OpportunityTitle: NASA Astrobiology Institute - Cycle 8
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Proposers must be affiliated with an institution at nspires.nasaprs.com/ and, in general, NASA provides funding only to US institutions.  Organizations outside the U.S. that propose on the basis of a policy of no-exchange-of-funds; consult Appendix B Section (l) of the Guidebook for Proposers (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/nraguidebook/) for specific details.  Some NRAs may be issued jointly with a non-U.S. organization, e.g., those concerning guest observing programs for jointly sponsored space science programs, that will contain additional special guidelines for non-U.S. participants.  Also ref. Sections 2.3.10(c)(vii) of the Guidebook for Proposers for special instructions for proposals from non-U.S. organizations that involve U.S. personnel for whom NASA support is requested.
Description: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate is releasing a Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) soliciting team-based proposals for membership in the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI).The goal of CAN Cycle 8 is to maintain a multidisciplinary institute by selecting focused, interdisciplinary teams that complement without replicating the strengths of the continuing teams. The teams selected in Cycle 8 will replace the teams selected in Cycle 6, whose five-year Cooperative Agreements are expiring. The CAN for Cycle 8 requires that a brief Step-1 proposal be submitted on April 12, 2017, approximately six weeks after the release of the CAN. Based on a programmatic review of these Step-1 proposals, proposers will be encouraged to or discouraged from submitting a full proposal. Other changes to previous solicitations are described in section 1.7 Open Access to Research.Issuance of this CAN is dependent on programmatic factors, including NASA receiving an appropriation and operating plan containing adequate funding within the NASA Planetary Science Division budget. Any costs incurred by prospective investigators in preparing submissions in response to this CAN are incurred completely at the submitter&apos;s own risk. A preproposal conference will be held on March 10, 2017, at 11 AM Pacific Time (2 PM Eastern Time) to provide interested parties with the opportunity to better understand the intent, scope, and selection criteria of this CAN. Information about the preproposal conference will be posted at https://nai.nasa.gov/funding/can-8/. Programmatic questions regarding this solicitation should be submitted in writing or via E-mail no later than 10 days prior to the Step-2 proposal due date to:Dr. Mary VoytekSenior Scientist for Astrobiology/ NAI Program ScientistScience Mission Directorate NASA Headquarters300 E Street SW Washington, DC 20546Phone: (202) 358-1577 E-mail: mary.voytek-1@nasa.gov
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Direct questions about this funding announcement to:
GrantorContactText: Dr. Mary Voytek &lt;br/&gt;Senior Scientist for Astrobiology/ NAI Program Scientist &lt;br/&gt;Science Mission Directorate NASA Headquarters &lt;br/&gt;300 E Street SW  &lt;br/&gt;Washington, DC 20546 &lt;br/&gt;Phone: (202) 358-1577  &lt;br/&gt;E-mail: mary.voytek-1@nasa.gov