From: Elizabeth Tilley <elizabeth.tilley@utsa.edu>
Date: Thursday, January 23, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Subject: Updates to NASA FINESST applications

Good morning, FINESST research group,

 

As most of you are now aware, the due date for the FINESST applications has been updated to 2.26.25.  Some of you are already in process of finalizing your applications and have started routing to your assigned RA’s.  In order to avoid a traffic jam when we get closer to the deadline, the RA team will submit any applications received by Faculty to OSP as soon as we are able to review them in order to give OSP some breathing room.

Key Deadlines:

  1. NSPIRES Due Date: Deadline Extended to February 26, 2025 (previously February 5, 2025). Please remember that the PI will need to release the NSPIRES application to the AOR when the application is ready to be submitted.
  2. Cayuse Deadline: Final documents will need to be received by your RA team member by February 19, 2025.  The RA teams will need to have all reviewed documents routed in Cayuse to OSP by Monday, February 24, 2025.  I would like to encourage all who can route early, please do 😊

NSPIRES Proposal Preparation Requirements/Tips and required Proposal Sections (also remember to ensure all team members confirm their roles in NSPIRES):

Dual Anonymous Peer Review (DAPR):

  1. The Science/Technical/Management (S/T/M) section and Mentoring Plan must be anonymized
  2. Peer reviewers will evaluate these anonymized sections before reviewing Research Readiness and team qualifications

Science/Technical/Management (S/T/M) Section:

  1. Max 6 pages, anonymized
  2. Must address scientific significance, research approach, and relevance to NASA (this also varies slightly by which section you are applying to.  Please ask your assigned RA for these details, if needed)

Mentoring Plan:

  1. Max 2 pages, anonymized
  2. Outline holistic support for the Future Investigator (FI)

Open Science and Data Management Plan (OSDMP):

  1. Max 2 pages, anonymized

Non-Anonymized Components:

  1. Include biosketches, budget narratives, and Research Readiness Statements

Other Adjustments

  1. Reference checklist (Section 10) for updated formatting requirements

Budget/Justification and IDC Guidance:

  1. Indirect Costs:
    1. The Indirect Costs associated for all 2025 NASA FINESST proposals will be 0% MTDC to ensure consistency with the Uniform Guidance definition of Participant Support and Scholarship Costs, in concert with a cost-basis that is consistent regarding salaries, ERE, etc. for this specific program. This allowance is applicable only to the 2025 NASA FINESST Solicitation. The FINESST solicitations are reviewed annually to ensure equity and compliance as it pertains to federal guidance.
    2. For Internal purposes and review of your proposal, the RA team will assist you in creating a detailed budget as you normally would for a federal sponsor (i.e., personnel, travel, other direct costs) however, you will need to include the costs in the budget for the NSPIRES application as Participant Support
  1. Direct Costs:
    1. Based on the language in the solicitation, proposers may request FI funding in one of three different ways:
      1. As a direct labor cost, the same as a key or other personnel;
      2. As a scholarship or other student aid that shall comply with the requirements in 2 CFR 200.466, Scholarships and student aid costs; or
      3. As a participant support cost as defined in 2 CFR 200.1, Definitions
  1. The budget justification in Cayuse and NSPIRES must specify whether the institution is treating the FI as 1) an employee or 2) a participant; 3) a scholarship recipient, or 4) some other cost category, as this will impact budget review.
  2. Internal Routing Guidance:
    1. If there are situations where stipends and other costs supplied by the sponsor will not cover the mandatory benefits provided by this institution, the difference should be cost shared and we will work individually with Faculty and departments when this need arises.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions.  I may have missed some FI’s in this email, but please share with them.

Thank you!

Liz

 

Elizabeth H. Escoto (formerly Tilley), PhD

Sr. Research Administrator

COS College Research Administration Teams

Office of Research

The University of Texas at San Antonio

cell: 347.299.1641

One UTSA Circle
San Antonio, TX 78249-3209