Planning a Partnership Model for a Giant Segmented Mirror Telescope

CONTACTS

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Solicitation  12-526

Important Notice to Proposers

A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 13-1, was issued on October 4, 2012 and is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14, 2013. Please be advised that, depending on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 13-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity.

Please be aware that significant changes have been made to the PAPPG to implement revised merit review criteria based on the National Science Board (NSB) report, National Science Foundation's Merit Review Criteria: Review and Revisions. While the two merit review criteria remain unchanged (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts), guidance has been provided to clarify and improve the function of the criteria. Changes will affect the project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected.

A by-chapter summary of this and other significant changes is provided at the beginning of both the Grant Proposal Guide and the Award & Administration Guide.

SYNOPSIS

Two major survey reports carried out by the National Academy of Sciences have identified the need for a Giant Segmented Mirror Telescope (GSMT) to address frontier astrophysical research questions in a wide array of subfields.  This solicitation invites proposals to establish an initial framework for a U.S. community partnership in a proposed GSMT deriving from past, current, or potential future NSF support for design work, construction, instrumentation, and/or operations.  Based on a detailed competitive review of the resulting proposals, an award will be made for further development of a public/private/international partnership model under a cooperative agreement between a GSMT project and NSF.  During the award period, GSMT project management and representatives from NSF and the U.S. astronomical community are expected to refine the roles of NSF and the community in project development, engage in planning science and engineering operations, prepare for potential future Federal funding opportunities after the start of the next decade.  Selection as an awardee in this process does not imply that a GSMT will be approved for further funding.

What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)

Map of Recent Awards Made Through This Program