Sptzer Space Telescope Cycle-1 General Observer Educaton and Publc Outreach Call for Proposals Issued by the Sptzer Scence Center Calforna Insttute of Technology Pasadena, Calforna USA 15 October 2004 Proposals Due: Tuesday, 30 November, 2004, 5:00pm (PST) http://sptzer.caltech.edu/
Table of Contents 1 PURPOSE... 1 2 ELIGIBILTY REQUIREMENTS... 2 2.1 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR, CO-INVESTIGATOR & TEAM MEMBERS... 2 2.2 TEAMED FUNDING... 3 3 ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL... 4 3.1 COVER PAGE... 4 3.2 KEY ELEMENTS... 4 3.3 EVALUATION PLAN... 5 3.4 DISSEMINATION PLAN... 6 3.5 COST PLAN... 6 3.6 ANCILLARY DOCUMENTATION... 6 4 BUDGET GUIDELINES... 7 5 INQUIRIES AND ASSISTANCE FOR THE PREPARATION OF E/PO PROPOSALS... 7 6 PROPOSAL REVIEW PROCESS... 8 6.1 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION AND DEADLINE... 8 6.2 PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA... 8 6.3 PANEL REVIEW... 9 6.4 AWARD NOTIFICATION... 9 7 FINAL REPORTS FOR FUNDED PROJECTS... 10 APPENDIX A: ALLOWABLE COSTS... 11 The Sptzer Scence Center (SSC) s operated by the Calforna Insttute of Technology for the Jet Propulson Laboratory (JPL) and the Natonal Aeronautcs and Space Admnstraton (NASA).
1 PURPOSE In accordance wth The Natonal Aeronautcs and Space Admnstraton (NASA) Educaton and Publc Outreach (E/PO) polces, a porton of the Sptzer Cycle 1 budget has been allocated for E/PO fundng. The Sptzer Scence Center (SSC) s announcng the opportunty for accepted Cycle 1 General Observers (GOs) and Archval Researchers (ARs) to submt proposals for an Educaton and Publc Outreach (E/PO) supplement to the parent research program. NASA has developed a comprehensve approach to provdng E/PO to enhance the publc s understandng of space scence. NASA has ncorporated these objectves as ntegral components of all mssons and research programs. There are four documents that establsh the basc E/PO polces and gudelnes for NASA that proposers wll fnd nformatve and useful n understandng NASA s proposal evaluaton crtera: NASA Strategc Plan 2003 [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/offce/codez/plans/pl2000.pdf], Space Scence Enterprse 2003 Strategc Plan [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/offce/codez/plans/sse00plan.pdf], The Offce of Space Scence E/PO Strategy [http://spacescence.nasa.gov/educaton/resources/strategy/ndex.htm], and Explanatory Gude to the NASA Offce of Space Scence Educaton & Publc Outreach Evaluaton Crtera [http://ssbroker.colorado.edu/broker/eval_crtera/gude/default.htm], The sprt of the Sptzer Cycle 1 E/PO Program s to encourage collaboratve efforts between professonal astronomers/space scentsts and professonal educators that would broaden the knowledge and understandng of the latest dscoveres of the Sptzer Space Telescope. The Sptzer Cycle 1 E/PO proposal must have clear ntellectual lnkage to the scence and/or scence theme of the parent research program(s). The duraton of the fundng s up to two years, begnnng 3/1/2005. There are two Sptzer Cycle 1 E/PO fundng categores: Indvdual A Sptzer Cycle 1 GO Prncpal Investgator or Co-Investgator may request up to $20,000 for an E/PO program. Teamed--A maxmum of three (3) scence research programs can team together, for a maxmum of $60,000. Up to $150,000 wll be awarded to support successful GO1 E/PO proposals. The duraton of fundng wll be two years from the date of award notfcaton, no exceptons.
2 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS The followng must be fulflled n a Sptzer Cycle 1 E/PO proposal: an accepted Sptzer Cycle 1 proposal number(s) at least one (1) professonal astronomer/space scentst from each parent research program actve n the development and mplementaton of the program; at least one (1) professonal educator actve n the development and mplementaton of the program the proposed E/PO program focuses on educaton/publc outreach n the U.S. 2.1 Prncpal Investgator, Co-Investgator & Team Members The proposal must have a Prncpal Investgator, and a Co-Investgator, and may have as many other team members as desred. Prncpal Investgator: The followng s requred to be elgble as Prncpal Investgator (PI) on a Sptzer Cycle 1 E/PO proposal: The E/PO Prncpal Investgator must be an accepted Sptzer GO/AR Prncpal or Co- Investgator. Only one E/PO proposal wll be accepted for each Sptzer Cycle 1 GO/AR Program Number The P.I. must have an actve role n admnsterng and gudng the E/PO program through to the fnal report. For a teamed proposal, only one astronomer can be desgnated as the E/PO Prncpal Investgator. The E/PO P.I. must be afflated wth a U.S. nsttuton. A Sptzer GO/AR P.I. from a non-u.s. nsttuton may not be the E/PO P.I., but the team may stll submt an E/PO proposal wth a U.S.-based Sptzer GO/AR Co-I as the E/PO P.I. Co-Investgator: The Co-Investgator of a Cycle 1 GO E/PO program may be: 1. an accepted Sptzer GO/AR Prncpal or Co-Investgator, or 2. a professonal educator. If the Co-I s a professonal educator, the proposal must demonstrate an actve collaboratve effort between the astronomer P.I. and the professonal educator. The followng educators are elgble to serve as Co-Investgators: An educator actvely workng n K-14 educaton
An educator assocated wth an nformal scence nsttuton (.e. planetarum, museum, scence center, etc.). Team Members Proposals may nclude as many addtonal team members as necessary from varous backgrounds to ensure the success of a proposed program. All team members must have clearly stated roles and responsbltes n the program descrpton of the proposal. Addtonally, f there are salary requests for any team member, there must be a clear descrpton of the essental need for that team member ncluded n the budget narratve. In the event that a professonal educator s not the Co-I of the proposal, one must be ncluded as a team member. 2.2 Teamed Fundng Sptzer Cycle 1 programs whose topc or the scence foundatons are smlar may combne ther efforts and submt a teamed E/PO proposal. A maxmum of three (3) scence research programs can team together for up to $60,000. A teamed proposal must have: one E/PO Prncpal Investgator desgnated from a parent scence research program who fulflls all the Prncpal Investgator elgblty requrements at least one U.S. member from each parent scence research program actve n the development and mplementaton of the proposed E/PO program NASA polces prohbt offerng funds for the sole purpose of generatng a potentally marketable (retal/for proft) end-product such as a vdeo, CD-ROM, slde set, poster or computer software. Fundng can be awarded for an educatonal actvty that mght ncorporate the use and assessment of a developed product. (Example: A proposed program may nvolve the development of an educatonal product, but ths product would be part of a larger actvty and would be dstrbuted ether for free or at cost.) In addton, t s strongly encouraged that any person partcpatng on a program wth a salared poston n a for-proft company sgn a non-dsclosure agreement to avod potental conflcts of nterest drectly related to ntellectual property rghts of other E/PO team members and/or partnerng nsttutons. If an ndvdual company s unwllng to comply wth ths request, t s usually not advsable to proceed wth the proposed partnershp.
3 ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 3.1 Cover Page A Cover Page must be submtted for all E/PO proposals. The followng nformaton must be provded: E/PO Proposal Ttle Prncpal Investgator Informaton (Name, ttle and afflaton) Co-Investgator Informaton (Name, ttle and afflaton) Type of E/PO Proposal: Indvdual or Teamed E/PO Team Members (Name, ttle and afflaton) Sptzer Cycle 1 GO/AR Program Ttle Sptzer Cycle 1 GO/AR Program Number Requested Budget (n dollars) Insttutons Authorzng Offcal (Sponsored Projects Offce or equvalent) (need sgnature) E/PO Abstract (lmted to 250 words) A completed Cover Page must be sgned by the Insttuton s Authorzng Offcal (Sponsored Projects Offce or equvalent) and attached to an orgnal of the E/PO proposal as well as all copes. 3.2 Key Elements Proposals must nclude each of the followng and are lmted to fve (5), sngle-sded, numbered pages wth a font sze no smaller than eleven (11) ponts: A clear descrpton of the proposed program s goals, objectves, and mplementaton strateges Proposals usng exstng E/PO resource or product must descrbe how they wll be bult upon or taken advantage of to enhance the understandng of scence, mathematcs, and/or technology educaton Identfcaton of the target audence, ncludng how the team ntends to reach the target audence A clear descrpton of the roles and responsbltes of every team member A tmelne/lst of mlestones for the proposed program
A Note about the Target Audence: K-12 Educaton: Proposals targetng K-12 educaton, ncludng nformal scence venues, must be algned wth and lnked to natonally recognzed and endorsed educaton standards. Proposals must nclude a ctaton of the specfc natonal educatonal standard(s) algned wth the proposed program. Publcatons that fully defne natonal educaton standard content areas are: Natonal Scence Educaton Standards [http://www.nap.edu/readngroom/books/nses/html/]; Prncples and Standards for School Mathematcs [http://www.nctm.org/standards/overvew.htm]; Amercan Assocaton for the Advancement of Scence (AAAS) Project 2061 Benchmarks [http://www.project2061.org/tools/benchol/bolntro.htm]; and Natonal Educatonal Technology Standards (NETS) Project [http://cnets.ste.org/ndex.html]. College/Unversty Educaton: Programs targetng undergraduate astronomy/space scence must demonstrate a clear need for the product/program. Preference wll be shown to programs that encourage cross-department partcpaton or can be appled at more than one nsttuton. No programs amed at graduate students wll be consdered. General Publc: Proposals targetng the general publc must address the potental mpact the proposed program would have. Addtonally, proposals must demonstrate the potental for broader mpact through replcaton. It s mportant to nclude potental attendance numbers and/or other related statstcal nformaton to demonstrate the potental mpact. Web Development: Proposals that nvolve developng a webste must nclude the followng nformaton: Who wll desgn and program the webste Who wll host the webste How wll the webste be mantaned The cost(s) ncurred to develop and mantan a webste n the budget spreadsheet/narratve 3.3 Evaluaton Plan Proposals must have a clear, detaled evaluaton plan descrbng how the program wll be assessed for effectveness. The evaluaton plan should be approprate for the scope of the proposed program.
3.4 Dssemnaton Plan Proposals must have a clear, detaled plan descrbng how the results of the program wll be dssemnated to a broad audence. The dssemnaton plan should be approprate for the scope of the proposed program. 3.5 Cost Plan The followng must be ncluded n the cost plan: An temzed lst of each budget tem for whch fundng s requested. A budget narratve descrbng each budget tem. Any waver or reducton of nsttutonal overhead. Any matchng funds, n-knd contrbutons, or other resources the proposal leverages. Cost plans are lmted to two years n duraton, wth the perod of performance startng March 1, 2005. 3.6 Ancllary Documentaton The followng should be ncluded but are not counted towards the page lmts: Cover Page Sptzer Cycle 1 GO/AR Program Abstract Currculum Vtae (CV) of All Team Members (one-page lmt per team member) Cost Plan Any documentaton that would provde addtonal support to the proposed program, such as: o Letters of support demonstratng secure collaboratons and commtment of all partes o A lst of prevous NASA Educaton Dvson, Educaton/Publc Outreach, or NSF Educaton/Publc Outreach grant awards the Prncpal Investgator has receved durng the past fve (5) years If you have any questons about proposal submssons or the Call for Proposals, please contact program staff at outreach@pac.caltech.edu.
4 BUDGET GUIDELINES The Sptzer Cycle 1 E/PO proposals have the same budget requrements as the Sptzer GO program. Detaled nformaton budget gudelnes from the Sptzer GO Cycle 1 Call for Proposals are reproduced here as Appendx A Insttutonal Overhead: The budget for E/PO grant programs s lmted, and t s requested, although not requred, that nsttutonal overhead be reduced or waved by the submttng organzaton. 5 INQUIRIES AND ASSISTANCE FOR THE PREPARATION OF E/PO PROPOSALS Process Inqures: Inqures regardng the proposal process should be made drectly to the SSC E/PO Group at outreach@pac.caltech.edu. Program Inqures: NASA has establshed a naton-wde Space Scence E/PO Support Network, whose purpose s to drectly ad nvestgators n dentfyng and developng hghqualty E/PO opportuntes. Prospectve proposers are strongly encouraged to make use of the Space Scence E/PO Support Network to help dentfy sutable opportuntes and to arrange approprate allances. Ths nfrastructure provdes coordnaton, background, and lnkages that would foster partnershps between the space scence and E/PO communtes, as well as the servces needed to establsh and mantan a vtal natonal, coordnated, long-term NASA E/PO program. Wthn the Space Scence E/PO Support Network nfrastructure are the followng: The NASA scence theme-orented Forums are avalable to help orchestrate and organze the educaton/outreach aspects of NASA mssons and research programs n a comprehensve way. The regonal Broker/Facltators are responsble for dentfyng and establshng hghleverage opportuntes, arrangng allances between educators and NASA-supported scentsts, and helpng scentsts turn results from space scence mssons and programs nto educatonally approprate actvtes that could be dstrbuted regonally and natonally. A more detaled descrpton of the NASA E/PO Support Network and contact nformaton for both the Forums and Broker/Facltators can be found at http://spacescence.nasa.gov/educaton/ndex.htm. Proposers should note that Forums and Broker/Facltators have been establshed to provde help, but the proposer s fully responsble for the development of the E/PO program, as well as wrtng the proposal.
6 PROPOSAL REVIEW PROCESS 6.1 Proposal Submsson and Deadlne The Sptzer Cycle 1 E/PO proposals must be submtted n paper. No electronc submssons wll be accepted. The followng must be receved by the SSC Offce of Publc Outreach by Tuesday, November 30, 2004 at 5:00 p.m. (PDT): Cover Page wth approprate sgnatures one (1) unbound orgnal proposal Sx (6) copes of the proposal, ncludng the cover page Insttutonally endorsed cost plan and budget narratve Statement of reducton or waver of nsttutonal overhead All materals must be maled to: The Sptzer Scence Center Attn: Offce of Educaton and Publc Outreach Calforna Insttute of Technology Mal Code 314-6 1200 E. Calforna Blvd Pasadena, CA 91125 (626-395-8000) 6.2 Proposal Evaluaton Crtera The prncpal elements consdered n evaluatng an E/PO proposal are ts ntrnsc mert, relevance to NASA s objectves, and ts cost effectveness and reasonableness. To determne f a proposal meets the prncpal elements, t wll be judged by the followng lst of crtera. The falure of a proposal to be rated hghly n any one of these crtera s suffcent cause for the E/PO proposal to be declned. Qualty, Scope and Realsm, and Approprateness: Programs must have a clear ntellectual lnkage to the scence and/or scence theme of the parent research program(s), be clearly organzed, consstent wth the requested budget, have clear lnes of management responsbltes, and demonstrate a hgh probablty for successful mplementaton. Customer Needs Focus: Programs have been desgned to respond to a need dentfed by the educaton communty, a customer, or a customer group. Partnershp/Leverage/Sustanablty: Programs acheve hgh leverage and/or sustanablty through ntrnsc desgn or the nvolvement of approprate local, regonal, and/or natonal partners n ther desgn, development, and dssemnaton.
Scentst Partcpaton: Actve nvolvement of approprate and qualfed partners and members of the scence team s requred. Proposals must also clearly demonstrate a collaboratve effort between the astronomer/space scentst(s) and educatonal professonal(s), wth all team members havng an actve role n the proposed program. Evaluaton: The approprateness of an evaluaton plan to document outcomes and demonstrate progress toward achevng objectves of proposed educaton/outreach actvtes, commensurate wth the scale of the E/PO program. Content: Programs make drect use of NASA content, people, or facltes to nvolve educators, students, and/or the publc n NASA scence, technology, engneerng, and mathematcs. Proposals that focus on formal educaton must demonstrate algnment wth approprate educatonal standards. Ppelne: Through the use of NASA space scence, programs/products make a demonstrable contrbuton to attractng dverse populatons to careers n scence, technology, engneerng, and mathematcs. Dversty: Through the use of NASA space scence, programs/products reach dentfed targeted groups and contrbute to the nvolvement, broad understandng, and/or tranng of underserved, and/or underutlzed groups n scence and technology. Resource Utlzaton: The adequacy, approprateness, and realsm of the proposed budget ncludng demonstraton of effectve use of funds. 6.3 Panel Revew The panel revew s held approxmately 4-6 weeks after the proposal submsson deadlne. A panel revew team performs a formal evaluaton of all complete proposals. The panel revew team s composed of members of the educaton, scentfc, and NASA communtes, who are recruted based on professonal expertse n ther feld as well as ther knowledge of astronomy/space scence and educaton/publc outreach. The Sptzer E/PO team wll take the results of the E/PO Revew Panel and provde a consoldated lst of recommendatons to the SSC Drector, who wll then make the fnal selecton of the Cycle -1 E/PO program. 6.4 Award Notfcaton Award notfcaton letters wll be sent to the Prncpal Investgator approxmately 4-6 weeks after the panel revew. In addton to an award notfcaton letter, Prncpal Investgators wll receve a Panel Revew Comment Sheet, whch wll provde detaled feedback from the panel revew team regardng the proposal.
7 FINAL REPORTS FOR FUNDED PROJECTS At the completon of the frst year of fundng, Prncpal Investgators wll have nnety (90) days to submt a fnal report for the program. The fnal report should not exceed fve (5) sngle-sded pages and should summarze the accomplshments of the program. These reports wll be ncorporated n the SSC E/PO annual reports to NASA Headquarters. The Sptzer Scence Center wll assume responsblty for reportng the accomplshments of the GO E/PO programs to NASA Headquarters.
Appendx A: Allowable Costs Proposals wll be evaluated, n part, on the reasonableness of the proposed costs and the overall cost effectveness of the nvestgaton. The allowable costs whch should be ncluded n the cost plan are lsted below. Detals that cannot be accommodated wthn standard budget forms should be ncluded n a supplementary budget narratve (not subject to the overall proposal page lmt). Salares and Wages Drect labor costs for elgble project nvestgators should be ncluded and temzed. Sptzer Space Telescope funds may not be used to pay more than a person s full-tme salary or to pay more than an ndvdual s hourly wage rate. An nvestgator may not normally be rembursed for consultng or other work n addton to a regular full-tme nsttutonal salary coverng the same perod of employment. For faculty members n academc nsttutons, Sptzer fundng wll normally be lmted to no more than two months of summer salary support. Exceptons for released tme durng the academc year (e.g., buyng back teachng tme) may be permtted, but such costs must be fully justfed n the proposal and the compensaton requested must be reasonable and consstent wth each employee s regular full-tme salary or rate of compensaton. Released tme for project nvestgators workng n non-academc nsttutons may be proposed, provded the compensaton requested s reasonable and consstent wth each employee s regular full-tme salary or rate of compensaton. It s assumed that most scentsts wll be afflated wth nsttutons that wll make substantal support avalable for project actvtes (e.g., computer facltes, collaboraton wth other scentsts, students, or research assstants). Research Assstance Drect labor costs for graduate students, post-doctoral assocates, data ades, and secretaral and techncal support should be ncluded and temzed. For postdoctoral assocates and other professonals, each poston should be lsted wth the number of months, percentage of tme that wll be spent on the project, and rate of pay (hourly, monthly, or annual). For graduate students and secretaral, clercal, and techncal staff, only the total number of persons and the total amount of salares per year n each category are requred. All such salares must be n accordance wth the standard polces of the nsttuton assumng responsblty for the project. Frnge Benefts If an nsttuton s usual accountng practces provde that ts contrbutons to employee benefts (Socal Securty, retrement, etc.) be treated as drect costs, funds may be requested for all applcable frnge benefts. In ths case, proposers must break out the assocated costs and lst them as a separate cost component wthn the drect labor element.
Publcaton Costs Reasonable costs for publcaton of research results obtaned from a Sptzer research nvestgaton should be ncluded as a component of "Other Drect Costs. Travel Itemzed transportaton and subsstence costs for project personnel to plan, obtan, analyze, and dssemnate drect results of a Sptzer research nvestgaton should be ncluded. Proposers should nclude orgn/destnaton, number of travelers, number of trps, and costs assocated wth each, and nclude ths nformaton as a component of "Other Drect Costs. Insttutonal Overhead The budget for E/PO grant programs s lmted, and t s requested that nsttutonal overhead be reduced or waved by the submttng organzaton, snce, n many cases, such actvtes wll be of drect value to local educatonal and/or publc scence nsttutons. Computer Servces The temzed costs of computer tme and software for the analyss of Sptzer data should be ncluded. Detals of the servces and software that wll be used must be fully descrbed and justfed n the proposal, and ncluded as a component of Other Drect Costs. Equpment Itemzed equpment costs, ncludng computers or related hardware, should be ncluded and accompaned by a detaled justfcaton n the budget narratve. In general, the ttle to approved equpment purchased for $5,000 or less wll be vested wth the Contractor. The ttle to equpment costng n excess of $5,000 wll be vested wth the U.S. Government, unless JPL and/or NASA ndcate otherwse n wrtng. In ether case, f the proposer seeks ttle to the equpment, t must be noted n ther cost narratve. Materals and Supples The temzed costs of materals and supples drectly related to the Sptzer research nvestgaton may be ncluded, provded such costs are not already rembursed through ndrect costs, or some other means. These costs should be ncluded as a component of Other Drect Costs. Indrect Costs (IDCs) The budget for E/PO grant programs s lmted, and t s requred that nsttutonal overhead be reduced or waved by the submttng organzaton.