2021 SSAA Determination of Restricted Eligibility.docx

DE-FOA-0002457

Determination of Restricted Eligibility Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Stewardship Science Academic Alliances Program

Sponsoring Program Office: DOE/NNSA, Office of Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (NA-11); Office of Experimental Sciences (NA-113) Statutory Authority: The authority for this financial assistance action is Section 646 of the Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-91, 42 U.S.C. § 7256); H.R. 2401: National Defense Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (P.L. 103-160) Division C – Department of Energy National Security and Other Authorization; Title XXI: Subtitle A – National Security Programs Section 3135; Stockpile Stewardship, and the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreements Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-224), as amended by P.L. 97-258 and 2 CFR 910.126(b).

Awarding Office: DOE/NNSA, Office of Acquisition Management, Non-M&O Contracting Operations Division (NA-APM-12) Type of Award Proposed: Grants from Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0002457.

Proposed Restrictions: In accordance with 2 CFR 910.126(b), eligibility for award is restricted to the following:

1. United States (U.S.) Universities/academic institutions of higher education in any State, Federal District, or Territory of the U.S. that meets all of the following criteria:

1. Admits as regular students only persons having a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such a certificate;

2. Is legally authorized within such State to provide a program of education beyond secondary education;

3. Provides an educational program for which the institution awards a bachelor’s degree or provides not less than a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward such a degree;

4. Is accredited by a nationally or regionally recognized accrediting agency or association, or if not so accredited, is an institution that has been granted reaccreditation status by such an agency or association that has been recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education for the granting of reaccreditation status, and the U.S. Secretary of Education has determined that there is satisfactory assurance that the institution will meet the accreditation standards of such an agency or association within a reasonable time.

2. Not-for-Profit, non-degree-granting domestic U.S. scientific research organizations that include (but not limited to) independent museums and science centers, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies, and similar organizations that are directly associated with the Nation’s scientific research or educational activities. These organizations must have an independent, permanent administrative organization (e.g., an office of sponsored research) located in the U.S., Federal District, U.S. Territories, or possessions, and be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

3. Principal Investigators: For prospective applicants who are submitting financial assistance applications to this FOA, the individual selected as the Principal Investigator (PI) for the cooperative agreement must be a U.S. Person, defined as a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent resident; and, either:

1. An active member of the applicant’s teaching/research faculty of a U.S. University or academic institution of higher education, or

2. A full-time employee of a U.S.-based Company in the form of a Corporation, Partnership, Proprietorship, or a Not-for-Profit, non-degree granting domestic U.S. scientific research organization.

Assistance to be Provided: NNSA/NA-11, through the Stewardship Science Academic Alliances (SSAA) Program, is preparing to solicit research and development proposals in support of new and renewal grants to be awarded in FY2022 for periods of performance of three years. The objectives of the SSAA Program are to: Support the U.S. scientific community by funding research projects at universities that conduct fundamental science and technology research that is of relevance to stockpile stewardship; provide opportunities for intellectual challenge and collaboration by promoting interactions between the academic community and scientists at the DOE/NNSA National Laboratories; and develop and maintain a long-term recruiting pipeline to the DOE/NNSA laboratories by training and educating the next generation of scientists and engineers in fundamental research of relevance to stockpile stewardship, increasing the visibility of the DOE/NNSA scientific and engineering activities to the U.S. academic communities.

Public Purpose Served: Fostering academic interest and participation in the Office of Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation mission areas will benefit the public interest by applying more cost effective approaches and varied perspectives to accomplishing the Nation’s nuclear weapons stewardship goals. U.S. universities will benefit by being able to apply their current research and studies to real world applications in meeting the Nation’s stewardship goals. U.S. universities and the public will benefit from graduate students conducting real-world research and development and from their future contributions to the Nation’s science and technology base, a presumed outcome of the program.

Justification for Restrictions: The DOE/NNSA national laboratories conduct the bulk of the Office of Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation’s research and development activities. The ability to sustain that capability is critical to the Nation’s national security. NNSA has successfully implemented programs to address gaps in areas of fundamental science that are the pillars of the stockpile stewardship program, such as properties of materials under extreme conditions and energetic environments; hydrodynamics, instabilities, and hypersonics; low energy nuclear science; and radiochemistry. The importance of reducing those gaps as needs arise is made more important to the NNSA as we look to future needs of sustaining a workforce to provide a solid science, technology, and engineering base. It is critical that the pool of available scientists and engineers be knowledgeable in areas vital to NNSA missions. Support to U.S. universities and not-for-profit, non-degree-granting domestic U.S. scientific research organizations whose primary purpose is scientific research and education and that train graduate students in critical areas is essential to provide NNSA’s workforce of tomorrow. Programs that provide funding for graduate students also support academia’s ability to attract each new generation of scientists and engineers into the areas identified as critical to NNSA.

Restricting the program to U.S. universities or not-for-profit, non-degree-granting domestic U.S. scientific research organizations and U.S. Persons as Principal Investigators supports the NNSA goals of providing a pipeline of future nuclear laboratory scientists and engineers and increased opportunities for collaboration between NNSA and the academic community regarding investigation into these research areas. The inclusion of not-for-profit, non-degree-granting domestic U.S. scientific research organizations is important as they augment the pool of U.S. university-based research candidates. The same high-caliber research can be conducted at not-for-profit, non-degree-granting domestic U.S. organizations.

While not restricted to U.S. Persons, all non-U.S. persons to be supported, participate in, or benefit from the resources of the grant must be identified and documentation submitted to the SSAA Program Director for approval. The NNSA encourages involvement of U.S. Persons where possible as this further supports the investment in and development of the aforementioned pipeline of students and researchers in critical technical areas relevant to NNSA’s future workforce.