The Award Process
Information for New Institutions
The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) awards and administers grants for Hubble Space Telescope (HST) General Observer (GO) and Archival Researcher (AR) programs. All funding proposal requests and management follow the STScI General Grant Provisions (GGP) and occur within the Space Telescope Grants Management System (STGMS).
If you are an institution or organization applying for HST grant funding for the first time, contact our office for account setup information: gms_mail@stsci.edu or 410-338-4200.
If you need a prior version of the General Grant Provisions, please contact your grant administrator at gms_mail@stsci.edu or 410-338-4200.
Read about the general rules and regulations applicable to all grants awarded by STScI.
Learn how to log in to STGMS and follow a step-by-step guide to submit a proposal for funding.
Pre-award
Prior to submitting a budget for an HST grant, proposers should carefully review the pre-award process, which follows this general outline:
Science Proposals
The Telescope Allocation Committee (TAC) reviews GO and AR science proposals and provides recommendations to the STScI director, who is responsible for the final allocation of HST observing time. Following notification of approved programs, the STScI grants administration team will send instructions for budget preparation and submission to eligible U.S. investigators. For additional information on the budget submission process through STGMS, please review the following documents:
Find instructions to submit complete budget proposals.
Download the template to submit a required budget narrative as a PDF.
The Financial Review Committee (FRC) reviews budget proposals based on the tasks, level of effort, and other costs required to complete the scope of work in the TAC approved program. Funding recommendations by the FRC are presented to the STScI director for approval. If funding from NASA is not adequate to support the recommendations as approved, the director will apply additional reductions to keep the level of funding within the amount authorized by NASA.
After the STScI director approves the FRC recommendations, Program Administrative Principal Investigators (Program Admin PIs) and their institutions will receive notification of funding approved for their program. This is the only notification letter sent. Co-Investigators (Co-Is) will not receive individual notifications.
GO grants are awarded upon the successful receipt of first observations. AR grants are awarded shortly after notification. Awards are subject to the submission of any overdue reports and to the submission of a revised budget as required. Check program information and observation plan windows.
Post-award
HST grants are awarded with a three-year period of performance to allow time to conduct and complete the proposed research. Award details, conditions, and reporting requirements are stated in the Grant Award Document that is emailed to grantees from STGMS. All reports and requests must be submitted via STGMS.
Close-out
STScI will close out the award when all applicable administrative actions and all required work of the award have been completed by the grantee. The grantee must submit, no later than 90 calendar days after the end of the period of performance, a final financial, final performance, final equipment, and new technology report via STGMS.
Contact
For general questions and information, please contact us at gms_mail@stsci.edu or 410-338-4200
Institutions may set up electronic payments by emailing accountspayable@stsci.edu