the shutdown.
>
> We are confident that we will have your cooperation in coping with
> this unusual situation. To that end, we will keep you apprised of our
> planning as the situation evolves. We thank you in advance for your
> patience and understanding. Please communicate this information to
> interested faculty and staff.
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
>
> Neal Lane Anne C. Petersen
> Director Deputy Director
>
>
>
>
>
> NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
> Office of the Director
> ARLINGTON, VA 22230
>
> Notice No. 119 January 19, 1996
>
> IMPORTANT NOTICE TO
> PRESIDENTS OF UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES
> AND HEADS OF OTHER NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
> GRANTEE ORGANIZATIONS
>
> Subject: Impact of partial government shutdowns and short-term
> continuing resolutions on NSF operations.
>
> Since the beginning of FY 1996 on October 1, 1995, NSF has operated
> without an appropriation on a series of short-term continuing
> resolutions. Moreover, the agency has experienced two periods of
> shutdown totalling almost four weeks during which we had no funds
> available either for funding awards or to pay NSF staff to perform
> their work. This has led to canceled panel meetings and workshops,
> proposals piling up in our mail room, and delays in meeting our FY
> 1996 commitments. We now operate under a continuing resolution
> effective only through January 26, 1996.
>
> Because the time period of the most recent shutdown occurred during
> semester breaks for many academic institutions, the hiatus in NSF
> activity may have had minimal apparent impact to date. This Important
> Notice covers effects of the shutdown itself as well as the related
> uncertainties surrounding operating for almost one-third of Fiscal
> Year 1996 on successive continuing resolutions.
>
> In addressing this situation, NSF staff are committed to minimizing
> the damage to science and engineering and permitting the researchers
> and educators we support to continue their work with as little
> interruption as possible. But it will be impossible to mitigate all
> impacts of the shutdown and the limited, prorated funding available
> through short-term continuing resolutions. The time period we have
> lost is one that is critical to the smooth functioning of the proposal
> review process.
>
>
> Partial Government Shutdown
> Immediate Impact on NSF and NSF Customer Services
>
> - More than 2500 proposals have accumulated in the mail room since
> December 15. We expect all proposals received by January 5 to be in
> the program offices by the end of January, with the remainder of the
> backlog in the program offices by mid-February.
> - NSF has received almost 40,000 pieces of mail since December 15.
> This will reach program and administrative offices over the next two
> weeks.
> - 17 review panels and related meetings affecting about 400 people did
> not take place because of the most recent shutdown. Another 26 panels
> and meetings scheduled during the rest of January may be cancelled or
> postponed where preparations cannot be completed in a timely way.
> - 156 continuing increments came due on December 31, 1995, with
> another 266 coming due during January. We will attempt to process as
> many of these increments as possible by January 26, when we again face
> the possibility of a shutdown.
> - There are approximately 1500 pending requests for NSF forms and
> publications. We expect to eliminate this backlog by the end of
> January. This means NSF will not be able to meet its customer service
> standard for processing information requests in two days for these
> requests or others we receive in the immediate future. Those needing
> forms and publications are urged to obtain them electronically via the
> World Wide Web (http://www.nsf.gov:80/bfa/cpo/forms/start.htm) or
> STIS.
>
>
> Intermediate and Long-Term Impacts on NSF and the Science and
> Engineering Community
>
> - Delayed receipt of proposals in the programs and/or delayed panels
> means delays in funding decisions. NSF may not be able to honor
> requested start dates. It will not be possible to meet our customer
> service standard to process proposals in six months. There may be
> gaps in funding for successful renewal proposals.
> - NSF may experiment with some non-traditional review processes to
> overcome problems created by cancelled panel meetings. In no case
> will NSF compromise on its standards for rigorous peer review.
> - NSF will explore mechanisms to avoid having award actions backlogged
> at the end of the fiscal year.
> - Announcements for some newly-planned special competitions will be
> delayed to allow the existing backlog of work to be accomplished.
>
>
> Short-Term Continuing Resolution
>
> Immediate Impact on NSF
>
> The continuing resolutions have been based on the lower of House or
> Senate actions on NSF's request for Fiscal Year 1996 or the Fiscal
> Year 1995 appropriation. For NSF's research and related activities
> account, that is significantly lower than the request for 1996. Only
> a prorated portion of this amount is available for obligation.
> Implementation of NSF planning for FY 1996 is extremely difficult
> because of the uncertainty as to the final budget level. In
> particular, program officers do not have final program budgets, yet
> must make decisions on a continuing basis.
>
> Intermediate and Long-Term Impacts on NSF and the Science and
> Engineering Community
>
> For some large awards, both new awards and continuing increments, NSF
> will have to make successive partial awards for less than twelve
> months, rather than providing the amount for a full year at one time.
>
> Given the unprecedented nature of this year's budget process, there
> are likely to be impacts that we cannot anticipate at this time. We
> will continue to keep you informed periodically. The most current
> information will be posted regularly on the NSF Home Page on the World
> Wide Web (http://www.nsf.gov).
>
>
>
>
>
> Neal Lane
> Director
>
Peter Smagorinsky
University of Oklahoma
College of Education
Department of Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum
820 Van Vleet Oval
Norman, OK 73019-0260
(405)325-3533
fax: (405)325-4061
smagor who-is-at aardvark.ucs.uoknor.edu
psmagorinsky who-is-at uoknor.edu