NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

NAI 2010 Director's Discretionary Fund

*** The application deadline for this year’s NAI DDF opportunity has passed. ***

The NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) is accepting proposals to the 2010 NAI Director’s Discretionary Fund (DDF). Unfortunately, it is impossible to know at this time how much funding will be available for 2010 DDF awards. Although our target is a total of $1.0 M for the 2010 DDF awards, the actual amount available will not be determined until late in calendar 2010, and could be much lower than the target. While the NAI DDF is open to activities in any area of astrobiology, priority for selection in the 2010 DDF will be given as described below.

Note that the Lead Investigator for all proposals must be affiliated with a current NAI team, but that proposals may include participation both by emeritus members and by those who have never been associated with the Institute. All proposals must be accompanied by a letter of endorsement from the Principal Investigator of each NAI team involved in the activity. Proposals are invited ranging from $10-20K for smaller projects (e.g., a workshop) up to $100-150K for research efforts.

Priority in selection for the NAI 2010 DDF will be given to proposals that are characterized by one or more of the following:

• Integrates the research of and realizes synergies among the current NAI teams
• Expands the scope of NAI research (and the NAI community) in innovative ways, accepting some risk in return for high pay-off potential
• Responds in a timely way to new scientific results or programmatic opportunities
• Develops connections between astrobiology research and other NASA science programs, particularly NASA’s Earth Science Program – see, http://nasascience.nasa.gov/earth-science/
• Directly supports flight programs, particularly through instrument development
• Uses funding particularly effectively, for example through leveraging or building on past investments

Additional information about the 2008 NASA Astrobiology Roadmap can be found at http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ast.2008.0819. Further background on NASA’s strategic goals can be obtained from the agency’s 2006 NASA Strategic Plan, which can be viewed at http://nasascience.nasa.gov/about-us/science-strategy. The Science Mission Directorate 2007 Science Plan can be downloaded at http://science.hq.nasa.gov/strategy/index.html/.

Evaluation Criteria
Research proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria.

Scientific and Technical Merit – Objectives of broad significance and lasting impact; innovative and novel approaches to fulfill these objectives; quality of personnel and supporting facilities; likelihood that substantial progress can be made during the funding period; expansion of a team’s research beyond original proposal; strategic impact to NASA.

Other Institute Objectives – Degree that the proposed work develops or extends collaborations between NAI teams or between one or more teams and the larger astrobiology community. Proposals may include components that relate to other aspects of NAI’s mission, including Education and Public Outreach, information/collaboration technology, and/or the training of future astrobiologists or other scientists and engineers with the potential to contribute to NASA’s mission.

Effective and Realistic Use of Resources – Strength and interdisciplinarity of the team; optimization of resources (facilities, synergy of DDF and Cooperative Agreement funds; matching funds from other partners or external sources); cost realism and appropriateness.

Proposals of smaller scope, such as for a workshop, will be reviewed against a sub-set of these criteria as appropriate.

Schedule
Submission: Proposals will be accepted at any time until June 30, 2010. Proposals submitted after that date will be considered for funding as part of the NAI 2011 DDF.

Announcement of Awards: November, 2010

Period of Performance: The period of performance for selected proposals should not, in general, extend beyond a 12-month period.

To Submit a Proposal
Proposals should be structured as indicated in the DDF Proposal Outline, and submitted electronically to nai_ddf@nx.arc.nasa.gov. Proposals for larger budgetary requests can be up to 10 pages in length (not including figures, references and budget), but are expected to be shorter (5-page maximum) for projects of smaller scope. Detailed instructions are in the Proposal Outline.

It is expected that DDF funds will be distributed as augmentations to existing NAI Cooperative Agreements. Following the approval of an award, therefore, each team receiving funds (excluding NASA Centers and JPL) will be required to submit an official signed augmentation request to the NASA Ames Grant Office.

Questions about the NAI DDF should be directed either to the Director, Carl Pilcher (carl.b.pilcher@nasa.gov) or Deputy Director, Ed Goolish (edward.goolish@nasa.gov).

View Prior Year DDF Awards