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Budget Proposal FAQ

This document supplements the information contained in the XMM-Newton AO-25 Overview of the Budget Proposal Process and ABC Guide for Budget Proposals, in the form of questions and answers. Information on the XMM-Newton project can be found in the XMM-Newton Mission Description, in the XMM-Newton Users' Handbook (GSFC or SOC links), and in the pages of the XMM-Newton GOF.

  1. CAN FUNDING BE REQUESTED FOR C-RANKED TARGETS?

  2. WHERE SHOULD THE BUDGETS BE SUBMITTED AND WHEN ARE THEY DUE?

  3. IS AN INSTITUTIONAL ENDORSEMENT (SIGNATURE) REQUIRED?

  4. WHAT IS A REASONABLE FUNDING REQUEST?

  5. HOW CAN THE PAYING OF DOUBLE OVERHEAD BE AVOIDED ON GRANTS FOR CO-Is AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS?

  6. HOW DO I INCLUDE SUBGRANTS FOR Co-Is AT DIFFERENT INSTITUTIONS?

  7. CAN U.S. Co-Is ON FOREIGN-LED (FOREIGN PI) PROPOSALS SUBMIT BUDGETS?

  8. CAN BUDGETS BE SUBMITTED FOR DDT (Director's Discretionary Time) OBSERVATIONS (OR OTHER JOINT OBSERVATIONS)?

  9. CAN BUDGETS BE SUBMITTED FOR JOINT PROPOSALS ALLOCATED BY OTHER MISSIONS?

  10. CAN BUDGETS BE SUBMITTED FOR ARCHIVE PROPOSALS?

  11. CAN ONE BUDGET BE SUBMITTED TO COVER SEVERAL DIFFERENT PROPOSALS?

  12. WHAT DOES THE IDEAL BUDGET SUBMISSION CONTAIN?

  13. WHAT DOES A GOOD BUDGET JUSTIFICATION NARRATIVE CONTAIN?

  14. WHAT COMPUTER HARDWARE DO I REQUIRE?

  15. WHEN WILL THE RESULTS BE ANNOUNCED?

  16. ARE THERE ITEMS I CANNOT ASK FOR?

  17. ARE CVs REQUIRED?

  18. USEFUL WEBSITES/PAGES

  1. CAN FUNDING BE REQUESTED FOR C-RANKED TARGETS?

    2. Yes, a limited amount of funding is currently available for some C-ranked proposals. We expect to be able to offer $25k for proposals with an observed target. PIs will be contacted if they are eligible to submit a budget proposal. The format, contents, and submission process for a budget proposal for a C-ranked target is the same as for an A/B-ranked target. Only budgets for A/B-ranked targets may be submitted by the deadline below.

  2. WHERE SHOULD BUDGET PROPOSALS BE SUBMITTED AND WHEN ARE THEY DUE?

  3. IS AN INSTITUTIONAL ENDORSEMENT (SIGNATURE) REQUIRED?

    4. Institutional acceptance is handled via the NSPIRES process.

  4. WHAT IS A REASONABLE FUNDING REQUEST?

    5. The AO-25 fair-share estimates will be provided to PIs with A/B-ranked targets within a week after the release of this AO. If you have questions contact the XMM GOF at: xmmhelp@athena.gsfc.nasa.gov.

    The fair-share estimate does not include any scaling for the complexity of the proposed analysis. For complex projects, for example the full spectral-spatial analysis of a large scale extended source, the proposer can ask for more than the fair-share estimate, but the additional request must be very well justified in the Budget Justification section of the proposal submitted to NSPIRES. If the request is denied, PIs will receive the fair-share amount.

    Note: the funding associated with this program is intended to be one-year money - while a first no-cost extension (NCE) may be granted, additional NCEs are extremely unlikely to be granted.

  5. HOW CAN THE PAYING OF DOUBLE OVERHEADS BE AVOIDED ON FUNDS FOR CO-Is AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS?

    6. Unless it is possible through your own institution, you can't. See the next entry.

  6. HOW DO I INCLUDE SUBGRANTS FOR Co-Is AT DIFFERENT INSTITUTIONS?

    7. You don't. Under NASA rules, subgrants (i.e., the submission of a budget which has some funds sent directly to a second institution) are not allowed. Funds for Co-Is at separate institutions must be routed through the primary institution.

  7. CAN U.S. Co-Is ON FOREIGN-LED (FOREIGN PI) PROPOSALS SUBMIT BUDGETS?

    8. No.

  8. CAN BUDGETS BE SUBMITTED FOR DDT (Director's Discretionary Time) OBSERVATIONS?

    9. No.

  9. CAN BUDGETS BE SUBMITTED FOR JOINT PROPOSALS ALLOCATED BY OTHER MISSIONS?

    10. No.

  10. CAN BUDGETS BE SUBMITTED FOR ARCHIVE PROPOSALS?

    11. No. Budget proposals for the use of XMM-Newton data from the public archive must be submitted to the ADAP.

  11. CAN ONE BUDGET BE SUBMITTED TO COVER SEVERAL DIFFERENT PROPOSALS?

    12. No. Only one budget per proposal, and one proposal per budget are allowed.

  12. WHAT DOES THE IDEAL BUDGET SUBMISSION CONTAIN?

    13. The ideal budget submission is composed of three files:

    1. The "Proposal Document", which is a PDF that contains the Cover Page (from NSPIRES), the Budget Justification, and the Science Justification (from the observation proposal).
    2. The completed NASA Biosketch form
    3. The completed NASA Current and Pending (C&P) Support form.

    See the ABC Guide for Budget Proposals document for how to prepare the Proposal Document. Links to the Biosketch and C&P forms and instructions on how to fill out are also available there. Page limitations can be found either at the ABC Guide for Budget Proposals or the Checklist.

  13. WHAT DOES A GOOD BUDGET JUSTIFICATION NARRATIVE CONTAIN?

    14. The budget justification explains the following proposed costs applicable to your proposal. As a guideline, roughly 10% of a grant may be used to support ground-based observations directly related to the scientific investigation funded by the budget proposal.

    1. Labor: Describe each investigator's responsibilities.
    2. Equipment: List items over $5,000 separately in the budget justification and explain the need for each of these items. Describe the basis for the estimated cost. General purpose equipment is not allowable as a direct cost unless specifically approved by the NASA Grant Officer. Any equipment purchase requested to be made as a direct charge under this award must include the equipment description, how it will be used in the conduct of the basic research proposed and why it cannot be purchased with indirect funds.
    3. Travel: Describe the purpose of the proposed travel in relation to the grant and provide the basis of estimate, including information on destination and number of travelers. Typically no more than one domestic and one foreign meeting will be allowed. Excessive travel requests will result in the budget being returned.
    4. Home/home office internet upgrade and virtual meeting/collaboration hardware and applications: Describe the purpose of the proposed purchases in relation to the grant and provide a basis of estimate. If requesting money for virtual collaboration application(s), include the number of collaborators expected to use the application(s).
    5. Publication Charge: Give the basis of estimate for the cost of publication.
    6. Supplies: Provide general categories of needed supplies, the method of acquisition, and the estimated cost.
    7. Other: Enter any direct costs not covered above. Include an itemized list explaining the need for each item and the basis for the estimate.

  14. WHAT COMPUTER HARDWARE DO I REQUIRE?

    15. All GO data is pipeline-processed by the XMM-Newton SSC (Survey Science Center) using the Science Analysis Software (SAS). This aims to deliver data products to the GO in a form where interactive SAS (public binary executable releases of the SAS tools) or FTOOL data analysis can be performed. In addition, it is possible to carry out scientific analysis of XMM-Newton data using the Chandra CIAO-Sherpa package, MIT's ISIS, and SRON's SPEX package. Installing some external packages for use with SAS are required (most are now distributed with the supported operating systems). Use of SAS tasks is desirable for incorporating improved calibrations into their data as the mission advances, recalculating response matrices and properly incorporating data subspace information (which is used for propagating exposure information to generated data products). No special computing requirements are required to run FTOOLS and XMM-Newton Data Products are compliant with OGIP FITS Standards.

    SAS Version 22.1.0 is the current public release. This version is available for Ubuntu, Red Hat, Mac OS X and VMware/VirtualBox. There also is a Docker image. For more information, see the SOC Download page.

    Analysis with SAS may also be done in the cloud with SciServer or Fornax. Interested parties may find the User Documention, especially the Quick Start Guide, helpful.

  15. WHEN WILL THE RESULTS BE ANNOUNCED?

    16. We plan to notify PIs of the results of the budget review by July 2026.

  16. ARE THERE ITEMS I CANNOT ASK FOR?

    17. There are a number of items where funding through a grant is not allowed, so don't ask for them. They include, but are not limited to:

    1. Basic home or home office internet connection fees (only upgrades are allowed).
    2. Professional dues (e.g., no AAS dues can be charged to a grant).
    3. Travel expenses for foreign Co-Is (e.g., you cannot use grant funds to bring a foreign Co-I to the US for the collaboration).
    4. If you have a split appointment between a US and foreign institutions, grant funds cannot be used for your commute between institutions.
    5. If you are unsure whether an item is allowed, contact the Technical Officer.

  17. ARE CVs REQUIRED?

    18. Yes, but the biographical information must be provided according to the NASA Biosketch form. See the ABC Guide for Budget Proposals for more information.

  18. USEFUL WEBSITES/PAGES

    19. Useful pages for making your proposal:

    Useful general pages:

    If you have any questions concerning XMM-Newton and/or the budget process, send e-mail to xmmhelp@lists.nasa.gov