National Aeronautics and Space Administration 10 May 2013 Washington, DC 20546-0001 Dear Dr. XXXXX, As you are aware, ESA has completed the Stage 1 evaluation (scientific and technical merit) of proposals received in response to the XMM-Newton AO-12 Call for Proposals, and has notified PIs of their proposal accepted/rejected status by e-mail. A list of accepted targets has been made available on the WWW at: http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_news/otac_results/ao12_results/ or (sorted by ObsID) http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_news/otac_results/ao12_results/ao12_otac_by_id.shtml or (sorted by RA) http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_news/otac_results/ao12_results/ao12_otac_by_radec.shtml In response to the 2012 Senior Review for Operating Missions, NASA's Astrophysics Division has allocated funding in the amount of ~$950 K for the support of accepted US XMM guest investigations in fiscal year 2014. In light of this highly constrained budget, support of US AO-12 investigations under the XMM GO Program will be limited to those most highly ranked in the Stage 1 review. Based upon the total funding available and the desire to provide a viable level of support for individual investigations (comparable with past cycles), only US PI Stage 1 proposals with Cat A targets selected in the ESA AO-12 review will be eligible to apply for support under the XMM Guest Observer program. In consideration of the above, I am pleased to invite you to submit a Stage 2 (cost) proposal for your investigation, proposal ######, entitled "TTTTTTTTT". In compliance with NASA procurement policy, funding is limited to individuals associated with US institutions (and who expect to remain so during the grant period). Accordingly, if you are planning on leaving the US for a position abroad, and will therefore be ineligible for a Guest Observer grant, please contact the US XMM-Newton Project Scientist, Dr. Steve Snowden, at steven.l.snowden@nasa.gov. Also, please note that, by submission of a Stage 2 proposal, you will be ineligible to apply for funding of your accepted Cat A proposal under the current cycle of NASA's Astrophysics Data Analysis Program (note, however, that the standard rules for the ADAP will apply when the data are no longer proprietary). To guide the proposer in formulating a realistic funding request, factors such as the scope and complexity of the investigation should be taken into account, including any modifications to the original science proposal (e.g., deletion of targets, reduction in observing time) that were recommended by the review panel. As discussed above, only Stage 2 proposals with Cat A targets are eligible for support; however, in the case of proposals with additional B targets, the funding level will be based upon both the A and B targets. Additional factors that will be considered include the presence of other proposals for which a given PI is requesting funding under this solicitation, and other sources of support relevant to this request. The review process will consider the reasonableness of the budget in terms of the required labor to pursue the investigation and of other support costs (e.g., travel, computer hardware, and publication expenses). A peer-review panel convened by NASA will have the responsibility for assessing the realism and reasonableness of the budget proposals and making recommendations concerning the appropriate funding level. The final funding decision will be made by the NASA selecting official. Based upon the total available funding and the anticipated number of awards, the estimated average grant award will be ~$65 K. Stage 2 PIs will be provided with a "fair-share" estimate to guide them in the preparation of their funding request. You will receive an e-mail in the next week providing the fair-share estimate for your proposal. Note that NASA no longer directly funds subgrants going to secondary institutions. Therefore, only one budget per accepted observing proposal will be allowed, i.e., US PIs must submit a budget including the required support for all of the funded Co-Is. Subgrants to fund Co-Is at separate institutions must go through the Stage 2 (budget) PI's institution. In preparing a budget submission, the proposer must follow the guidelines provided under "PROPOSALS & TOOLS" at the NASA XMM-Newton Guest Observer Facility web site located at: http://xmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xmm/xmmgof.html At this site, you will find links to a description of the XMM-Newton GO program, information regarding budget proposal submission, evaluation, selection, and implementation, and instructions for electronic Remote Proposal Submission (RPS). Please submit the signed original and three (3) hard copies of the completed cost proposal no later than 4:30 pm EST on 29 July 2013 to the following address: XMM-Newton Guest Observer Program Code 662 Building 34, Room S256 Goddard Space Flight Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration Greenbelt, MD 20771-0001 We expect to complete the Budget Review in August 2013, with PI notification of the approved funding levels in September. Revised budgets, if required (budgets where the approved amount is less than 80% of the requested amount), will be due as soon as possible after notification. Funding for a given proposal will be initiated after the first target of that proposal has appeared in the short-term timeline, or just after the start of FY14 (1 October 2013), whichever comes last. If special needs exist and can be justified, earlier funding will be considered (although no earlier than the start of FY14). For any questions concerning the cost proposal or process, please contact the NASA/GSFC XMM-Newton GOF at: xmmhelp@athena.gsfc.nasa.gov In addition, should the PI change institution, please notify the GOF by e-mail at the same address. Sincerely, Dr. Louis J. Kaluzienski US XMM-Newton Program Scientist