JWST Grant Funding and Budget Submissions

This section includes general information regarding grant funding and budget submissions. Budgets are required after the selection of successful science proposals. Detailed information will be provided in the STScI  Budget Proposer Guide and the current STScI General Grant Provisions (GGP).

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STScI Grants Administration (GRA) will send Budget Notification Letters after proposers are notified of their successful science programs. The letters will be sent to the U.S. Administrative PI, their Institution Contacts, and Co-investigators with a U.S. institution listed as their primary institution in MyST.

Contact GRA with questions concerning funding policies, eligibility, budget submissions, and allowable costs.

Phone: (410) 338-4200
Email: gms_mail@stsci.edu

STScI GRA offered an informative Webinar for Cycle 3 successful proposers with detailed information on JWST Grant Funding and Budget Submission. It can be found at Panopto Link with Closed Captioning.



Budget proposal deadline

April 10, 2025 by 5:00pm US Eastern Daylight Time

Only very limited accommodation can be made for late proposals. Proposers who encounter difficulty meeting this deadline should contact GRA for help at gms_mail@stsci.edu as soon as possible.

Budget proposals are submitted via STGMS (https://stgms.stsci.edu).  Contact the Sponsored Research Office at your institution if you need an STGMS account.  Be sure to allow sufficient time to meet all internal deadlines at your institution.



STScI General Grant Provisions (GGP)

STScI grants will be awarded in accordance with the GGP. The terms of this Call for Proposals are incorporated into and are considered to be part of the GGP.



Eligibility for STScI grant funds

Important:  STScI grant funding is available only to U.S. investigators.  Carefully review the GGP, Section 3, Eligibility for STScI Grant Funding, for specific eligibility requirements.  Contact GRA with questions regarding requirements or to determine if a person is eligible to request STScI grant funding.



Budget proposal preparation

Reference the STScI Budget Proposer Guide for budget preparation guidance. As in past cycles, STScI will hold a Grants Webinar shortly after budget notifications are released to provide information and answer questions about the Cycle 4 budget process.



Evaluation of budget proposals

Budget proposals will be evaluated based on the tasks, level of effort, and other costs required to complete the approved science proposal.  All costs requested in the budget must be clearly detailed and justified in the required Budget Narrative (reference the STScI  Budget Proposer Guide for the required Budget Narrative Template).

  • Budgeted costs must be linked directly to achieving the specific work and science goals described in the approved science proposal.  Tasks that are not specifically identified in the science proposal, or not absolutely necessary for the JWST science will not be considered for funding support,
  • The responsibilities, contributions, and level of effort for all team members must be clearly stated and justified in the Budget Narrative. In particular, the contribution of all foreign team members (work and level of effort) must be described and must be proportionate and in conjunction with each person’s role in the project. 
  • Support for ground-based observations (including those awarded through a joint JWST program), lab astrophysics and citizen science will only be considered if specified in the original proposal and will generally be limited to <10% of the total budget (in total).
  • All activities requesting funding must be consistent with the policies described in the General Grants Provisions.
  • Budgets and Budget Narratives must be compliant with the guidelines in the STScI  Budget Proposer Guide.

The STScI Budget Proposer Guide provides a full description of the review and evaluation process.



STScI review of risk posed by applicants

STScI has an obligation to ensure that grantees meet the requirements related to the award of federal funds. See GGP, Section 7 for criteria considered in STScI’s evaluation of risk posed by applicants. STScI has the authority to deny issuing a grant award to any institution failing to meet such requirements.



Grant awards and availability of funds

All grant awards are made contingent upon the availability of funds from NASA.

If funding requests exceed the amount provided by NASA for the GO/AR Grants Program, additional reductions to recommended amounts may be required to remain within the funding guideline authorized by NASA.



STScI Authority

Allowable costs for all budgets, awards, and expenditures will be determined in accordance with the GGP, this Call for Proposals, and the applicable institutional, NASA, and federal guidelines, policies, and regulations, including but not limited to 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.  STScI has the final authority to determine if costs for budgets, awards, and expenditures are allowable, reasonable, and allocable, and necessary.   Unallowable costs will be removed from the budget request.  STScI reserves the right to recover grant expenditures that were not compliant with applicable policies and regulations.


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