A temporary pause of project activity initiated by the project team, the institution, or a regulatory body, for example pending an ethics re-approval, equipment repair, IRB decision, or while a key team member is on leave.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 21 May 2026

Examples

Worked examples

Is an instance
A clinical trial is placed on hold while an unexpected adverse event is reviewed by the IRB; recruitment resumes after IRB clearance.
Is an instance
A laboratory pauses experiments for two weeks while a critical microscope is repaired.

Counter-examples

Looks similar, but isn't

Not an instance
A sponsor-imposed suspension is distinct from a project-team hold.
Not an instance
Project termination is permanent, not a hold.

Editorial commentary

A project hold differs from suspension (which is sponsor-initiated) in that it is typically internal to the project's management. Holds may be planned (e.g., during a recruitment freeze) or unplanned (e.g., a critical instrument fails and parts are delayed). Holds are documented in project records and may need to be reported in the next interim report. Long or repeated holds may have downstream effects: revised milestones, schedule slippage, need for an NCE, or impact on cost projections.

References

Institutional project-management guidance; clinical-trial hold practices (e.g., IRB hold).

Also known as

Project pause · Activity hold · Internal hold

Machine-readable encodings

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

xml

<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
      vocab-term="Project hold"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/project-hold" />

Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

json

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "@id": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/project-hold",
  "name": "Project hold",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/project-hold",
  "description": "A temporary pause of project activity initiated by the project team, the institution, or a regulatory body, for example pending an ethics re-approval, equipment repair, IRB decision, or while a key team member is on leave.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/research-lifecycle#set",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/project-hold",
  "sameAs": [
    "Project pause",
    "Activity hold",
    "Internal hold"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "publisher": {
    "@id": "https://casrai.org/#organization"
  },
  "dateModified": "2026-05-21T02:23:00",
  "inLanguage": "en"
}

Referenced across the research world

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