National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Information on working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The UC Office of the President requires that PIs sign a Certification that they will comply with “NASA Restrictions on Funding Activity with the Peoples Republic of China.”  This restriction is included in NASA grants and contracts, and it prohibits NASA from funding any joint scientific activity with China.  PIs who receive a direct award or subaward from NASA are required to review, sign, and submit the UCOP-specific Certification to the Sponsored Projects Office (SPO).  The required Questionnaire and Certification for grants and contracts are available from these links:

• Required Questionnaire and Certification for grants (PDF)
• Required Certification for contracts (PDF)

Refer to UCOP policy and for more information, please contact your Sponsored Projects Officer to find out who is assigned to your agreement visit the Research Administration Activity Dashboard.

NASA Proposal Submittal Portal: NASA uses its NSPIRES electronic systems for most proposal and award management actions. Proposal submission for NASA is completed through NSPIRES.

NSPIRES performs specific error and warning checks before a proposal is submitted.

NASA proposals should be prepared in accordance with the program guidelines and the NASA Guidebook for Proposers (PDF).

Grant and Cooperative Agreement Manual (GCAM)

The NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Manual (GCAM, PDF) provides policy guidance to NASA award managing personnel and award recipients to implement government-wide and NASA-specific regulations for awarding and administering grants and cooperative agreements with educational and non-profit organizations; State, local, and Indian tribal governments; and for-profit organizations.

No Cost Extensions

The recipient may make a one-time no-cost extension, not to exceed 12 months, prior to the established expiration date. Written notification of such an extension, with the supporting reasons and the progress report, must be received by the NASA Grant Officer at least ten days but no sooner than 60 days prior to the last day of the period of performance. Failure to submit the necessary documentation and progress report may result in non-acceptance of the request or other enforcement actions as provided in 2 CFR 200.338.  To make a request visit NASA No Cost Extensions.

If subsequent no-cost extensions are required, they are also submitted via the NSSC website with a copy of the annual report. NSSC will coordinate with the NASA Technical Officer and obtain their approval before issuing a supplement extending the end date.

Grant Status Portal

If you are a recipient of a NASA Grant or Cooperative Agreement award, you can use the Grants Status Search to check the status of your award while in process. NASA employees as well as grant recipients use the Grants Status Search to check the process from receipt of the Technical Requirements Package (TRP) at the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) to making funds available to the grantee. The search also provides information on supplemental actions for the award such as funding and administrative change supplements.

A note should be added encouraging all NASA award recipients and fund managers to fully review and refer to their award notices for important information regarding their awards. Examples include appropriate points of contact, required reporting, specific terms & conditions, etc.

Request to Add Subaward

If the subaward was not included in the original proposal, NASA approval will be required to add a subawardee to the project. The Request is submitted via email to the NASA Technical Officer. The PI will need to obtain a signed proposal from the proposed subawardee. The PI’s business office will need to obtain approval from the UCSD Subawards Team. The PI will then coordinate with the business office to develop a revised budget, incorporating the subaward. A PDF is then emailed to the NASA Technical Officer with the UCSD justification for the subaward, the revised UCSD budget and budget justification, the subaward statement of work, budget, and budget justification. If the NASA Technical Officer approves the subaward, NSSC will issue an amendment to the award authorizing the issuance of the subaward.

Request for PI Transfer

This mechanism is used to allow NASA to re-issue a grant if a PI is transferring from one institution to another. The Request is submitted via email to the NASA Technical Officer. If the NASA Technical Officer approves, NSSC will deobligate the remaining award funds from the old institution and reissue them via a new award to the new institution.

Request for Change in Scope

Any change in scope requires the approval of NASA. The Request is submitted via email to the NASA Shared Services Center, which will coordinate with the NASA Technical Officer. If it is approved, NSSC will issue a supplement to the grant.

Progress Reports

Annual technical reports are due 60 days prior to the anniversary date. Final technical reports are due 90 days after the project's end date. The PIs email their annual progress reports directly to their program officers with a cc to NSSC-GrantReport@mail.nasa.gov. NSSC will require an annual report before it will issue the next annual increment of funding. NASA issues automatically-generated emails directly to the PI with cc to the SRO for final reports.