Overview of the Budget Proposal Process
1. General Information
The current Announcement covers US XMM-Newton Guest Observer (GO) scientific proposals selected by the ESA peer review at the A, B, and C levels for observation during AO-22 operations. The period of AO-22 observations is expected to cover a 12 month interval beginning around 2023 May.In the proposal review carried out by ESA, the scientific and technical merits of the proposed investigations were judged and time appropriately allocated. The budget proposal process to be carried out by NASA will be responsible for allocating support for the investigations of qualified accepted proposals. The amount of support for a given investigation will depend on a number of considerations including, but not limited to, the complexity of the analysis, the number of targets and the time allocated to the targets, the priority of the targets, and other sources of funding relevant to this request.
A cost proposal is required for each qualifying investigation for which financial support from NASA is requested. Investigations will be funded for a period of one year commencing nominally at the start of the new fiscal year (1 October 2023), with possible delays as long as six months depending on when the funds are provided to us. Note: the funds associated with this AO are intended for use in a single year. Typically, one No-Cost Extension (NCE) per grant can be obtained, but a second one will be considered only in well-justified cases. PIs are welcome to apply to future ADAP rounds for additional funding after the data are no longer proprietary. PIs who change employers need to contact the NASA technical officer as soon as possible in order to transfer their XMM grants.
Note: All communications with the NASA/GSFC XMM-Newton GOF regarding a specific XMM-Newton proposal must include the ESA-supplied identification number for that proposal (the six-digit proposal number currently including a leading zero).
2. Proposal Priority and Budget Submission/Funding
Successful science proposal targets are prioritized in three categories. Category A and B targets are guaranteed to be observed, while category C targets are used as schedule fillers if time allows or scheduling constraints require. For this AO, US PIs with A, B, or C targets may request funding, if they have been explicitly notified of their eligibility.All explicitly notified PIs (i.e., those who have received the e-mail call for budget proposals and fair-share estimates) for AO-22 A/B-ranked proposals must submit budgets in response to this budget AO by the deadline specified for consideration. For those programs with both A and B targets the funding level will be determined by both the A and B targets.
All PIs with C-ranked targets will be explicitly notified when they are eligible to submit their budget proposal, and may do so at that time. Only budget proposals for A/B-ranked targets are being solicited by the deadline below. The format, contents, and submission process for a budget proposal for C-ranked targets is the same as for A/B-ranked targets.
All budget proposals are submitted through NSPIRES.
3. Eligibility
Participation in this budget process is limited to Principal Investigators (PIs) who are employed with a US institution. PIs with joint US and foreign institution affiliations must declare the fraction of time to be spent at the US institution over the course of the budget year.Only one budget proposal will be allowed for each accepted scientific proposal meeting the above criteria. The PI (or Co-I designated by the PI) should submit the budget proposal.
Note: In circumstances where institutional rules do not allow a successful Science PI to be the Budget PI (e.g., for Post-Docs or graduate students at many institutions) the Science PI may designate a Co-I to act as the Budget PI. A signed letter to that effect explaining the reason must be uploaded with the main proposal document in NSPIRES.
4. Making and Submitting the Proposal
Detailed instructions on how to make and submit the proposal at NSPIRES can be found at The Budget Proposal ABC Guide.5. Technical Information Resources
Technical and budget questions concerning the XMM-Newton mission and requests for assistance in proposal submission may be addressed to Dr. Kim Weaver, at:Dr. Kim WeaverProgrammatic information can be obtained from Dr. Manuel Bautista at:
XMM-Newton Guest Observer Facility
Code 662
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771
USA
Tel: (301) 286-4256
E-mail: xmmhelp@athena.gsfc.nasa.gov
Dr. Manuel Bautista
Science Mission Directorate
NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC 20546
E-mail: Manuel.Bautista@nasa.gov
6. Proposal Evaluation Criteria
As noted above, the amount of support for a given investigation will depend on a number of various considerations. These include:- The complexity of the analysis - this includes both the type of analysis
and the XMM-Newton instruments to be used in the analysis.
- The number of targets and the time allocated to each target.
- The ranking of the proposal as indicated by the priority of the targets.
- The US or foreign status (as indicated by the primary institutional
affiliation of the PI) of the proposal.
- Other sources of funding relevant to this request.
- The available funding for this program.
7. Proposal Evaluation Process
US XMM-Newton budget proposals will evaluated by a Peer Review panel selected by NASA and supported by the NASA/GSFC XMM-Newton GOF.Provision of funds to individual GOs will in general occur near the time which the first associated observation is scheduled to be performed, but no earlier than the start of the next fiscal year. The funding start is also dependent on the provision of the funds by NASA HQ to the GOF with possible delays of up to six months past the start of the new fiscal year.
If you have any questions concerning XMM-Newton send e-mail to xmmhelp@lists.nasa.gov
