NASA Grants

[Meredith Novak]

Originally Posted by ebarker

I'm not the expert on this rule but it seems the intent is that rookie / 2nd year teams go to the SAME event in consecutive years.
.

I just don't recall this in prior years. I sent NASA an email to ask for clarification. The team did not go to a NASA event last year and is not planning to go to a NASA event this year, so I don't see why it should matter that they need to accommodate their school's schedule for possible travel.

[ebarker]

Originally Posted by Meredith Novak

I just don't recall this in prior years. I sent NASA an email to ask for clarification. The team did not go to a NASA event last year and is not planning to go to a NASA event this year, so I don't see why it should matter that they need to accommodate their school's schedule for possible travel.

There are NASA regionals, and non-NASA regionals. That is probably a totally different issue then the rule discussed above.

A rookie team can go to any regional, but it seems the 'SAME' rule requires them to go to the same regional twice, irrespective of it being a NASA regional.

Ed

[PayneTrain]

Not to add to the ball of confusion, but it seems like second-year teams are required to mentor a rookie team to receive a grant, but veterans aren't? And why is NASA giving 30 sponsorships to old regionals, and 20 to a transplanted regional? CVR and QCR (I'll go off on a limb and say Montreal won't see any regional challenge grants) aren't getting these? I guess Utah should get them if they are the only regional sponsored by NASA, but none of the teams currently registered are rookies or 2nd-years there. DC has 0 rookies, and NCR only has 2.

Our team was looking to NCR or QCR depending on the acquisition of this grant... It looks like we'll try to go to NCR BECAUSE of the grant, not because we couldn't get it for QCR...

What is going on?

[Travis Hoffman]

The "only open to NASA house teams" was posted in error and has since been removed. The grant application is open to everyone.

[Katie_UPS]

Have any teams (rookie or otherwise) been denied the NASA grant?

[Taylor]

Got a definitive answer via email from NASA:

Hi Mike,

No more first-year events will be added to the list. Regional Challenge Grants are given to new Regionals for the fist few years to allow them to be fully functional, but there are a limit to the number of Regionals that we can support as Challenge Grant events.

Good Luck,

John

I guess that's just the way it is. Not quite the level of support given in 2011, but support nonetheless.
Good luck to all applying teams.

[rsisk]

Originally Posted by Katie_UPS

Have any teams (rookie or otherwise) been denied the NASA grant?

I helped mentor a rookie team last year that applied and was turned down for a NASA grant.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Katie_UPS

Have any teams (rookie or otherwise) been denied the NASA grant?

Do you mean this year?

Of course teams have been denied grants in past years. Nothing has been reviewed yet this year though.

[Aren_Hill]

Originally Posted by Cory

Do you mean this year?

Of course teams have been denied grants in past years. Nothing has been reviewed yet this year though.

We were just curious as we're (Katie and I) working with a rookie team this year and hadn't heard of anyone not getting it (never asked though).

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by Katie_UPS

Have any teams (rookie or otherwise) been denied the NASA grant?

The answer (already provided) is yes. Teams can be rejected in a number of ways, but there is one in particular that teams should never allow to happen:

This application has a lot of REQUIRED criteria attached to it - before, during, and AFTER the grant application process. Miss one, and you will NOT be approved, regardless of how deserving your team is of support. Miss any of the criteria after you receive a grant, and you will NOT be permitted to reapply. It's the government. They're like that.

Read the application directions fully. Comply with all requirements. Dot every "i" and cross every "t". If not, it doesn't matter how well written your application is and how worthy your team is - you will be denied!

[Rich Kressly]

Related aside for those applying ...
Here's a paper that was published to help applying teams in 2009 and beyond:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2167

There is some outdated/superseded info when comparing to the 2012 criteria, but much of it still applies.

Best wishes to all.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Travis Hoffman

It's the government. They're like that.

Is that really necessary?

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Is that really necessary?

Yes.

Have you been to the DMV? Filled out a tax return (or tried to)? It's a bureaucracy (I wouldn't even want to know the red tape hoops people have to jump through to even get the grant money allocated and approved for distribution to FIRST teams), and with a bureaucracy comes a lot of added rules and requirements - many of them make sense, some might make you scratch your head, but they are there, nonetheless, and applicants better take them seriously.

This is not like some school essay for which you can plead for a time extension, extra credit opportunities, or negotiate for a higher grade even though you turned in incomplete work.

The fact that a significant number of veteran teams receive Program Growth grants at all (as was the case last year anyway - and we were one of the veteran recipients) is evidence that 1st and 2nd year teams are failing to snag all the opportunities meant primarily for them - and at least part of that reality can certainly be attributed to some teams' failure to follow the detailed application guidelines (other factors would be not enough teams applying, and legit applicants rejected based on the content of their submission).

[Chris is me]

For what it's worth (not in reply to above): We received a 2nd year grant last year, our third year. You will note as you carefully read the terms that if grants are available, you may receive a Veteran grant even if it is past your second year provided none of the extras are taken and you have followed every rule and application requirement to the letter.

May not be likely, but you never get what you don't ask for.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

For what it's worth (not in reply to above): We received a 2nd year grant last year, our third year. You will note as you carefully read the terms that if grants are available, you may receive a Veteran grant even if it is past your second year provided none of the extras are taken and you have followed every rule and application requirement to the letter.

May not be likely, but you never get what you don't ask for.

We've received a NASA grand 2 of 3 times we were not eligible for it. 2010 being the only year we didn't get it (we didn't have a documented loss of a sponsor that large, pretty much a dealbreaker that year).