Information for Proposers Regarding Proposal Submission, Evaluation, Selection, and Implementation

(From NASA's ROSES-05 Announcement, section C.12 "Swift Guest Investigator - Cycle 2", available from the Swift front page of the ROSES-05 Announcement.)

2. Programmatic Information

2.1 Demonstration of Relevance to NASA's Objectives

Proposals for all NASA sponsored research programs are judged on three criteria: scientific and technical merit of the proposed work, cost realism and reasonableness, and relevance of the proposed work to NASA missions and science goals (see also Appendix C of the Guidebook for Proposers responding to a NASA Research Announcement - 2005). To enable the NASA Science Mission Directorate to properly evaluate the relevance of proposals submitted to its programs, as well as track its progress towards achieving its goals as mandated by the Government Performance Review Act (GPRA), it is mandatory that all research supported by NASA's programs must now demonstrate its relationship to NASA strategic goals and/or science objectives as stated in the latest version of its Strategic Plan; see the discussion in Section I(a) of the Summary of Solicitation of this NRA (available from the Swift front page of the ROSES-05 Announcement). Therefore, in addition to addressing the specific goals of this program, all proposers must provide as expository text in the main body of their proposal a statement of the relevance of their proposed work to NASA's Strategic Objectives given in Table 1 in the Summary of Solicitation of this NRA. This discussion need not exceed the order of a quarter page of text and is to be included in the introduction to the Science-Technical- Management section of the proposal.

Note that this NRA references NASA's 2005 strategic objectives (see Section I(a) and Table 1 for references).

2.2 General Information

It is anticipated that approximately $1M will be available through this solicitation for the support of approximately 30 Cycle 2 Guest Investigations of one year duration each. The Swift Cycle 2 GI program is open to all individuals employed at U.S. institutions (including Swift science team members). Scientists participating in the Swift mission, including Associate Scientists and members of the Follow-up Team who are not funded by the Project are eligible for support under this Cycle 2 GI program. Swift science team members already receiving support from the Project are also eligible for support during Cycle 2, although such individuals must provide a compelling justification for the award of additional funds under the GI program. Finally, pending the submission of proposals of merit, it is the intent of this program that at least half of the available GI funding be awarded to scientists not already formally associated with Swift. Note that all proposers, independent of their affiliation with the Swift mission, must list their current and pending support in their proposal.

Addenda: Who May Propose

Proposals will be accepted from any US institution within the United States. Swift proposals must identify a Principal Investigator (PI), who will conduct the research program within the United States, and who assumes full responsibility for the conduct of the scientific investigation.

Following selection, the SSC will communicate only with the person identified as PI or lead Co-Investigator (Co-I), who can also serve in this role in the event that the PI is unavailable. It will be the PI's responsibility to respond to any questions concerning the proposed science program.

Who May Propose - Foreign Participation

NASA welcomes participation from co-Investigators outside the U.S.

All proposals must be typewritten in English and comply with all other submission requirements stated in the Solicitation Announcement. All proposals must be received before the established closing date; those received after the closing date will be held for the next proposal cycle.

Successful and unsuccessful proposers will be contacted directly by the NASA Office of Space Science. Should a proposal with non-U.S. participation be selected, NASA's Space Science and Aeronautics Division will arrange with the foreign sponsor for the proposed participation on a no-exchange-of-funds basis, in which NASA and the non-U.S. sponsoring agency will each bear the cost of discharging their respective responsibilities.

Depending on the nature and extent of the proposed cooperation, these arrangements may entail:

an exchange of letters between NASA and the foreign sponsor; or

a formal Agency-to-Agency Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Export Control Guidelines Applicable to Proposals Including Foreign Participation

Proposals including foreign participation must include a section discussing compliance with U.S. export laws and regulations, e.g. 22 CFR Parts 120-130 and 15 CFR Parts 730-774, as applicable to the circumstances surrounding the particular foreign participation. The discussion must describe in detail the proposed foreign participation and is to include, but not be limited to, whether or not the foreign participation may require the prospective proposer to obtain the prior approval of the Department of State or the Department of Commerce via a technical assistance agreement or an export license, or whether a license exemption/exception may apply. If prior approvals via licenses are necessary, discuss whether the license has been applied for or if not, the projected timing of the application and any implications for the schedule. Information regarding U.S. export regulations is available at http://www.pmdtc.org/ and http://www.bxa.doc.gov/. Proposers are advised that under U.S. law and regulations, spacecraft and their specifically designed, modified, or configured systems, components and parts are generally considered "Defense Articles" on the United States Munitions List and subject to the provisions of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130.

2.3 Proposal Submission and Evaluation

2.3.1 Submission of Proposals to the Swift Cycle 2 GI Program

In order to expedite the proposal review process and the timely selection of scientific peer review panels, investigators intending to submit proposals for participation in the this program are asked to submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to propose by May 13, 2005, via the Web address given in this NRA's Summary of Solicitation (see the Swift front page of the ROSES-05 Announcement for a link to the Summary of Solicitation).

Swift Cycle 2 proposals are due July 8, 2005!. Prospective proposers to the Swift Cycle 2 GI Program must adhere to the following procedures for the submission of proposals:

Electronically submit a Cover Page/Proposal Summary/Budget Summary at the NPSPIRES Web site, in compliance with Chapter 2.2 of the NASA Guidebook for Proposers. Print and retain the Cover Page.

Note that NASA's new data base requires a fundemental change in Cover Page submission proceedure. In particular, entry by the PI of the data requested above must be followed by the electronic "submission" of these data by an official at the PI's organization who is authorized to make such a submissions. See section IV.b.iii of the Summary of Solicitation for further details.

Prepare and submit 12 printed copies of the proposal (due July 8, 2005!) to:
The PI must sign the printed Cover Page and attach it as the front of the original of the proposal; copies of the signed Cover Page must be attached to the other 11 copies of the proposal.

Due to the nature of prospective investigations within the Swift GI program, the Scientific/Technical/Management section of proposals is limited to 4 pages, instead of the default 15 pages specified in the NASA Guidebook for Proposers, and the budget section is limited to 1 page. The requirement of a table of contents in the body of the proposal is waived.

Note: All printed and electronic materials must arrive at the above address by July 8, 2005 in order to be included in the proposals review for this cycle of the Swift Guest Investigator program.

2.3.2 Evaluation of Proposals submitted to the Swift Cycle 2 GI Program

Proposals will be evaluated by a peer evaluation panel with respect to the criteria specified in Section C.3 of the Guidebook, where it is understood that the intrinsic merit of a proposal shall include the following factors:

The suitability of using the Swift observatory and data products for the proposed investigation;
The extent to which the investigation complements approved Key Projects and enhances the anticipated science return from the mission in the area of GRB research;
The degree to which the proposed investigation places demands upon mission resources; and
For theoretical investigations, the degree to which the investigation directly advances the mission GRB science goals.

2.4 Supplemental Information

Further details of the proposal submission requirement and process may be found at the Swift GI information page of the Swift Science Center (SSC) Web site. These include a detailed mission description, technical information about the Swift missioni, instruments, and feasibility; information regarding proposal submission; and instructions for completing the required proposals forms.

Technical questions concerning the Swift mission and requests for assistance in proposal submission may be addressed to:

Swift Helpdesk

Dr. Padi Boyd, Swift Science Center Lead, at:
Dr. Padi Boyd
Swift Science Center
Code 660.1
Goddard Space Flight Center
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Greenbelt, MD 20771-0001
USA
TEL: 301-286-2550, FAX: 301-286-0708
E-mail: send to "Swift Helpdesk" at link above

Programmatic information may be obtained from the Swift Program Scientist:

Return to Swift GI Information Page