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 14, 2025 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. Be sure to allow sufficient time to meet all internal deadlines at your institution.

STScI General Grant Provisions (GGP)

STScI grants will be awarded in accordance with the General Grant Provisions document. 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.

Evaluation of Budget Proposals

Budget proposals will be evaluated 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 Budget Narrative.

• Budgeted costs must be linked directly to achieving the specific work and science goals described in the approved science proposal.  Tasks that are not specifically identified in the science proposal, or not absolutely necessary for the HST science will not be considered for funding support,
• The responsibilities, contributions, and level of effort for all team members must be clearly stated and justified in the Budget Narrative. In particular, the contribution of all foreign team members (work and level of effort) must be described and must be proportionate and in conjunction with each person’s role in the project. 
• Support for ground-based observations (including those awarded through a joint JWST program), lab astrophysics and citizen science will only be considered if specified in the original proposal and will generally be limited to <10% of the total budget (in total).
• All activities requesting funding must be consistent with the policies described in the GGP and this Call for Proposals.
• Budgets and Budget Narratives must be compliant with the guidelines in the STScI Budget Proposer Guide.

The STScI Budget Proposer Guide provides a full description of the review and evaluation process.

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 33 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. Unallowable costs will be removed from the budget request. 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