During a government shutdown, agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) generally pause new grant awards, proposal reviews, and program launches. Institutions with existing federal research awards may still be able to draw down previously obligated funds, but technical assistance, progress reviews, and application processing are typically suspended.

According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), most federal research staff and grant managers are classified as nonessential and furloughed, resulting in delays that can extend well beyond the shutdown itself. Past shutdowns have led to cancellations of reserved time on national lab instruments, closures of field research sites on federal lands, etc.

The impact on undergraduate research is not yet clear, but students applying for NSF, NIH or other federally supported programs might experience delays in response times to email and program timelines might change. UROP advises students involved in projects to stay in communication with project mentors and be attentive to program websites for updates.

CU Boulder’s administration is working to minimize disruptions to research and other grant-supported activities. In the unlikely event that students with UROP funding experience changes in their ability to accomplish project goals, such as the availability of mentors and/or resources, UROP will not withdraw previously awarded funding.
 

Scoring Instructions

Applications are evaluated in a double-blind review process and tracked using “sort numbers” that correspond to the rows on your score sheets. Please ensure the sort numbers align to those on your score sheets—and don't resort the score sheets.

Review Board Guide

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1. Review Applications

Most reviewers will receive two “application packets” formatted as PDFs and named with their “review group. One packet includes student grant proposals; the other includes team grant proposals. Due to differences in the number of reviewers and proposals submitted, you might not be assigned a second packet of team grant proposals.

2. Enter Scores

After reviewing the proposals, enter your evaluations on the attached score sheets in the yellow columns to the right of the bold line. Due to differences in the scoring criteria for assistantships and individual grants, some cells on the score sheet will appear shaded in dark gray to indicate that a score is not needed for that criterion.

3. Optional: Flag for Further Review

If you notice anything questionable about the proposal—e.g., eligibility issues, compliance plans, personally identifiable information or anything else of concern—please "flag for further review" on your score sheet.

4. Optional: Provide Comments

Provide additional comments you would like UROP to consider.

5. Return Scores

Return scores to urop@colorado.edu by the date posted.

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