Confidentiality

All HST proposals, documents and discussions related to the proposal review are strictly confidential.

Confidentiality is of utmost importance to maintain the integrity of the review process. You should never discuss with anyone any confidential aspect of the review, including the discussion and outcome of the panel evaluations. Doing so is a flagrant violation of the Code of Conduct. 

• Proposals and review documents should not be distributed or used in any manner not directly related to the review process. 
• Aspects of the review may not be discussed with anyone other than those STScI staff participating in the review activities.
• You should not discuss the outcome of the panel evaluations – now, or in the future.
• Confidentiality carries from prior years: Do not discuss or compare prior years proposals in this review, even with panel members who also served in prior years.
• As a video-conference panelist, make sure nobody besides yourself can follow the panel discussion, which includes not recording or taking screen shots of any part of the meeting.
• Individual reviews should be independent; do not consult with other panelists or scientists before the panel convenes.
• Please purge any review files from your computer after the review.

Reviewers are forbidden from uploading proposal content or review materials to Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) tools since this violates the confidentiality of the review process.

Your participation in the review is confidential until after the results have been announced.

• Do not post comments to social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, etc.) regarding the content or your participation in the panel meeting.
• Panelist names will be shared in the STScI Newsletter after the selections are public; only then should you feel free to update your c.v., etc.
• Even after panelist names are made public, you should not disclose internal panel discussions.

Next: Conflicts of Interest