NASA Broad Agency Announcement Entitled Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology" (FINESST)
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) has released the inaugural Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology" (FINESST) NNH19ZDA005K solicitation for grants to universities. Proposals are due February 1, 2019 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
FINESST solicits eligible U.S. colleges and universities to submit a graduate student-initiated and/or designed research project that contributes to SMD's science, technology, and exploration goals. Each project will have a Principal Investigator and the participating graduate student on an awarded project will be a "Future Investigator".
The FINESST solicitation and awards will have the following properties:
1. Project proposals may request up to a three year period of performance (POP). POP changes, including no cost extensions, will follow normal NASA grant procedures.
2. Continuation of FINESST awards beyond the first year will require the submission of a progress report via NSPIRES due on March 15, 2020, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
3. FINESST proposal costs will be limited to those allowable under 2 CFR 200.75 - Participant support costs (e.g., stipends) and, in general, NASA does not permit indirect costs to be requested or recovered on Participant support costs.
4. The maximum award value per project is $135,000 for a three-year POP with a cap of $45,000 per 12 months.
Proposal review, selection, and award will be implemented according to the guidelines set forth in the FINESST Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). In the future, rather than continue FINESST as a separate BAA, SMD expects to integrate this graduate opportunity as a cross-divisional appendix to SMD's omnibus research solicitation, "Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES)". It is anticipated that this change will start with ROSES-2020.
Email questions and or comments to: HQ-FINESST@mail.nasa.gov. Responses to questions and the full text for the FINESST solicitation may be downloaded directly from the NNH19ZDA005K page on NSPIRES or be may reached by searching on "NNH19ZDA005K" at http://solicitation.nasaprs.com/open. Anonymity of institutions/individuals who submit questions will be preserved.
Max Bernstein, Science Mission Directorate/NASA Headquarters, Email HQ-FINESST@mail.nasa.gov - Mary F. Sladek, Science Mission Directorate/NASA Headquarters, Email HQ-FINESST@mail.nasa.gov
