Stop-work order
A funder’s written instruction to halt work on a specific award while an issue is resolved. It pauses rather than ends the award, and costs incurred after it arrives are generally not reimbursable.
Part of the GrantTrove grant funding glossary — one entry for every field the catalogue stores.
Also called Suspension of award activity
In detail
It is issued for a defined reason — a compliance question, a funding disruption, a safety concern — and it should state what may continue. Where it does not, ask before continuing anything.
Staff costs during a stop-work are the hard part: the people are still employed and the award will usually not pay for them while work is halted.
Against suspension
A suspension is a government-wide bar on receiving new federal awards, imposed on an entity. A stop-work order halts activity on one award. An organisation can be under either without the other, and confusing them overstates or understates the problem badly. Neither appears in any field here.
How GrantTrove stores it
- We hold published opportunities and the funders that publish them, and nothing about awards in progress.
- Where a source stops responding, that is recorded against the source in our own health tracking rather than converted into a claim about any programme.
Common questions
Are staff costs covered during a stop-work?
Usually not by the award. It is the main reason a stop-work is expensive.
How long can it last?
Until the funder lifts it. The order should say what triggers that.
Is it the same as termination?
No. A stop-work pauses; termination ends.