Amendment 0001 FY22 NOFO_RD Program Cover Letter final.pdf

February 28, 2022

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (NOFO) NO. 31310022K0001,

AMENDMENT NO. 0001

Dear Applicants:

Pursuant to the authority contained in the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977, as amended, and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) hereby issues the above referenced Notice of Funding Opportunity for the program titled, “Research and Development Grant, Fiscal Year (FY) 2022.”

This NOFO was released on February 1, 2022 and applications are due on April 5, 2022 (no change). It is anticipated that this NOFO will result in the award of multiple grants. This is a three (3) year program. Research and Development (R&D) funds may be requested up to $500,000.00 total costs (direct costs and facilities and administrative costs) for the project period. All Applicants are required to have an active account with FedConnect, please see the Section entitled “Other Submission Requirements and Information” of the NOFO.

This amendment no. 0001 makes the following changes:

1. (Page 6) Section III – Eligibility Information, Subsection 2.B. Citizenship Requirement, the first paragraph is revised to incorporate the highlighted language below:

2.B Citizenship Requirement

At the time of application and for the full term of the grant, all graduate students, faculty, PIs, Co-PIs, and other participants supported under or participating in the grant must meet the following citizenship requirements:

(1) Be a United States citizen, or

(2) Be a noncitizen national of the United States,* or

(3) Have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence (i.e., in possession of a currently valid Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551, or other legal verification of such status). Individuals on temporary visas, as well as refugees and asylees, are not eligible.

*Noncitizen nationals are persons born in outlying possessions of the United States (i.e., American Samoa and Swains Island).

COMPLIANCE WITH U.S. IMMIGRATION LAWS AND REGULATIONS

Grant recipients are responsible to ensure that their foreign personnel (including PIs or Co-PIs) are not in violation of United States immigration laws and regulations, including employment authorization documents and visa requirements. Each recipient of funds

NOFO No. 31310022K0001 Amendment No. 0001 - 2 -under this award must be lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of application and for the duration of the grant period, as evidenced by Permanent Resident Form I-551 (Green Card) or must present other evidence from the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that employment will not affect his/her immigration status. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provides information to grant recipients to help them understand the employment eligibility verification process for non-U.S. citizens. This information can be found on their website, http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis.

The NRC reserves the right to take any number of administrative actions (e.g., disallow costs, termination) should the recipient violate its responsibility under this clause.

Applicants shall include a certification statement regarding compliance with the Citizenship Requirement of this announcement. The required certification template is provided in Section IV.H. and must be submitted as a separate attachment to the application.

2. (Page 13) Section IV – Application and Submission Information, Subsection 3.A.1 Application Content, section H - Certification of Compliance with U.S. Immigration Laws and Regulations (Research Grants) is revised in its entirety to read as follows:

H. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH U.S. IMMIGRATION LAWS AND

REGULATIONS (RESEARCH GRANTS)

Applicants shall include a completed CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH U.S.

IMMIGRATION LAWS AND REGULATIONS (RESEARCH GRANTS) to document compliance with the Citizenship Requirement of this announcement. The required certification template is provided below and must be submitted as a separate attachment to the application.

The university recipient shall provide the following certification statement regarding the citizenship status of all researchers, graduate students, PIs, Co-PIs, and other participants supported under or participating in this grant.

For researchers, PIs, Co-PIs, graduate students, and other participants who are non-citizens, institutions are required to provide in the grant application documentation of the individual’s lawful admittance to the United States.

{Provide this Certification Statement on Your Institution’s Letterhead as a separate document.}

CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH U.S. IMMIGRATION

LAWS AND REGULATIONS (RESEARCH GRANTS)

The NRC requires a duly authorized representative of the applicant institution to certify that all researchers, PIs, Co-PIs, graduate students, and other participants http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

Amendment No. 0001 - 3 -supported under or participating in the grant comply with the citizenship requirements of Section 2.B. of this announcement.

I hereby certify that all researchers, PIs, Co-PIs, graduate students, and other participants supported under or participating in the grant comply with the citizenship requirements of Section 2.B of this announcement.

At the time of application and for the full term of the grant, all researchers, PIs, Co-PIs, graduate students, and other participants supported under or participating in the grant are—

(1) a United States Citizen; or

(2) a non-citizen national of the United States; or

(3) a non-United Citizen who has been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence (i.e., in possession of a currently valid Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551, or other legal verification of such status) at the time of application and for the full term of the grant.

I further certify that there [ ] are [ ] are not personnel or other participants proposed under this grant agreement that are in violation of the United States immigration laws and regulations, including employment authorization documents and visa requirements.

Below I have provided the name, address, contact information, and citizenship status for each researcher, PI, Co-PI, graduate student, and other participant supported under or participating in the grant.

[provide name, address, contact information, and citizenship status]

I have provided documentation of the citizenship status for each of the following individuals who are included in my institution’s application and who are not United States citizens:

• Researchers, [as applicable, provide name, address, contact information, and citizenship status]

• Principal Investigators and Co-Principal Investigators [as applicable, provide name, address, contact information, and citizenship status],

• Participating graduate students [as applicable, provide name, address, contact information, and citizenship status], and

• Other participants [as applicable, provide name, address, contact information, and citizenship status].

Signature of Authorized Representative Date (mm/dd/yyyy) for Applicant Institution

Printed Name and Title of Authorized Representative

Amendment No. 0001 - 4 -

3. (Page 17) Section V – Application Review Information, Subsection 2. Selection Criteria is revised to change the word “Criteria” to “Criterion” as highlighted below:

2. Selection Criteria

Technical evaluation of applications shall be based on how well the applications meet or exceed the selection criteria. Applications are evaluated and rated individually by a panel of peer reviewers comprised of both Federal and non-Federal experts in the field.

The selection criteria are identified below along with the corresponding weighted value.

The NRC will award up to 10 discretionary points to grant applications that both address the agency’s research priorities and include a related research study involving a cooperative or partnership arrangement with one or more Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).

The following criteria items must be addressed and clearly labeled:

Criterion 1 - Significance Demonstrate that the study is significant, addresses an important problem, and demonstrates how knowledge or common practice be advanced. Explain the effect of these studies on the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field. (25 points)

Criterion 2- Approach Demonstrate the conceptual approach or design, methods, and analyses are adequately developed, well integrated, well-reasoned, and appropriate to the objectives of the project. (25 points)

Criterion 3 - Innovation Demonstrate that the research is original and innovative. Does the project challenge existing paradigms or common practice; address an innovative hypothesis or critical barrier to progress in the field? Does the project develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools, or technologies for this area? (20 points)

Criterion 4 – Principal Investigators Demonstrate that the PI(s), and other researchers are experienced and have the expertise, past experience, and available resources to execute the project. (20 points)

Criterion 5 – Partnerships with Minority Serving Institutions Proposed research study includes a cooperative or partnership arrangement with one or more MSI. Details of the partnership and implementation plan must be provided. (10 points)

Amendment No. 0001 - 5 -

All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.

Sincerely, Aracelis Pérez-Ortiz, Grants Officer Operations Branch B Acquisition Management Division