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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA)
Helpful Tips for Proposal Preparation via Grants.gov
Before
You Start
Proposal Format
Required Sections
Budget Information
Special Requirements
Approval Process
Sponsored Links
Before
You Start
Important
Reminders
Currently, most NASA solicited proposals* can be submitted
via either of two electronic proposal submission
systems:
1.
NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation
System, referred to as NSPIRES (http://npsires.nasaprs.com)
OR
2.
Grants.gov (http://grants.gov)
Submission
of electronic proposals is a fundamental change in proposal
submission procedures for NASA. PIs should note that, Texas
A&M Research Foundation, an authorized organization
representative (AOR) must do the final submission of any
electronic proposal (whether submitted via NSPIRES or Grants.gov)
*NASA Research Announcements (NRA) and Cooperative Agreement
Notice (CAN) are currently being accepted through Grants.gov
or NSPIRES; but, NASA Announcement of Opportunity (AO) programs
must be submitted through NSPIRES and will not be available
through Grants.gov.
NASA NSPIRES Registration Required
- The
PI must be registered with NSPIRES (http://npsires.nasaprs.com)
and have a confirmed affiliation with the Research Foundation.
The Research Foundation will receive and approve the PI's
affiliation request via NSPIRES. If there are any errors
in the PI's information , a proposal administrator will
contact the PI to make corrections prior to accepting the
organization affiliation.
- All
Senior/Key Persons/Team Member/Collaborators listed on the
application must also be registered with NSPIRES prior to
submission.
- These
individuals must perform this registration themselves.
No one may register a second party,
even the PI of a proposal in which that person is committed
to participate.
- They
do not need to be affiliated with an organization.
Senior/Key
Personnel
The following information about all key senior personnel
should be provided in advance to the PA so that it can
e entered into the Grants.gov proposal:
Prefix
to name (Mr., Ms., etc.)
First, Middle and Last Name
Suffix to name (Jr., II, etc.)
Position/Title, Department, Organization Name
Street address, City, County, State, ZIP
Phone number, Fax number
E-mail address
NSPIRES user name
Project Role (PI, Co-PI, Faculty, Postdoctoral, Postdoctoral
Associate, Other Professional, Graduate Student, Undergraduate
Student, Consultant, Other (specify))
Supplemental
Senior/Key Personnel
If this Senior/Key Person's role is Co-PD/PI, indicate
which type of NASA Co-I they will be:
Co-I
Co-I/Institutional PI
Co-I/Science PI
Co-I/Co-PI (non-USE organization only)
Collaborator
Is
this person an employee of the US Government? Yes/No
If yes, what agency? What dollar amount requested for
their participation?
Is this person an employee of a foreign organization?
Yes/No
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Proposal
Format
NASA
requires all text attachments be submitted as PDF files.
The PI should prepare text attachments using MS Word and
then convert those files to PDF before sending to the PA.
Format Specifications for All Files
Font
-
Use an easy to read 12 point typeface.
- Type
density can be no more than ~10 characters per inch (CPI).
- Single
space the document.
Page Margins
- Use
standard paper size (8 1/2" x 11").
- Use
at least one inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right)
for all pages.
- Do
not include references directing readers to a website
for information or material needed to either complete
or understand the proposal.
Figures, Graphs, Diagrams, Charts, Tables, Figure Legends,
Footnotes, and Color
- May
contain illustrations and figures that amplify and demonstrate
key points (including milestone schedules, as appropriate).
- They
must be in an easily viewed size, and have self-contained
captions.
- Avoid
including critical information in captions that is not
provided elsewhere in the proposal.
Page Limits
Unless
otherwise specified, the limit is 15 pages.
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Required
Sections
Below
is a list of the files that need to be sent to the Proposal
Administrator (PA) to complete the Grants.gov submission.
Project
Summary/Abstract
- Use
PDF form supplied by NASA at https://nspires.nasaprs.com/Grants.gov/
- Project
Summary must be no longer than 4000 characters, including
spaces, and provide the following information:
- Description
of key, central objectives of the proposal in terms
understandable to a non-specialist
- Concise
statement of the methods/techniques proposed to accomplish
the stated research objectives
- Statement
of the perceived significance of the proposed work to
the objectives of the solicitation and to NASA interests
and programs in general
- Read
program-specific guidelines on other items that should
be contained in the abstract.
Tables
of Contents
A
one page Table of Contents should provide a guide to the
organization and contents of the proposal.
Research
Plan
The
scientific/Technical/Management plan should cover the following
topics in order given. Unless otherwise specified, the limit
is 15 pages.
- Objectives
And Expected Significance
- Technical
Approach And Methodology
- Perceived
Impact Of The Proposed Work
- Relevance
Of Proposed Work
- General
Plan Of Work
References
and Citations
Include
all references and citations given in the text using standard
abbreviations for journals and complete names for books.
It is preferred but not required, that these references
include the full title of the cited paper or report.
Facilities&
Equipment
This
section should describe facilities and/or test equipment
valued over $5,000 that are critical for carrying out the
proposed project, whether it is already available or would
need to be purchased. See section 2.3.7 of the Guidebook
for Proposers Responding to a NASA Research Announcement
(NRA). http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/nraguidebook/
Research
& Related Senior/Key Person Profile
The
PA will complete a sheet in the proposal for each person
listed on the RESEARCH & RELATED Senior/Key Person Profile.
Biographical
Sketch
- The
PI must include a biosketch not to exceed 2 pages that includes
his/her professional experiences and positions and a bibliography
of recent publications, especially those relevant to the
proposed investigation.
- A
one-page biosketch for each Co-Investigator must also be
included.
Note:
Each person listed in the RESEARCH & RELATED Senior/Key
Person Profile must include a biosketch.
Current
and Pending
- Information
for all ongoing and pending projects that involve the proposal
PI must be listed. This information is also required for
all Co-Is who will perform greater than 10% of the proposed
work. Do not list the current proposal as pending unless
it has been submitted to another possible sponsor.
- All
projects or activities requiring a portion of the investigator's
time during the proposed period should be listed, even if
the project provides no salary support.
Statement
of Commitment and Letters of Support
Every
Co-Investigator and Collaborator identified on the cover
page or project plan must submit a brief, signed statement
of commitment. See 2.3.10 of Guidebook for Proposers
Responding to a NASA Research Announcement (NRA). http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/nraguidebook/
Appendix
Reprints
and/or preprints are not allowed. See specific guidelines
for required or allowed appendices/attachments.
NASA
Other Project Information
Provide
PA answers to the following questions:
-
Will NASA civil service personnel work on this project?
Yes/No
- If
yes, provide the total number of NASA FTEs by Government
fiscal year.
- Does
this project have the potential to affect historic, archeological
or traditional cultural sites or historic objects? Yes/No.
If yes, explain.
- Does
this proposed project involve any international participation,
either non-US employees or non-US organizations, providing
support for facilities, equipment, etc.? Yes/No.
If yes, are they a PI, Co-PI, Collaborator, Equipment
or Facility?
Explain their participation.
NASA
Program Specific Data Form
Each
solicitation requires that a Program Specific Data Form
be filled out and uploaded into the Grants.gov file. The
forms may vary and can be downloaded from http://nspires.nasaprs.com/Grants.gov/
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Budget
Information
Budget
The
Proposal Administrator will prepare and upload the budget
into Grants.gov. Please communicate your budget information
to him or her early in the process.
See
the specific program solicitation for information regarding
allowable budget items and budget limits.
Subcontracts
If
subcontracts are involved, detailed budget information will
be needed from them before
the total budget can be finalized.
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Special
Requirement
Subcontracts
Approval
Process
AFTER
THE PROPOSAL IS SUBMITTED
- The
Signing Official (SO) and PI will receive an e-mail confirmation
from Grants.gov within 48 hours of submission.
- Within
2 weeks of the proposal due date, the PI will receive a
NASA confirmation of receipt which will include a NASA-assigned
proposal number in NASA's NSPIRES system. (http://npsires.nasaprs.com)
- Any
applicants who do not receive this notification within the
2 weeks time period should contact their proposal administrator.
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Sponsor
Links
Research
Foundation Proposal Administrators
http://rf-web.tamu.edu/preaward/proposaladm.html
Research Foundation Contact for NASA Questions
Bridget West: bwest@rf-mail.tamu.edu
NASA's
website for Grants.gov guidelines
https://nspires.nasaprs.com/Grants.gov/
Please review our website for information on submitting RF
proposals through Grants.gov
- http://rf-web.tamu.edu
- Click
on Items of Interest - "How
to submit Grants.gov proposals through the Texas A&M
Research Foundation"
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