National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Starting with the academic year 2022-2023, there will be a new requirement for the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program:

In order to host new NHFP Fellows, host institutions must offer their NHFP Fellows the opportunity to be employees. Employee status is being required to afford NHFP Fellows the same leave, vacation, retirement and health benefits (as applicable) given by these institutions to their postdoctoral fellows hired as employees on grants or contracts. Host institutions are also encouraged, but not required, to offer Fellows the option of choosing to be a stipendiary fellow rather than an employee if that is a better match to the Fellow's needs.

A set of Frequently Asked Questions, which go into greater detail, is available.

MSU will allow NHFP fellows to select between a fellowship appointment (NASA referred to these as stipendiary fellows), or to be hired as an employee.

What does this mean for us at the proposal stage?

• At the proposal stage, the fellow candidate needs to communicate in writing (an email is sufficient) which type of relationship they would like to have with MSU if the fellowship is awarded. This communication should be documented with your OSP Proposal Team representative.
  1. Appointed as a Fellow – If this option is selected, tuition and fees should be budgeted using MSU’s tuition calculator for the current year, with a 4% increase in outer years. Options for health benefits will be different than what is provided for MSU employees. The fellow/administrator will need to work with HR on details.
  2. Hired as an Employee – If this option is selected, fringe benefits from the KR Budget Module/Grad Fringe Chart should be used for budgeting.

Proposal Guidance

For instructions on proposal submission, please refer to the solicitation and NASA’s Guidebook for Proposers.  When there is conflicting guidance, please follow the instructions in the solicitation.

Submission System

NASA uses the NSPIRES web based application for proposal submissions. MSU submits directly through NSPIRES rather than through Grants.gov.

Some solicitations use a two-step submission process: The Step 1 proposal is a prerequisite to submit a full (Step-2) proposal. Step 1 proposals must be submitted by the institution (not the individual proposer).

Bilateral Activity with China or Chinese Owned Companies Is NOT Allowed

NASA is restricted from collaborating with, or issuing a subaward to China or a Chinese-owned company. This includes funded collaborations and no-exchange of funds arrangements. The restriction does not restrict individual involvement based on citizenship or nationality, rather individuals are subject to restriction if they are affiliated with institutions of People’s Republic of China or Chinese-owned companies. To ensure compliance with this restriction, NASA requires institutions to complete an assurance form accepting this restriction.

Proposal Cover Page

Proposers submitting through NSPIRES will use the proposal cover page that is available within the NSPIRES proposal.  Once completed by the PI, the proposal cover page must be accessed in the NSPIRES system and submitted electronically by an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR).  Your OSP Proposal Team representative has access to submit on behalf of MSU as an AOR.

Proposal Summary/Abstract

The proposal summary (or abstract) must provide an overview of the proposed investigation that is suitable for release through a publicly accessible archive if the proposal is funded. The proposal summary should be concise, and should not contain any special characters or formatting. The proposal summary must be attached as a pdf document, and labeled "proposalsummary.pdf". The proposal summary document is limited to 4000 characters (including spaces).

Data Management Plan

Proposals must include a Data Management Plan (DMP). Proposals for work that will not generate any data or qualify for an exemption, as defined in the NASA Plan, must demonstrate this in the DMP. Unless otherwise instructed in the solicitation, the DMP is part of the NSPIRES cover page. Refer to the solicitation for any specific DMP requirements and for information on how the plan will be evaluated.

Table of Contents

Proposers should include a table of contents that provides a guide to the organization and contents of the proposal.

Scientific/Technical/Management Plan

As the main body of the proposal, this plan must cover the following topics within the specified page limit. Additional and/or more-specific requirements may be stipulated in the solicitation. The plan must address:

1. The goals and expected significance of the proposed research, especially as related to the objectives given in the solicitation;
2. The perceived impact of the proposed work to the state of knowledge in the field. If the proposal is offered as a successor to an existing NASA award, this includes how the proposed work is expected to build on and otherwise extend previous accomplishments supported by NASA;
3. The relevance of the proposed work to the specific objectives given in the solicitation;
4. The technical approach and methodology to be employed in conducting the proposed research, including:
   • Proposed experimental designs, methods, techniques, and approaches for achieving the proposed goals and objectives of the solicitation
   • A description of any hardware or software development, construction or fabrication required in order to carry out the research
   • Sources of error and uncertainties and what effect they may have on the robustness of potential results or conclusions
   • The resilience of the approach and methodology, e.g., complimentary measurements, confirming tests, and likely pitfalls
   • Any special capabilities and advantages of facilities and equipment
5. The flow of the different tasks and how they feed into one another
6. A general implementation plan, including:
   • A project schedule that identifies anticipated key milestones for accomplishments and dependencies between tasks;
   • The management structure for the proposal personnel;
   • Any substantial collaboration(s);
   • Any proposed use of consultant(s); and
   • A description of the expected contribution to the proposed effort, by task and sub-task, by the PI and each person(s) identified in one of the additional categories found in, https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/nasa_2018_strategic_plan.pdf, regardless of whether or not they derive support from the proposed budget, but not including the information required in the table of personnel and work effort.
7. The Scientific/Technical/Management plan may contain illustrations and figures that amplify and demonstrate key points of the proposal (including milestone schedules, as appropriate). However, they must be of an easily viewed size and resolution and have self-contained captions that do not contain critical information not provided elsewhere in the proposal. No links to web pages for more information.  Proposals shall not rely upon information posted in a website.

References and Citations

All references and citations given in the Scientific/Technical/Management plan must be provided using easily understood, standard abbreviations for journals and complete names for books. It is highly preferred, but not required that these references include the full title of the cited paper or report.

Biographical Sketch(es)

The proposal should demonstrate that the participants who will have critical management or technical roles have the appropriate qualifications, capabilities, and experience to provide confidence that the proposed objectives will be achieved.

• PIs, Co-PIs, and any Co-I also serving in one of the three special Co-I categories must include a biographical sketch (not to exceed two pages) that includes professional experience and a bibliography of publications. Co-Is proposing to spend 10% or more of their time on the project are limited to a one-page bio sketch.

Current and Pending Support

For information on completing Current and Pending Support forms, see the Current and Pending/Other Support Requirements by Sponsor webpage.

Statements of Commitment and Letters of Resource Support

Every Co-PI, Co-I, and Collaborator identified as a participant on the proposal’s cover page and/or in the proposal’s Scientific/Technical/Management plan must acknowledge their intended participation in the proposed effort. This acknowledgement of commitment is done through NSPIRES.

1. Proposers should include the participant statements in the body of the proposal only if:
   • Team members are unable to confirm participation through NSPIRES, or if directed to do so by the solicitation.
2. Each written statement must be addressed to the PI, may be a facsimile of an original statement or the copy of an email (the latter must have sufficient information to unambiguously identify the sender), and is required even if the Co-PI, Co-I, or Collaborator is from the proposing organization.
3. Letters of resource support are only required if there is a facility or resource essential to the proposal not under the control of a Proposal Team member. Submitting the statement of commitment, confirms that any facilities or resources needed for the proposal are readily available for the proposal team members(s) requiring its use.
4. Statements of commitment and letters of resource support do not include "letters of affirmation" (i.e., letters that endorse the Intrinsic Merit, including significance or impact, of a proposal). NASA neither solicits nor evaluates such endorsements for proposals.

Budget Guidelines

Compliance

Export Control

Human Subjects

Animal Subjects

Conflict of Interest

NASA Policies on Harassment

Award Guidance

NASA is committed to the goal of issuing award notices as soon as possible after the selections are announced to the proposers.  However, delays may be caused by:

• The need for additional materials from the proposer (e.g. revised budgets, and/or budget details) before NASA may legally obligate federal money; and
• A delay in approving NASA’s appropriation for the year. 

Subawards

Required Documents

At the time of proposal submission, the detailed budget, justification, scope of work, and signed subrecipient commitment form are required.

Drafting Subawards

NASA participates in the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP). Subawards issued under a Prime agreement from an FDP-participating Federal Agency are drafted by Contract and Grant Administration (CGA), unless the subrecipient is a for-profit entity or a national lab, in which case the subaward is drafted by the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP).

Prior Approvals

The guidelines listed here are generally applicable to this sponsor. Please refer to the award for any deviation to standard guidelines or specific requirements.

For detailed information on prior approvals, please refer to the Prior Approval Matrix.  The following items require prior approval:

• Changes in principal investigator (PI), project leader, project partner, or scope of effort.
• Incur project costs more than 90 calendar days pre-award.
• Subsequent no-cost extension or extension of more than 12 months.

Reporting

Effort Reporting / Cost Share

The guidelines listed here are generally applicable to this sponsor. Please refer to the award for any deviation to standard guidelines or specific requirements.

Cost Sharing or Matching

All contributions, including cash and third party in-kind, shall be accepted as part of the recipient's cost sharing or matching when such contributions meet all of the following criteria:

1. are verifiable from the recipient's records;
2. are not included as contributions for any other federally-assisted project or program;
3. are necessary and reasonable for proper and efficient accomplishment of project or program objectives;
4. are allowable under the applicable cost principles;
5. are not paid by the Federal Government under another award, except where authorized by Federal statute to be used for cost sharing or matching; and
6. are provided for in the approved budget when required by NASA

Unrecovered indirect costs may be included as part of cost sharing or matching only with the prior approval of the cognizant NASA grant officer.

Additional information on cost share can be found on the Sponsored Program Administration website at the following link: https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/249/CostSharePolicy

In cases where salaried cost share has been committed, MSU uses the effort reporting system for tracking and documentation.  Non-salary cost share is documented through PI certified operating statements.

Effort Reporting

MSU effort reporting overview and FAQ’s can be found on the Sponsored Program Administration website at the following link: https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Effort/EffortReportingTools.aspx

Effort reporting instructions can also be located on the Sponsored Program Administration website: https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/231/EffortReportingInstructionsEffortAdministrators

For additional questions and information, please contact the CGA Effort Reporting inbox at effortreporting@cga.msu.edu

Record Retention

Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records pertinent to an award shall be retained for a period of three years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report or, for awards that are renewed quarterly or annually, from the date of the submission of the quarterly or annual financial report, as authorized by NASA. See Agreement terms and conditions for any exceptions. 

Sponsor Resources

Links to sponsor resources

• NASA Guidebook for Proposers (default, but solicitations take precedence)
• NASA NSPIRES Solicitations Page
• NASA NSPIRES Online Help Page
• NSPIRES Video Tutorials
• NASA specific terms and conditions can be found here: NASA Grants and Cooperative Agreements

Forms and Templates

None at this time

Archives