HST Grant Funding and Budget Submissions

This section includes general information regarding grant funding and budget submissions.  Budgets are required after the selection of successful science proposals.  Detailed information is provided in the STScI Budget Proposer Guide and the current STScI General Grant Provisions (GGP).


STScI Grants Administration (GRA) will send Budget Notification Letters after proposers are notified of their successful science programs.  The letters will be sent to the U.S. Administrative PI, their Institution Contacts, and Co-investigators with a U.S. institution listed as their primary institution in MyST.

Contact GRA with questions concerning funding policies, eligibility, budget submissions, and allowable costs.

Phone: (410) 338-4200
email: gms_mail@stsci.edu


Budget Proposal Deadline

~August 1, 2024 at 5:00pm EDT

Only very limited accommodation can be made for late proposals. Contact GRA for help at gms_mail@stsci.edu as soon as possible if you have difficulty meeting this deadline.

Budget proposals are submitted via STGMS (https://stgms.stsci.edu).  Contact the Sponsored Research Office at your institution to know your internal deadlines, or if you need an STGMS account.

STScI General Grant Provisions (GGP)

STScI grants will be awarded in accordance with the GGP.  The terms of this Call for Proposals are incorporated into and are considered to be part of the GGP.

Eligibility for STScI Grant Funds

Important: STScI grant funding is available to only U.S. investigators.  Carefully review the GGP, Section 3, Eligibility for STScI Grant Funding, for specific eligibility requirements.  Contact GRA with questions regarding requirements or to determine if a person is eligible to request STScI grant funding.

STScI Review of Risk Posed by Applicants

STScI has an obligation to ensure that grantees meet the requirements related to the award of federal funds.  See GGP, Section 7 for criteria considered in STScI’s evaluation of risk posed by applicants.  STScI has the authority to deny issuing a grant award to any institution failing to meet such requirements.

Budget Proposals

A new STScI Budget Proposer Guide is available to help you prepare your budget.

Budgets are a detailed financial expression of the program. Costs must be allowable, reasonable, allocable (Ref. GGP, Sections 9 and 10), and in accordance with the GGP.  Budgets must be linked directly to achieving the specific work and science goals described in the approved science proposal.  

The responsibility of a complete, accurate proposal rests with each investigator and their institution.  Missing or incomplete information will likely result in a reduction of funding approved for the program.

It is important to include clear, detailed, and complete information in the Budget, Budget Narrative, and Program Management Plan. The Budget Narrative Template is a requirement for both Program Administrative PIs and Co-Investigators.  Note that Program Admin PIs are required to include additional information.  See detailed instructions in the Budget Narrative Template document.

Financial Review Committee Evaluation of Budget Proposals

The FRC reviews and evaluates budget proposals based on the tasks, level of effort, and other costs required to complete the approved science proposal.  All costs requested in the budget must be clearly detailed and justified in the required Budget Narrative (reference the Budget Narrative Template).

  • All costs must be required for the project and justified in detail in the Budget Narrative.
  • Science and budget proposals are reviewed in detail. Budgeted costs must be linked directly to achieving the specific work and science goals described in the approved science proposal.  Only tasks that are specifically identified in the science proposal and absolutely necessary for the HST science will be considered for funding support.
  • Unusual or particularly high costs are especially scrutinized and must be well justified.
  • Missing or incomplete information will likely result in a reduction of funding allocated to the program.
  • The summary of contribution table in the Budget Narrative must include all team members (unfunded and foreign investigators). Effort must be shown in full-time equivalent months.  Additionally, the responsibilities, contributions, and level of effort for all team members must be clearly stated and justified in the Budget Narrative.  All work and level of effort must be proportionate and in conjunction with each person’s role in the project.
  • The contribution of all foreign team members must be described. It must be very clear that foreign team members are contributing their appropriate share of the costs (e.g., labor, travel, and publications).
  • Funding support related to ground-based observations will not be considered unless those observations and tasks were specifically described and justified in the science proposal.
  • The Budget Narrative must be consistent with the budget request. Costs in the budget must be included in the Budget Narrative and described in detail.  Conversely, all costs described in the Budget Narrative should be included in the budget.
  • Travel requested must be critical for the project and justified in the Budget Narrative. Avoid generic TBD conferences whenever possible. Higher costs for travel (i.e. international travel or attendance of multiple team members) must be well justified with demonstrated value to the research effort.
  • Computers (laptops, desktops) and computing costs must be required for the project.
  • Publication costs must be commensurate with the level of the project. Unusually high number of pages or publications must be clearly justified.
  • Support for ground-based observations, including those awarded through a joint HST program, will only be considered if specified in the original proposal and will generally be limited to <10% of the total budget.
  • All activities requesting funding must be consistent with the policies described in the General Grants Provisions.

Grant Awards and Availability of Funds

All grant awards are made contingent upon the availability of funds from NASA.

If funding requests and FRC recommendations exceed the amount provided by NASA for the HST GO/AR Grants Program, additional reductions to recommended amounts may be required to remain within the funding guideline authorized by NASA.

STScI Authority

Allowable costs for all budgets, awards, and expenditures will be determined in accordance with the GGP, the Cycle 32 Call for Proposals, and the applicable institutional, NASA, and federal guidelines, policies, and regulations, including but not limited to 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.  STScI has the final authority to determine if costs for budgets, awards, and expenditures are allowable, reasonable, and allocable, and necessary.  STScI reserves the right to recover grant expenditures that were not in compliance with applicable policies and regulations Unallowable costs will be removed from the budget request.


Next: Appendix A: Contact Information