NSF 22-624: Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants (AAG)
Program Solicitation
Document Information
Document History
- Posted: August 4, 2022
- Replaces: NSFÂ 18-575
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Program Solicitation NSF 22-624
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U.S. National Science Foundation |
Submission Window Date(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitting organization’s local time):
October 01, 2022 - November 15, 2022
October 1 - November 15, Annually Thereafter
Due by 5 pm proposer's local time on the last day of the full proposal window.
Important Information And Revision Notes
Proposals must be prepared in accordance with the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). Use the version of the guide that is in effect on the proposal's due date.
Summary Of Program Requirements
General Information
Program Title:
Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants (AAG)
Synopsis of Program:
The Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants (AAG) Program is an inclusive and flexible funding opportunity to support research in the astronomical sciences. The Program provides individual investigator and collaborative research grants for observational, theoretical, laboratory, and archival data studies in astronomy and astrophysics. The Program also considers proposals for projects and tools that enable or enhance astronomical research. Proposals may span multiple disciplines and/or areas of study and may utilize multiple techniques.
expanding Participation In Stem, NSF Priorities, And Gold Standard Science:
NSF prioritizes cutting-edge discovery science and engineering research, advancing technology and innovation, and creating opportunities for all Americans. NSF has established priorities set forth by Congress, the administration and the NSF director to promote NSF's mission. Proposers should review the list of NSF priorities and are encouraged to align their proposals with them, where appropriate. NSF also expects the highest standards of scientific rigor, integrity and adherence to appropriate tenets of Gold Standard Science in proposals, as appropriate for the field of science and research modality.
Cognizant Program Officer(s):
Please note that the following information is current at the time of publishing. See program website for any updates to the points of contact.
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Hans A. Krimm (AAG Program Lead), telephone: (703) 292-2761, email: hkrimm@nsf.gov
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Andreas A. Berlind (EXC Lead), Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology (EXC) Lead, telephone: (703)292-5387, email: aberlind@nsf.gov
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Jacqueline Keane (GAL, PLA Lead), telephone: (703) 292-8123, email: jkeane@nsf.gov
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Gioia Rau (SAA Lead), Stellar Astronomy and Astrophysics (SAA) Lead, telephone: (703) 292-8729, email: grau@nsf.gov
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Matthew A. Bershady (EXC), telephone: (703) 292-2686, email: mbershad@nsf.gov
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Christopher J. Davis (GAL), telephone: (703) 292-4910, email: chrdavis@nsf.gov
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Louise O. Edwards (EXC), telephone: (703) 292-7597, email: loedward@nsf.gov
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Harshal Gupta (GAL), Lab Astro, telephone: (703) 292-5039, email: hgupta@nsf.gov
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Juan P. Madrid (EXC), telephone: (703) 292-7297, email: jmadrid@nsf.gov
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Joseph E. Pesce (EXC), telephone: (703) 292-7373, email: jpesce@nsf.gov
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Luca Rizzi (SAA), telephone: (703) 292-4622, email: lrizzi@nsf.gov
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Nigel A. Sharp (EXC), telephone: (703) 292-4905, email: nsharp@nsf.gov
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Martin D. Still (SAA, PLA), telephone: (703) 292-4290, email: mstill@nsf.gov
Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):
- 47.049 --- Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Award Information
Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant
Estimated Number of Awards: 100
About 100 projects will be funded per year, pending availability of funds.
Anticipated Funding Amount: $50,000,000
Estimated $50,000,000 in fiscal year 2023 for new and continuing awards, pending availability of funds.
Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions
A. Proposal Preparation Instructions
- Letters of Intent: Not required
- Preliminary Proposal Submission: Not required
Full Proposals:
- For proposals submitted via Research.gov, PAPPG guidelines apply.
- For proposals submitted via Grants.gov, NSF Grants.gov Application Guide guidelines apply.
B. Budgetary Information
Cost Sharing Requirements:
Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.
Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations:
Not Applicable
Other Budgetary Limitations:
Not Applicable
C. Due Dates
Submission Window Date(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitting organization’s local time):
October 01, 2022 - November 15, 2022
October 1 - November 15, Annually Thereafter
Proposal Review Information Criteria
Merit Review Criteria:
National Science Board approved criteria apply.
Award Administration Information
Award Conditions:
Standard NSF award conditions apply.
Reporting Requirements:
Standard NSF reporting requirements apply.
I. Introduction
The Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST) of the National Science Foundation is the primary source of federal funding support for ground-based astronomy in the U.S. The Division supports a broad range of activities from funding national observational facilities to the research programs of individual scientists and graduate students. As of July 1, 2022, AST supports the development and operation of six national astronomy centers: the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab), the National Solar Observatory (NSO), the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST), the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the Green Bank Observatory (GBO), and the Arecibo Observatory (AO). AST supports the construction and operation of the Vera Rubin Observatory (Rubin). The Division provides the U.S. share of funding for two international facilities—the operation of the Gemini Observatory and the operation of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
Division programs also support the development of advanced technologies and instrumentation, mid-scale projects, the planning and design for future observational facilities and major collaborative projects in astronomy, and the management of the electromagnetic spectrum for scientific use.
The Division supports individual investigators and small groups engaged in a broad array of observational, theoretical, laboratory, and archival data studies. Special grants and fellowship programs for junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and undergraduate students are designed to encourage the activities of researchers engaged in education and outreach.
More information about the Division and its programs can be found at https://www.nsf.gov/AST.
II. Program Description
The Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants (AAG) Program is an inclusive and flexible funding opportunity to support research in the astronomical sciences. The Program provides individual investigator and collaborative research grants for observational, theoretical, laboratory, and archival data studies in astronomy and astrophysics. The Program also considers proposals for projects and tools that enable or enhance astronomical research. Proposals may span multiple disciplines and/or areas of study and may utilize multiple techniques.
In all cases, proposals must demonstrate the astronomical context of the work. Proposals that do not adequately demonstrate the astronomical context shall be returned without review.
NSF strives to allocate federal funding to maximize scientific discovery in coordination with other funding agencies. It is expected that proposals which predominantly exploit NASA data or resources will be submitted to NASA. Proposals submitted to NSF with an extensive work effort to model or analyze data from NASA missions or archives must include a labeled section in the project description explaining why NASA data are required to advance the scientific goals of an NSF proposal. Please contact a cognizant NSF program officer if you have any questions about the suitability of your proposal for the AAG Program.
Proposals to the AAG Program are reviewed along disciplinary lines and evaluated by experts in the appropriate disciplinary areas. Proposers should ensure that both their Project Summary and Project Description clearly place their work within the appropriate field of study. Review panels are organized within four broad research areas: Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology (EXC), Galactic Astronomy (GAL), Planetary, Exoplanetary and Solar Astronomy (PLA) and Stellar Astronomy and Astrophysics (SAA). Proposals that span multiple of these areas are accepted.
Accomplishment-Based Renewal proposals will not be accepted to this solicitation and will be returned without review.
Additional Funding Opportunities Inside the AAG Program
The AAG Program will accept Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) proposals. RUI proposals submitted to the AAG program must meet the AAG requirements, guidelines, and deadlines. Information on the scope of RUI projects and the format of these proposals can be found at Facilitating Research at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions.
The AAG Program will accept proposals for the funding opportunity in Computational and Data Enabled Science and Engineering (CDS&E). CDS&E proposals submitted to the AAG program must meet the AAG requirements, guidelines, and deadlines. In addition, proposals must explicitly address the CDS&E program goals within the 15-page Project Description. Please see the program description PD 22-8084 for the CDS&E program at Computational and Data Enabled Science.
The NSF regularly issues Program Descriptions and Dear Colleague Letters announcing opportunities that may be of relevance to AAG proposers. The Astronomy Division maintains a website listing these opportunities at Additional Funding Opportunities and makes announcements of new opportunities at Astronomy Division Announcements.
Additional Funding Opportunities Outside the AAG Program
The guidelines in this solicitation do not apply to proposals submitted in response to other solicitations, such as CAREER. This AAG solicitation also does not apply to requests for supplemental funding, conference proposals, Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) or EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) proposals. Information on, and proposal preparation instructions for conferences, RAPIDs, EAGERs are contained in the PAPPG Chapter II.E.
Supplemental Funding Requests
Requests for Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), Research Experiences for Teachers (RET), Research Opportunity Awards (ROA), and some other supplemental funding requests can be made in two ways: either as a component of a new (or renewal) research proposal or as a supplemental funding request to an existing award. Other programs such as Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Graduate Research Supplements (AGEP-GRS) and High School Student Research Assistantships (MPS-High) only accept supplemental funding requests to existing awards. A supplemental funding request to an existing award should be submitted by April 1 in the year for which the supplemental funds are requested. Later submissions of supplemental funding requests should be discussed with the cognizant AST program officer before submission. Guidance on preparing supplemental funding requests is contained in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide.
Conference Proposals
AST supports conferences, symposia and workshops (meetings) in areas of science supported by AST that bring experts together to discuss current research, to expose other researchers or students to new research methods, and to discuss future directions. Conferences may be supported only if equivalent results cannot be obtained at regular meetings of professional societies or other established conference series. These proposals must be submitted in response to the PAPPG. For guidance on preparing proposals for conferences, see Chapter II.E.9. in the most recent version of the PAPPG.
In particular, such proposals should be submitted at least 12 months before the anticipated conference or meeting date. Proposers are encouraged to contact an AST Program Officer prior to submission about the suitability of the proposed activity for support.
Information Sharing with NASA
NSF has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Under the MOU, NSF may share information from proposals with NASA for consideration of joint funding and may invite NASA employees to attend merit review panels as observers.
III. Award Information
Anticipated Type of Award: Continuing Grant or Standard Grant
Estimated Number of Awards: About 100 projects will be funded per year, pending availability of funds.
Anticipated Funding Amount: Estimated $50,000,000 in fiscal year 2023 for new and continuing awards, pending availability of funds.
Estimated program budget, number of awards, and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds.
IV. Eligibility Information
Who May Submit Proposals:
The categories of proposers eligible to submit proposals to the National Science Foundation are identified in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), Chapter I.E. Unaffiliated individuals are not eligible to submit proposals in response to this solicitation.
Who May Serve as PI:
There are no restrictions or limits.
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:
There are no restrictions or limits.
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI:
There are no restrictions or limits.
V. Proposal Preparation And Submission Instructions
A. Proposal Preparation Instructions
Full Proposal Preparation Instructions: Proposers may opt to submit proposals in response to this Program Solicitation via Research.gov or Grants.gov.
You must prepare your proposal according to Chapter II.D.2 of the PAPPG, unless this solicitation specifies different instructions. Always use the version of the PAPPG in effect on your proposal's due date.
- For proposals submitted via Research.gov, PAPPG guidelines apply.
- For proposals submitted via Grants.gov, NSF Grants.gov Application Guide guidelines apply.
In determining which method to utilize in the electronic preparation and submission of the proposal, please note the following:
Collaborative Proposals. All collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must be submitted via Research.gov. PAPPG Chapter II.E.3 provides additional information on collaborative proposals.
The following supplements and/or deviates from the guidance in the PAPPG and NSF Grants.gov Application Guide.
Collaborators & Other Affiliations Information: When completing Table 4, you may list only the first three (3) co-authors. Instructions for Tables 1, 2, 3 and 5 are unchanged from the PAPPG.
B. Budgetary Information
Cost Sharing:
Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.
C. Research.gov/Grants.gov Requirements
You can submit proposals in response to this solicitation through Research.gov or Grants.gov, unless otherwise noted.
Information on how to prepare and submit proposals is available on the Submitting Your Proposal page on NSF.gov.
VI. NSF Proposal Processing And Review Procedures
Information on NSF's proposal processing and review procedures is available on the Overview of the NSF Proposal and Award Process page on NSF.gov.
A. Merit Review Principles and Criteria
All NSF proposals are evaluated through use of the two National Science Board-approved merit review criteria:
- Intellectual Merit, which encompasses the potential to advance knowledge.
- Broader Impacts, which encompass the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes.
Information on NSF's merit review principles and process can be found on the How We Make Funding Decisions page on NSF.gov.
B. Review and Selection Process
Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation will be reviewed by
Ad hoc Review and/or Panel Review.After a proposal passes an initial compliance check, it will be reviewed by an NSF Program Officer. In most cases, three or more external experts will also review it (either as ad hoc reviewers, panelists or both).
Visit the Overview of the NSF Proposal and Award Process page for more information on the proposal review and selection process.
VII. Award Administration Information
A. Notification of the Award
Notification of an award is made to the submitting organization by an NSF Grants and Agreements Officer.
B. Award Conditions
Information on NSF award conditions can be found on the Award Terms and Conditions page on NSF.gov and Chapter VII of the PAPPG.
Administrative and National Policy Requirements:
Information on administrative and national policy requirements can be found on the National Policy Requirements for Recipients of NSF Awards page on NSF.gov.
C. Reporting Requirements
Unless your award notice says otherwise, NSF requires the principal investigator of every grant to submit annual project reports and a project outcomes report for the general public. For complete reporting requirements, see Chapter VII of the PAPPG.
VIII. Agency Contacts
For questions related to the use of NSF systems contact:
- Research.gov: NSF IT Service Desk at rgov@nsf.gov or 1-800-381-1532. The Service Desk is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday (except for federal holidays).
For questions relating to Grants.gov contact:
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Grants.gov: The Grants.gov Contact Center at support@grants.gov or 1-800-518-4726. (Contact if the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) has not received a confirmation message from Grants.gov within 48 hours of submitting an application.)
EXC: Extragalactic astronomy
GAL: Galactic astronomy
PLA: Planetary astronomy
SAA: Stellar astronomy and astrophysics
IX. Other Information
For information on NSF directorates, programs and funding opportunities, go to NSF.gov.
Related Programs:
About The National Science Foundation
The U.S. National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency created by the "National Science Foundation Act of 1950." More information about NSF can be found on NSF.gov.
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The National Science Foundation promotes and advances scientific progress in the United States by competitively awarding grants and cooperative agreements for research and education in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering. To get the latest information about program deadlines, to download copies of NSF publications, and to access abstracts of awards, visit the NSF Website at https://www.nsf.gov
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Privacy Act And Public Burden Statements
The information requested on proposal forms and project reports is solicited under the authority of the "National Science Foundation Act of 1950," as amended. More information can be found on the Privacy Act and Public Burden Statements page on NSF.gov.
