for questions not answered below, please email saganfellowship@ipac.caltech.edu
FAQs related to Budget, Contracts, Other Funding FAQs related to Payroll FAQs related to Health Care FAQs related to Moving Expenses FAQs related to Equipment Purchases FAQs related to Visa Information for International Fellows FAQs related to Publication Acknowledgments and Press ReleasesQ: Once I accept a Sagan Fellowship, what other paperwork is needed from me?
A : We need the start date and an institutionally endorsed three-year budget with justification at least 6 weeks prior to your start date. Everything else will be worked out between JPL and the host institution. Please note that "institutionally endorsed" means that your budget needs to have a cover letter and/or explanation of the budget on University letterhead, signed by the ranking financial person in your Department or University.
Additionally, we need information on you and your project for our webpages and press release. This information will be solicited from you as soon as the class for your year has been completed.
Q: When is the institutionally-endorsed budget due?
A : The institutionally endorsed budget is due no less than 6 weeks prior to the date you wish to start your fellowship. The budget should be submitted electronically to Dr. Dawn Gelino (saganfellowship@ipac.caltech.edu) or sent to her attention at: NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, Caltech 770 South Wilson Avenue, MS 100-22 Pasadena, CA 91125
Q: How much should I include in my budget for my stipend/salary, research, health care, and moving expenses?
A : The first year salary/stipend for 2017 Sagan Fellows will be $68,000. We anticipate this to increase by $500 per year. You can include up to $16,000/year in research funds, $18,000/year for healthcare, and $7,500 for moving expenses. The research funds may be front loaded or phased as needed, as long as the total research budget does not exceed $48,000 over the three year fellowship period.
Q: Is the contract between the Sagan Fellow's host institution and Caltech or JPL?
A : As of May 2014, the contract is a Research Support Agreement (RSA) between JPL and the host institution.
Q: What is included in my Sagan Fellowship award?
A : Your award will include your stipend, health care, moving expenses, research budget, travel funding to attend the Sagan Fellows Symposium (if requested), and the overhead costs of your host institution.
Q: Is there a specific format or system that should be used for the budget by the host institution of the Sagan Fellowship holder?
A : We do not have a specific format or system for the budget, so use whatever format is easiest for you. The budget guidelines are very similar to Hubble's, and can be found in the Contracts and Budgets section of the guidelines.
Q: Do I have to be physically located at my host institution for the duration of the Sagan Fellowship?
A : The funding for your fellowship is routed through your host institution, and your institution endorsed you as an applicant, stating that they are willing to support you as a fellow. This implies that you will be physically located at the institution for the duration of your fellowship. However, if there are extenuating circumstances that require you to work in another location for part of your fellowship tenure, you must present a plan to the Sagan Program Scientist that is signed off by both your advisor and your host institution. The Sagan selection committee considered your intellectual and financial support into their decision, so you need to prove that those support avenues will remain intact.
Q: Is each budget item restricted to it's specified purpose?
A : Yes, the amounts specified for each purpose (e.g. stipend, relocation) are restricted for that purpose.
Q: Do I need to get special permission from the program to go on international travel?
A : You do not have to get any special permission to go on international travel. You may use Sagan Fellowship funds to travel where you like as long as it pertains directly to your fellowship and that you stay within your research budget. Since this is government funding, you must travel according to government travel rules using US carriers where possible. For specific questions regarding government travel rules, please contact the Sagan Program Scientist, Dawn Gelino.
Q: The indirect cost rate (IDC) cannot be charged on the stipend and fringe benefits, but is it charged on the research budget? If so, do we need to stay within the total research budget for direct and indirect costs?
A : Your institution is allowed to charge the indirect cost rate on the research budget, but these indirect costs are not included as part of the yearly research budget allocation.
Q: Can I receive funding in advance of my fellowship start date?
A : No. However, if approved by your host institution, you can have a funding start date that is early enough (up to ~30 days prior to your actual start date) to cover moving expenses and hardware purchases. You cannot use them to travel to a meeting prior to your appointment. If you change your Fellowship start date to be before the meeting, then that would then be okay to use funds from the Fellowship to attend the meeting.
Q: Can I apply for external sources of funding during my Sagan Fellowship?
A : Yes, you may apply for other sources of funding as long as it is not used for your stipend or health care expenses and you keep working on your Sagan project (i.e. no significant non-Sagan side work). You may use external funding for travel and your research budget.
Q: How will my salary be paid to me as a Sagan Fellow?
A : NExScI/JPL enters into a budget agreement with your host institution to provide funding for you. Your host institution will then pay you according to your agreed upon employment status (employee or stipendiary). Please see the Offer Guidelines which highlights issues that you may want to consider if given a choice in your employment status.
Q: Is my salary subject to U.S. taxes?
A : In most cases, yes. Please see the Offer Guidelines which highlights issues that you may want to consider if given a choice in your employment status (employee or stipendiary).
Q: During my Sagan Fellowship, may I accept other sources of funding to pay for my salary?
A : Under the guidelines of the Fellowship, you may NOT accept any other sources of funding to pay for your salary regardless of your employment status (employee or stipendiary).
Q: What health care plan will I be on as a Sagan Fellow?
A : The Sagan Fellowship program mandates how much funding is available for health care per year, however your host institution can determine how this funding will be spent. Talk with your advisor or the human resources department at your host institution to get the complete information on health insurance based on your employment status. Please see the Offer Guidelines which highlights issues that you may want to consider if given a choice in your employment status (employee or stipendiary).
Q: Can the money provided for health care by the Sagan Fellowship be used to cover health insurance for dependents?
A : The fellowship will cover health care costs for your dependents up to the amount available each year.
Q: Is the Fellow prohibited from purchasing his/her own health insurance if the host institution provides a plan or plans from which to choose? For instance, if the institution offers three Health Insurance plans and has applied it's fringe benefit rate to the budget, can the Fellow opt out of those choices for a plan of his/her own, using those funds (even if they exceed the maximum healthcare funding available) to pay the premium?
A : As long as the host institution allows it, the fellow may purchase his/her own health insurance even if the institution provides a plan. The only restriction is that there cannot be more than the annual maximum health care funding of the fellow's budget allocated to health insurance. The host institution may apply its applicable negotiated Fringe Benefit rate to the stipend in order to fund the health insurance.
Q: Should the budget include only the premiums or can deductibles be included as well?
A : Deductibles cannot be included in your health insurance budget.
Q: Can the money for health care be used for dental coverage?
A : Yes, as long as the overall budget (health + dental + vision coverage) does not exceed the total health care budget amount.
Q: How are moving expenses handled?
A : Using money provided in your Fellowship contract, your institution will be reimbursing you/paying for your move up to the maximum amount allowed for moving expenses. Different institutions pay fellows in different ways, so check with your institution for more information.
Q: Are funds available for moving expenses before the start of the fellowship?
A : Yes, but only if approved by your host institution. If your host institution allows it, you can have a funding start date that is early enough (up to ~30 days prior to your actual start date) to cover moving expenses and hardware purchases.
Q: If the funds needed to move at the start of the fellowship are less than the full amount allowed, may the excess be used to relocate at the end of the fellowship?
A : No. The funding can only be used to bring the fellow to their destination institution. Even if funds are left over, they cannot be used for anything else.
Q: Is there a limit to how much of the research budget may be spent in one year?
A : No. Sagan Fellows are awarded a research budget of a set amount. This money may be phased to cover the purchase of more expensive equipment at the beginning of the fellowship as long as the total does not exceed the sum of the annual allocations.
Q: Can equipment be purchased before the start of the fellowship?
A : Yes, but only if approved by your host institution. If your host institution allows it, you can have a funding start date that is early enough (up to ~30 days prior to your actual start date) to cover moving expenses and hardware purchases.
Q: Can equipment purchased during the fellowship be kept after the completion of the fellowship?
A : With the approval of the Sagan Program Scientist, personal computer and equipment that is considered to have reached the end of its useful lifetime at the end of the fellowship will not need to be returned to the funding agency. Note that purchases made in the first half of a fellowship usually qualify.
Q: How can I get a Visa for the duration of my Sagan Fellowship?
A : Your host institution will assist you in obtaining the necessary Visas for yourself and your family. NExScI/JPL cannot facilitate obtaining Visas for Fellows going to institutions other than NExScI/JPL. Please see the Offer Guidelines which highlights issues that you may want to consider if given a choice in your employment status (employee or stipendiary).
Q: How should I acknowledge the Sagan Fellowship program for publications produced from work completed during my fellowship?
A : In the acknowledgements please include the following statement: "This work was performed [in part] under contract with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech)/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) funded by NASA through the Sagan Fellowship Program executed by the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute." For your affiliation, please include: "NASA Sagan Fellow" along with your institutional affiliation.
Q: What steps should I take to notify the Sagan Program of an upcoming press release?
A
: Please follow these rules in advance of a press release:
1. Notify the Sagan Program/Dawn Gelino of a release before the text is finalized. NExScI, and often JPL and NASA HQ, will publicize the release, along with whatever other outlets you are working with at the time. Please send the text when completed but prior to finalization in order to make sure that you have mentioned the Sagan Program correctly.
2. Please include the following acknowledgement at the end of publications in refereed journals and relevant press releases, as stated in section B1 in the Sagan Fellowship Guidelines: "This work was performed [in part] under contract with the California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion Laboratory funded by NASA through the Sagan Fellowship Program executed by the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute."
3. In any press release, write-up, science blurb, video, or anything that includes your name along with Sagan research work or results, please identify yourself as a NASA Sagan Fellow at your institution.
(last updated January 20th, 2017 10:49:17)
The NASA Exoplanet Science Institute is operated by the California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under the Exoplanet Exploration Program.
