2021-NIST-Graphene NOFO.pdf

Transfer of Graphene for Graphene-based Devices Notice of Funding Opportunity

March 18, 2021

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (NOFO)

Transfer of Graphene for Graphene-based Devices Grant Program

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Federal Agency Name: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), United States Department of Commerce (DoC)

• Funding Opportunity Title: Transfer of Graphene for Graphene-based Devices Grant Program

• Announcement Type: Initial

• Funding Opportunity Number: 2021-NIST-GBD-01

• Assistance Listing (CFDA Number): 11.609, Measurement and Engineering Research and Standards

• Dates: Full Applications must be received at Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m.

Eastern Time, May 19, 2021. Applications received after this deadline will not be reviewed or considered. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants should be aware, and factor in their application submission planning, that the Grants.gov system closes periodically for routine maintenance.

Applicants should visit Grants.gov for information about any scheduled closures.

NIST expects to complete its review, selection of successful applicants, and award processing by August 2021. NIST expects the earliest start date for awards under this NOFO to be September 2021.

Applicants are strongly urged to read Section IV.2.b., Attachment of Required Documents, with great attention. Applicants should carefully follow the instructions and recommendations regarding attachments and use the Download Submitted Forms and Applications feature on www.Grants.gov to check that all required attachments were contained in their submission. Applications submitted without the required documents will not pass the Initial Administrative Review.

When developing the submission timeline, please keep in mind that: (1) all applicants are required to have current registrations in the electronic System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and Grants.gov; (2) the free annual registration process in SAM.gov generally takes between three and five business days but can take more than three weeks; and (3) applicants will receive e-mail notifications over a period of up to two business days as the application moves through intermediate systems before the applicant learns via a validation or rejection notification whether NIST has received the application. (See Grants.gov https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ http://grants.gov/

Notice of Funding Opportunity

March 18, 2021 for full information on application and notification through Grants.gov). Please note that a federal assistance award cannot be issued if the designated recipient’s registration in SAM.gov is not current at the time of the award.

• Application Submission Address: Applications must be submitted using Grants.gov.

• Funding Opportunity Description: The NIST Transfer of Graphene for Graphene-based Devices Grant Program (TGGD) is a newly established effort to facilitate the development of scientific knowledge and methodologies to transfer graphene from growth substrates in order to further graphene device commercialization. By funding the research projects of eligible applicants through this program, NIST will promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness specifically for next generation devices. See http://pml.nist.gov for more information about NIST’s programs in these areas.

• Anticipated Amounts: In Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21), NIST anticipates funding 2 awards for up to $150,000 per award, with a project performance period of (1) year.

• Funding Instrument: Grant or Cooperative Agreement

• Eligibility: Eligibility for the program listed in this NOFO is open to all domestic non-Federal entities. Eligible applicants include accredited institutions of higher education; non-profit organizations; for-profit organizations incorporated in the United States; and state, local, territorial, and Indian tribal governments. Please note that individuals and unincorporated sole proprietors are not considered “non-Federal entities” and are not eligible to apply under this NOFO. Although Federal entities are not eligible to receive funding under this NOFO, they may participate as unfunded collaborators.

• Cost Sharing Requirements: Non-federal cost share IS NOT required for awards issued pursuant to this NOFO.

Table of Contents I. Program Description

II. Federal Award Information

III. Eligibility Information…

IV. Application and Submission Information

V. Application Review Information

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

VIII. Other Information

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March 18, 2021

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Program Description

The statutory authority for the NIST Transfer of Graphene for Graphene-based Devices Grant Program is 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c).

Program Description.

1. Background Information

Graphene, due to its extraordinary electrical, photonic, thermal, and mechanical properties, is a game-changing material for diverse applications such as high-speed transistors, biosensors, photodetectors, and a standard for both resistance and optical absorption coefficient. With the advancement of epitaxial growth techniques, very high-quality graphene can be obtained on silicon carbide (SiC) substrate. Metrological devices such as the Quantum Hall resistance standard with high performance were achieved by fabricating epitaxial graphene directly on SiC substrate. However, many of the applications require transferring graphene to different substrates, other than SiC. The same is true for graphene grown via vapor transport onto copper or other materials. NIST has undertaken a major research effort in graphene for nearly a decade that spans cutting edge research, SI traceable standards, and international documentary standards development. NIST has a long history of working on graphene research collaboratively with other government agencies, academia, and industry.

2. Overview

The NIST Transfer of Graphene for Graphene-based Devices Grant Program is seeking applications from eligible applicants for research activities to determine effective and efficient methods of transferring graphene grown on SiC (secondarily copper or other chemical vapor deposition (CVD) substrates) to target substrates that are required in many graphene-based devices, especially for high-end applications. The characterization of graphene on said target substrates is necessary and will be used to determine the quality of the resulting graphene. Characterization techniques may include but are not limited to optical microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, SEM, TEM, AFM, and Raman spectroscopy. Quantifying and minimizing defects induced during the transfer is critical to device performance. The electronic, photonic, and other properties of transferred graphene are also of interest.

The program’s primary goal is for the recipient to develop and publish a methodology for transferring large-area and high-quality graphene with high reproducibility and scalability to enable commercialization of graphene devices.

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II. Federal Award Information

1. Funding Instrument The funding instrument that will be used is a Grant or Cooperative Agreement.

2. Funding Availability In FY21, NIST anticipates funding two (2) awards for approximately $150,000 each with a project performance period of (1) year.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants Eligibility for the program listed in this NOFO is open to all domestic non- Federal entities. Eligible applicants include accredited institutions of higher education; non-profit organizations; for-profit organizations incorporated in the United States; and state, local, territorial, and Indian tribal governments.

Please note that individuals and unincorporated sole proprietors are not considered “non-Federal entities” and are not eligible to apply under this NOFO. Although Federal entities are not eligible to receive funding under this NOFO, they may participate as unfunded collaborators.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching Cost sharing or matching funds are NOT required.

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package

The application package is available at Grants.gov under Funding Opportunity Number 2021-NIST-GBD-01.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

a. Required Forms and Documents. The Application must contain the following:

(1) SF-424 (R&R), Application for Federal Assistance. The SF-424

(R&R) must be signed by an authorized representative of the applicant organization.

For SF-424 (R&R), Items 5, 14, and 19, use the Zip Code + 4 format (##### - ####) when addresses are called for.

For SF-424 (R&R), Item 17, the list of certifications and assurances is http://www.grants.gov/

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March 18, 2021 contained in the SF-424B (item (3) below).

SF-424 (R&R), Item 18. If the SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form (item (6) below) is applicable, attach it to field 18.

Instructions for filling in the SF-424 (R&R) can be found on Grants.gov, as well as at the NIST Grants Office SF-424 Research & Related (R&R) Application Package Guidance.

(2) Research & Related Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed). The budget should reflect anticipated expenses for the full term of the project, considering all potential cost increases, including cost of living adjustments. Information regarding the Research & Related Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed) is available in the R&R Family Section of Grants.gov, as well as in the NIST Grants Management Division SF- 424 Research & Related (R&R) Application Package Guidance.

The budget should be detailed in these categories:

A. Senior/Key Person;

B. Other Personnel;

C. Equipment Description;

D. Travel;

E. Participant/Trainee Support Costs F. Other Direct Costs;

G. Direct Costs (automatically generated);

H. Indirect Costs;

I. Total Direct and Indirect Costs (automatically generated);

J. Fee (not relevant to this competition);

K. Total Costs and Fee (automatically generated);

L. Budget Narrative and Justification document (item (8) below) should be attached to field L.

(3) SF-424B, Assurances – Non-Construction Programs (if applicable).

The SF-424B is required for all applicants that have not updated their System for Award Management (SAM.gov) entity registration since February 2, 2019 to include the Federal financial assistance certifications and representations (certs and reps). If an applicant has updated their SAM.gov entity registration since February 2, 2019 to include the certifications and representations, then the SF-424B is not required.

(4) CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying. Enter “2021-NIST-GBD- 01” in the Award Number field. Enter the title of the application, or an abbreviation of that title, in the Project Name field.

https://www.nist.gov/oaam/grants-management-division/sf-424-research-related-rr-application-package-guidance https://www.nist.gov/oaam/grants-management-division/sf-424-research-related-rr-application-package-guidance https://www.grants.gov/forms/r-r-family.html https://www.nist.gov/oaam/grants-management-division/sf-424-research-related-rr-application-package-guidance https://www.nist.gov/oaam/grants-management-division/sf-424-research-related-rr-application-package-guidance

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(5) Research and Related Other Project Information. Answer the highlighted questions and use this form to attach the Project Narrative (item (7) below), the Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (item (10) below), the Letters of Commitment, if applicable, (item (12) below), the Data Management Plan (item (13) below), and the Current and

Pending Support Form (item (14) below). Instructions for completing the Research and Related Other Project Information form can be found in the Grants.gov R&R Forms Repository by scrolling down to Research And Related Other Project Information and clicking the Instructions link, as well as in the NIST Grants Management Division SF-424 Research & Related (R&R) Application Package Guidance.

Please note that the Project Summary/Abstract is not relevant to this competition. However, Grants.gov requires an attachment to field 7 of the Research and Related Other Project Information form to successfully pass through Grants.gov. Please attach a document to field 7 stating, “A Project Summary/Abstract is not relevant to this competition”.

(6) SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable).

(7) Project Narrative. The Project Narrative is a word-processed document of no more than ten (10) pages (double-spaced between lines), which is responsive to the program description and the evaluation criteria.

The projective narrative should contain the following information:

a. Executive Summary. An executive summary of the proposed approach, consistent with the evaluation criteria. The executive summary should include information indicating how each evaluation criterion and its sub-factors are addressed. A table can be helpful in providing this information. The executive summary should not exceed one (1) page.

b. Project Approach. A description of the applicant’s approach to clearly address the program goals of transferring graphene from its growth substrate to a subtract useful in device fabrication. This section should address the Problems, Solutions and Technical Approach evaluation criterion, especially how the applicant plans to measure the quality of the resulting device, both intrinsically and while performing in a device architecture. Scalability of the proposed methodology must also be addressed.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/r-r-family.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/r-r-family.html https://www.nist.gov/oaam/grants-management-division/sf-424-research-related-rr-application-package-guidance https://www.nist.gov/oaam/grants-management-division/sf-424-research-related-rr-application-package-guidance

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c. Statement of Work. A complete statement of work covering all aspects of the project, including a schedule of measurable events and milestones as well as measurable performance objectives that can be used to determine the success of the project. This section should address the Statement of Work and Potential Impact of the Results evaluation criterion.

d. Qualifications. A description of the qualifications of the key personnel, the time commitments of the key personnel, and how the project staff qualifications will enable them to conduct the project work. This section should address the Qualifications and Experience of Key Personnel and Resource Availability evaluation criterion. Please document the key personnel’s experience that is directly relevant to this program including work growing, transferring, and measuring devices composed of graphene.

e. Dissemination Plan. A description of the applicant’s approach to broadly disseminate the results to the public. The plan should include an approach to publish results through publications and white papers in appropriate literature, and through presentations at public meetings or technical events. This section should address the Development of the Scientific Field evaluation criterion.

(8) Resume(s) or CV(s). Resumes are required for all key personnel, including the principal investigator. Resumes are limited to two (2) pages per individual.

(9) Budget Narrative and Justification.

There is no set format for the Budget Narrative and Justification however; the written justification should include the necessity and the basis for the cost, as described below. Proposed funding levels must be consistent with the project scope, and only allowable costs should be included in the budget. Information on cost allowability is available in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (http://go.usa.gov/SBYh), which apply to awards in this program.

This section will be evaluated in accordance with the Budget Narrative evaluation criteria. It will also be reviewed to determine if all costs are reasonable, allocable, and allowable under 2 C.F.R. Part 200 Subpart E, Cost Principles.

Information needed for each budget category is as follows (categories not listed are automatically generated by the form or are not relevant to this competition):

http://go.usa.gov/SBYh

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A. Senior/Key Person – At a minimum, the budget justification should include the following: name, job title, commitment of effort on the proposed project in terms of average number of hours per week or percentage of time, salary rate, total direct charges on the proposed project, description of the role of the individual on the proposed project and the work to be performed.

Fringe benefits should be identified separately from salaries and wages and based on rates determined by organizational policy. The items included in the fringe benefit rate (e.g., health insurance, parking, etc.) should not be charged under another cost category.

B. Other Personnel - Data is requested at the project role level, and not at the individual level for Other Personnel. The budget justification should include the following: job title, commitment of effort on the proposed project in terms of average number of hours per week or percentage of time, salary rate, total direct charges on the proposed project, description of the role of the position on the proposed project and the work to be performed.

Fringe benefits should be identified separately from salaries and wages and based on rates determined by organizational policy. The items included in the fringe benefit rate (e.g., health insurance, parking, etc.) should not be charged under another cost category.

C. Equipment Description – Equipment is defined as an item of property that has an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more (unless the organization has established lower levels) and an expected service life of more than one year. The budget justification should list each piece of equipment, the cost, and a description of how it will be used and why it is necessary to the successful completion of the proposed project. Please note that any general use equipment (computers, etc.) charged directly to the award should be allocated to the award according to expected usage on the project.

Applicants should provide at least two (2) quotes, if available, for equipment costing $25,000 or more. If two (2) quotes are not available, please provide a statement as to why two (2) quotes are not available. Any items that do not meet the threshold for equipment can be included under the Materials and Supplies line item in Section F, Other Direct Costs.

D. Travel - For all travel costs, required by the recipient to complete the project, including attendance at any relevant conferences, the budget justification for travel should include the following:

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March 18, 2021 destination; names or number of people traveling; dates and/or duration; mode of transportation, lodging and subsistence rates;

and description of how the travel is directly related to the proposed project. For travel that is yet to be determined, please provide best estimates based on prior experience. If a destination is not known, an approximate amount may be used with the assumptions given for the location of the meeting.

E. Participant/Trainee Support Costs – Participant support costs are stipends, subsistence allowances, travel, and registration fees paid to or on behalf of participants or trainees, who are not employees of your organization, for conferences or training projects. The budget justification should indicate the names or number of participants or trainees, a description and calculation of costs per person, a description and date of the event, and a description of why the cost is necessary for the successful completion of the proposed project.

F. Other Direct Costs – For costs that do not easily fit into the other cost categories, please list the cost, and the breakdown of the total costs by quantity or unit of cost. Include the necessity of the cost for the completion of the proposed project. Only allowable costs can be charged to the award.

Each subaward or contractual cost should be treated as a separate item in the Other Direct Costs category. Describe the services to be provided and the necessity of the subaward or contract to the successful performance of the proposed project. Contracts are for obtaining goods and services. Subawardees perform part of the project scope of work. For each subaward, applicants must provide budget detail justifying the cost of the work performed on the project.

H. Indirect Costs – Commonly referred to as Facilities & Administrative Costs, Indirect Costs are defined as costs incurred by the applicant organization that cannot otherwise be directly assigned or attributed to a specific project. For more details, see Section IV.2.a.(10) of this NOFO.

(10) Indirect Cost Rate Agreement. If indirect costs are included in the proposed budget, provide a copy of the approved negotiated agreement if this rate was negotiated with a cognizant Federal audit agency. If the rate was not established by a cognizant Federal audit agency provide a statement to this effect. If the successful applicant includes indirect costs in the budget and has not established an indirect cost rate with a cognizant Federal audit agency, the applicant will be required to obtain such a rate in accordance with Section B.06

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March 18, 2021 of the Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions, dated November 12, 2020.

Alternatively, in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.414(f), applicants that do not have a current negotiated (including provisional) indirect cost rate except for those non-Federal entities described in appendix VII, paragraph D.1.b. of 2 CFR Part 200 may elect to charge a de minimis rate of 10 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC). Applicants proposing a 10 percent de minimis rate pursuant to 2 C.F.R. § 200.414(f) should note this election as part of the budget portion of the application.

(11) Subaward Budget Form. The Research & Related Subaward Budget

Attachment Form is required if sub-recipients and contractors are included in the application budget.

Instructions for completing subaward budget forms are available by visiting the R & R Family section of the Grants.gov Forms Repository and scrolling down to the R & R Subaward Budget Attachment(s) Form and selecting “Instructions.”

(12) Letters of Commitment (if applicable). If the applicant’s proposal identifies third parties including contractors, subawardees, and/or other collaborators who will participate in the proposed project, then a letter from each currently known participant should be submitted.

Each letter should indicate the organization’s willingness to participate and what they will be doing for the project. A letter should be submitted whether or not the organization is receiving Federal funds.

(13) Data Management Plan.

Consistent with NIST Policy 5700.001, Managing Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research, and NIST Order 5701.002, Managing Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research”, applicants must include a Data Management Plan (DMP).

All applications for activities that will generate scientific data using NIST funding are required to adhere to a DMP or explain why data sharing and/or preservation are not within the scope of the project. For the purposes of the DMP, NIST adopted the definition of “research data” at 2 C.F.R. § 200.315(e)(3).

The DMP must include, at a minimum, a summary of proposed activities that are expected to generate data; a summary of the types

1 https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2018/06/19/final_p_5700.pdf 2 https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2019/11/08/final_o_5701_ver_2.pdf https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2020-11/DOC%20Standard%20Terms%20and%20Conditions%20-%2012%20November%202020%20PDF_0.pdf https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2020-11/DOC%20Standard%20Terms%20and%20Conditions%20-%2012%20November%202020%20PDF_0.pdf https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=dd7e460e397e25e8c7f2d685f71d953c&mc=true&node=ap2.1.200_1521.vii&rgn=div9 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=dd7e460e397e25e8c7f2d685f71d953c&mc=true&node=ap2.1.200_1521.vii&rgn=div9 https://www.grants.gov/forms/r-r-family.html https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2018/06/19/final_p_5700.pdf https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2019/11/08/final_o_5701_ver_2.pdf

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March 18, 2021 of data expected to be generated by the identified activities; a plan for storage and maintenance of the data expected to be generated by the identified activities, including after the end of the award’s period of performance; and a plan describing whether and how data generated by the identified activities will be reviewed and made available to the public

A template for the DMP, an example DMP, and the rubric against which the DMP will be evaluated for sufficiency is available on NIST’s Public Access to NIST Research website. An applicant is not required to use the template as long as the DMP contains the required information.

If an application stands a reasonable chance of being funded and the DMP is determined during the review process to be insufficient, the program office may reach out to the applicant to resolve deficiencies in the DMP. If an award is issued prior to the deficiencies being fully rectified, the award will include a Specific Award Condition (SAC) stating that no research activities shall be initiated or costs incurred for those activities under the award until the NIST Grants Officer amends the award to indicate the SAC has been satisfied.

Reasonable costs for data preservation and access may be included in the application.

(14) Current and Pending Support Form. Any application that includes investigators, researchers, and key personnel must identify all sources of current and potential funding, including this proposal. Any current project support (e.g., Federal, state, local, public or private foundations, etc.) must be listed on this form. The proposed project and all other projects or activities requiring a portion of time of the Principal Investigator (PI), co-PI, and key personnel must be included, even if no salary support is received. The total award amount for the entire award period covered, including indirect costs, must be shown as well as the number of person-months per year to be devoted to the project, regardless of the source of support. Similar information must be provided for all proposals already submitted or that are being submitted concurrently to other potential funders.

Applicants must complete the Current and Pending Support Form, using multiple forms as necessary to account for all activity for each individual identified in the PI, co-PI and key personnel roles. A separate form should be used for each identified individual.

Applicants must download the Current and Pending Support Form from the NIST website at https://www.nist.gov/oaam/grants-https://www.nist.gov/open/information-awardees https://www.nist.gov/oaam/grants-management-division/current-and-pending-support

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March 18, 2021 management-division/current-and-pending-support and reference the guidance provided as it contains information to assist with accurately completing the form.

b. Attachment of Required Documents

Items IV.2.a.(1) through IV.2.a.(5) above are part of the standard application package in Grants.gov and can be completed through the download application process.

Item IV.2.a.(6), the SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form, is an optional application form which is part of the standard application package in Grants.gov. If item IV.2.a.(6), the SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form is applicable to this proposal, attach it to field 18 of the SF-424 (R&R), Application for Federal Assistance.

Item IV.2.a.(7), the Project Narrative, should be attached to field 8 (Project Narrative) of the Research and Related Other Project Information form by clicking on “Add Attachment”.

Item IV.2.a.(8), Resume(s) or CV(s), should be attached by clicking on “Add Attachments” found in item 12 (Other Attachments) of the Research and Related Other Project Information form.

Item IV.2.a.(9), the Budget Narrative and Justification, should be attached to field L (Budget Justification) of the Research and Related Budget (Total Fed + Total Non-Fed) form by clicking on “Add Attachment”.

Items IV.2.a.(10), the Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, IV.2.a.(12), Letters of Commitment, if applicable to the submission, IV.2.a.(13), the Data Management Plan, and IV.2.a.(14), the Current and Pending Support Form, must be completed and attached by clicking on “Add Attachments” found in item 12 (Other Attachments) of the Research and Related Other Project Information form.

Item IV.2.a.(11), the Subaward Budget Form(s), if applicable to the submission, should be attached to the Research & Related Subaward Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed) Attachment(s) Form in the application package.

Following these directions will create zip files which permit transmittal of the documents electronically via Grants.gov.

Applicants should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions to ensure the attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov system. A receipt from Grants.gov indicates only that an application was https://www.nist.gov/oaam/grants-management-division/current-and-pending-support

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March 18, 2021 transferred to a system. It does not provide details concerning whether all attachments (or how many attachments) transferred successfully.

Applicants will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of up to two business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application.

Applicants are strongly advised to use Grants.gov “Download Submitted Forms and Applications” option to check that their application’s required attachments were contained in their submission.

After submitting the application, check the status of your application here: CHECK APPLICATION STATUS . If any, or all, of the required attachments are absent from the submission, follow the attachment directions found above, resubmit the application, and check again for the presence of the required attachments.

If the directions found at https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=GetStarted%2FGet Started.htm are not effective, please contact the Grants.gov Help Desk immediately. If calling from within the United States or from a U.S.

territory, please call 800-518-4726. If calling from a place outside the United States or a U.S. territory, please call 606-545-5035. E-mails should be addressed to support@grants.gov. Assistance from the Grants.gov Help Desk will be available around the clock every day, with the exception of Federal holidays. Help Desk service will resume at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the day after Federal holidays.

Applicants can track their submission in the Grants.gov system by following the procedures at the Grants.gov site (http://go.usa.gov/cjamz). It can take up to two business days for an application to fully move through the Grants.gov system to NIST.

NIST uses the Tracking Numbers assigned by Grants.gov, and does not issue Agency Tracking Numbers.

c. Application Format

(1) Paper, Email, and Facsimile (fax) Submissions. Will not be accepted.

(2) Figures, Graphs, Images, and Pictures. Should be of a size that is easily readable or viewable and may be displayed in landscape orientation. Any figures, graphs, images, or pictures will count toward the page limits for the Project Narrative.

https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=Applicants%2FCheckApplicationStatus%2FCheckApplicationStatus.htm https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=GetStarted%2FGetStarted.htm https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=GetStarted%2FGetStarted.htm mailto:support@grants.gov

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(3) Font. Easy to read font (11-point minimum). Smaller type may be used in figures and tables but must be clearly legible.

(4) Page Limit. The Project Narrative is limited to ten (10) pages double spaced, noting the limit of one (1) page for the Executive Summary.

(5) Page Limit Exclusions:

SF-424 (R&R), Application for Federal Assistance;

SF-424B, Assurances – Non-Construction Programs;

CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying;

Research and Related Other Project Information;

SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities;

Resume(s) or CV(s);

Budget Narrative and Justification;

Research & Related Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed);

Indirect Cost Rate Agreement;

Subaward Budget Form;

Letters of Commitment;

Data Management Plan;

Current and Pending Support Form

(6) Page Layout. The Project Narrative must be in portrait orientation.

(7) Page size. 21.6 centimeters by 27.9 centimeters (8 ½ inches by 11 inches).

(8) Page numbering. Number pages sequentially.

(9) Application language. English. All documents must be in English, including but not limited to the initial application, any additional documents submitted in response to a NIST request, all reports, and any correspondence with NIST.

(10) Typed document. All applications, including forms, must be typed;

handwritten forms will not be accepted.

d. Application Replacement Pages. Applicants may not submit replacement pages and/or missing documents once an application has been submitted.

Any revisions must be made by submission of a new application that must be received by NIST by the submission deadline.

e. Pre-Applications. NOT APPLICABLE

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f. Certifications Regarding Federal Felony and Federal Criminal Tax Convictions, Unpaid Federal Tax Assessments and Delinquent

Federal Tax Returns. In accordance with Federal appropriations law, an authorized representative of the selected applicant(s) may be required to provide certain pre-award certifications regarding federal felony and federal criminal tax convictions, unpaid federal tax assessments, and delinquent federal tax returns.

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM).

Pursuant to 2 C.F.R. part 25, applicants and recipients are required to: (i) be registered in SAM before submitting its application; (ii) provide a valid unique entity identifier in its application; and (iii) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency, unless otherwise excepted from these requirements pursuant to 2 C.F.R. § 25.110. NIST will not make a Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time that NIST is ready to make a Federal award pursuant to this NOFO, NIST may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant.

4. Submission Dates and Times Applications must be received at Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, May 19, 2021. NIST will consider the date and time recorded by Grants.gov as the official submission time. Applications received after this deadline will not be reviewed or considered. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants should be aware, and factor in their application submission planning, that the Grants.gov system closes periodically for routine maintenance.

Applicants should visit Grants.gov for information on any scheduled closures.

When developing the submission timeline, please keep in mind that: (1) all applicants are required to have current registrations in the electronic System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and Grants.gov; (2) the free annual registration process in the SAM.gov generally takes between three and five business days but can take more than three weeks; and applicants will receive e-mail notifications over a period of up to two business days as the application moves through intermediate systems before the applicant learns via a validation or rejection notification whether NIST has received the application. (See Grants.gov for full information on application and notification through Grants.gov.) Please note that a Federal assistance award cannot be issued if the designated recipient’s registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is not current at the time of the award.

https://www.grants.gov/

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March 18, 2021

5. Intergovernmental Review Applications under this Program are not subject to Executive Order 12372.

6. Funding Restrictions Not applicable

7. Other Submission Requirements

a. Applications must be submitted electronically.

(1) Applications must be submitted at Grants.gov.

(a) Applicants should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions to ensure that all attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov system. A receipt from Grants.gov indicating an application is received does not provide information about whether attachments have been received. For further information or questions regarding applying electronically for the 2021-NIST-GBD-01 announcement, contact the Grants.gov Help Desk at 800-518-4726.

(b) Applicants are strongly encouraged to start early and not wait until the approaching due date before logging on and reviewing the instructions for submitting an application through Grants.gov. The Grants.gov registration process must be completed before a new registrant can apply electronically. The typical registration process takes three to five business days. If problems are encountered, the registration process can take two weeks or more. Applicants must have a valid unique entity identifier number and must maintain a current registration in the Federal government’s primary registrant database, the System for Award Management (https://www.sam.gov/), as explained on the Grants.gov Web site.

After registering, it may take several days or longer from the initial log-on before a new Grants.gov system user can submit an application. Only individuals authorized as organization representatives will be able to submit the application, and the system may need time to process a submitted application.

Applicants should save and print the proof of submission they receive from Grants.gov. If problems occur while using Grants.gov, the applicant is advised to (a) print any error message received and

(b) call Grants.gov directly for immediate assistance. If calling from within the United States or from a U.S. territory, please call 800- 518-4726. If calling from a place other than the United States or a U.S. territory, please call 606-545-5035. Assistance from the Grants.gov Help Desk will be available around the clock every day, except for Federal holidays. Help Desk service will resume at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the day after Federal holidays. For assistance https://www.sam.gov/

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March 18, 2021 using Grants.gov, the applicant may also contact support@grants.gov.

(c) To find instructions for submitting an application on Grants.gov, applicants should refer to the “Applicants” tab in the banner just below the top of the Grants.gov home page. Clicking on the “Applicants” tab produces two exceptionally useful sources of information, Applicant Actions and Applicant Resources, which applicants are advised to review.

Applicants will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of up to two business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application.

Applicants should pay close attention to the guidance under Grants.gov’s “Applicant FAQs,”as it contains information important to successful submission, including essential details on the naming conventions for attachments to applications.

All applicants should be aware that adequate time must be factored into applicants’ schedules for delivery of their application.

Applicants are advised that volume on Grants.gov may be extremely heavy leading up to the deadline.

The application must be both received and validated by Grants.gov.

The application is “received” when Grants.gov provides the applicant a confirmation of receipt and an application tracking number. If an applicant does not see this confirmation and tracking number, the application has not been received. After the application has been received, it must still be validated. During this process, it may be “validated” or “rejected with errors”. To ascertain whether the application was rejected with errors and the reasons for the rejection, the applicant must log in to Grants.gov, select “Applicants” from the top navigation, and select “Track my application” from the drop-down list. If the status is “rejected with errors,” the applicant may still seek to correct the errors and resubmit the application before the deadline. If the applicant does not correct the errors, the application will not be forwarded to NIST by Grants.gov.

Refer to important information in Section IV.4. Submission Dates and Times, to help ensure the application is received on time.

b. Amendments. Any amendments to this NOFO will be announced through

Grants.gov. Applicants may sign up on Grants.gov to receive amendments https://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant-faqs.html

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March 18, 2021 by e-mail or may request copies by e-mail from Amy Grafmuller, amy.grafmuller@nist.gov

V. Application Review Information

1. Evaluation Criteria The evaluation criteria that will be used in evaluating applications and their assigned weights are as follows:

a. Problems, Solutions and Technical Approach. (0-45 points, sub-criteria below receive equal weight) Reviewers will evaluate the extent to which the applicant’s proposed approach clearly addresses the program goals; specifically, reviewers will evaluate the extent to which the proposed project includes:

(1) A detailed methodology plan to remove the graphene from the SiC (or secondarily copper or other growth substrate);

(2) A plan to quantitatively assess defects and homogeneity in the graphene during removal and adhesion to new substrate;

(3) Access to the necessary materials and instrumentation;

(4) A plan to assess the scalability of the methodology; and

(5) A plan for broadly disseminating the results.

b. Statement of Work and Potential Impact of the Results. (0-20 points) Reviewers will evaluate the appropriateness, quality, reasonableness, and completeness of the applicant’s statement of work, including the plans to manage the project tasks, timeline, and work of all project staff, to ensure realization of project goals and objectives.

c. Development of the Scientific Field. (0-10 points) Reviewers will evaluate the extent to which the field of graphene metrology is advanced by disseminating project data and results broadly to the public through publication in the appropriate scientific and technical literature and white papers and presentations at public meetings or other technical events.

d. Qualifications and Experience of Key Personnel and Resource

Availability. (0-15 points) Reviewers will evaluate the appropriateness and extent of the qualifications and experience of the key personnel and proposed staff, to assess the likelihood of achieving the objectives of the project. In particular, for key personnel, the following will be evaluated for their adequacy and the extent to which they are likely to contribute to the overall success of the project:

(1) Publications and presentations on graphene growth, characterization and/or device fabrication;

(2) Access to graphene grown on SiC (or other secondary substrates) and instrumentation to test transfer methods; and

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March 18, 2021

(3) Ability of determine the quality of graphene before and after transfer.

e. Budget Narrative. (0-10 points). Reviewers will assess the budgeted costs against the proposed activities to determine the practicality of the proposed budget with respect to developing and implementing the proposed project.

2. Selection Factors

a. The Selection Factors for this competition are:

(1) Results of the merit reviewers’ evaluations.

(2) The availability of funding.

(3) Alignment with the NOFO objectives.

3. Review and Selection Process

Proposals, reports, documents and other information related to applications submitted to NIST and/or relating to financial assistance awards issued by NIST will be reviewed and considered by Federal employees, or non-Federal personnel who have entered into conflict of interest and confidentiality agreements covering such information, when applicable.

a. Initial Administrative Review of Applications. Applications received by the deadline will be reviewed to determine eligibility, completeness, and responsiveness to this NOFO and to the scope of the stated program objectives Applications determined to be ineligible, incomplete, and/or nonresponsive may be eliminated from further review. However, NIST, in its sole discretion, may continue the review process for an application that is missing non-substantive information, the absence of which may easily be rectified during the review process.

b. Full Review of Eligible, Complete, and Responsive Applications.

Applications that are determined to be eligible, complete, and responsive will proceed for full reviews in accordance with the review and selection process below:

(1) Merit Review. At least three (3) objective reviewers, who may be

Federal employees or non-Federal personnel, with appropriate professional and technical expertise relating to the topics covered in this NOFO, will evaluate and score each eligible, complete, and responsive application based on the evaluation criteria. While every application will have at least three (3) reviewers, applications may have more than three (3) reviewers if specialized expertise is needed to evaluate an application. During the review process, the

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March 18, 2021 reviewers may discuss the applications with each other, but scores will be determined on an individual basis. Based on the numerical average of the reviewers’ scores, a rank order will be prepared and provided to the Selecting Official for further consideration.

(2) Selection. The Selecting Official, the Director of NIST’s Physical

Measurement Laboratory (PML), or designee will make final award recommendations to the NIST Grants Officer. The Selecting Official shall generally select and recommend the most meritorious application for an award based upon the rank order of the applications. The Selecting Official retains the discretion to select and recommend an application out of order based on the Selection Factors.

NIST reserves the right to negotiate the budget costs with any applicant selected to receive an award, which may include requesting that the applicant removes certain costs. Additionally, NIST may request that successful applicants modify objectives or work plans and provide supplemental information required by the agency prior to award. NIST also reserves the right to reject an application where information is uncovered that raises a reasonable doubt as to the responsibility of the applicant. NIST may select some, all, or none of the applications, or part(s) of any application.

The final approval of selected applications and issuance of awards will be by the NIST Grants Officer. The award decisions of the NIST Grants Officer are final.

c. Federal Awarding Agency Review of Risk Posed by Applicants. After applications are proposed for funding by the Selecting Official, the NIST Grants Management Division (GMD) performs pre-award risk assessments in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.206, which may include a review of the financial stability of an applicant, the quality of the applicant’s management systems, the history of performance, and/or the applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements imposed on non-Federal entities.

In addition, prior to making an award where the total Federal share is expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (currently $250,000), NIST GMD will review and consider the publicly available information about that applicant in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). An applicant may, at its discretion, review and comment on information about itself previously entered into FAPIIS by a Federal awarding agency. As part of its review of risk posed by applicants, NIST GMD will consider any comments made by the applicant in FAPIIS in making its determination about the applicant’s

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March 18, 2021 integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards. Upon completion of the pre-award risk assessment, the Grants Officer will make a responsibility determination concerning whether the applicant is qualified to receive the subject award and, if so, whether appropriate specific conditions that correspond to the degree of risk posed by the applicant should be applied to an award.

4. Anticipated Announcement and Award Date Review of applications, selection of successful applicants, and award processing is expected to be completed by August 2021. The earliest start date for awards under this NOFO is expected to be September 2021.

5. Additional Information

a. Safety. Safety is a top priority at NIST. Employees and affiliates of award recipients who conduct project work at NIST will be expected to be safety-conscious, to attend NIST safety training, and to comply with all NIST safety policies and procedures, and with all applicable terms of their guest research agreement.

b. Notification to Unsuccessful Applicants. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by e-mail and will have the opportunity to receive a debriefing after the opportunity is officially closed.