Investigators who noticed the changes to our proposal form for the 1999B semester probably wondered why the changes were necessary. The major changes included:
These changes were made to accommodate new programs and directions at NOAO in our continuing effort to serve the community better. In the March, 1999 submission we offered the opportunity to apply for large-scale Survey Programs to be carried out on NOAO facilities. In the next 12 months NOAO will issue calls for proposals for access to three new facilities--—the northern Gemini 8-m telescope, the 6.5m telescope at the MMT Observatory, and the Hobby-Eberly Telescope. Our goal is to allow observers to request time at all of these facilities, as well as on telescopes at CTIO and KPNO, in a single proposal. By adding the new Technical Description section to the proposal, we are able to customize each proposal to get the information needed for programs at the new facilities. Information from successful proposals will be forwarded to the appropriate sites for scheduling.
The effect of these changes was to increase the average proposal length by 1.3 pages, while allowing observers to provide more detailed technical information for each observing run. While this technical information will be required for Gemini programs, we hope that it will also allow KPNO and CTIO to provide even better visitor support for programs on their telescopes.
Todd Boroson and The NOAO Proposal Team