DE-FOA-0003354.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE)

OFFICE OF SCIENCE (SC)

HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS (HEP)

QUANTUM INFORMATION SCIENCE ENABLED DISCOVERY

(QUANTISED 2.0) FOR HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT (FOA) NUMBER:

DE-FOA-0003354

FOA TYPE: INITIAL

CFDA NUMBER: 81.049

FOA Issue Date: May 7, 2024 Submission Deadline for Letters of Intent:

June 18, 2024, at 5 pm Eastern A Letter of Intent is encouraged.

Letters of Intent must be submitted by an authorized institutional representative.

Letter of Intent Response Date July 2, 2024, at 11:59 pm Eastern Submission Deadline for Applications: July 30, 2024, at 11:59 pm Eastern

Table of Contents

SECTION I – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

SECTION II – AWARD INFORMATION

II.A. TYPE OF AWARD INSTRUMENT

II.B. ESTIMATED FUNDING

II.C. MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM AWARD SIZE

II.D. EXPECTED NUMBER OF AWARDS

II.E. ANTICIPATED AWARD SIZE

II.F. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

II.G. TYPE OF APPLICATION

SECTION III – ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

III.A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

III.B. COST SHARING

III.C. ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS

III.D. LIMITATIONS ON SUBMISSIONS

SECTION IV – APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

IV.A. ADDRESS TO REQUEST APPLICATION PACKAGE

IV.B. LETTER OF INTENT (LOI) AND PRE-APPLICATION

IV.C. GRANTS.GOV APPLICATION SUBMISSION AND RECEIPT PROCEDURES

IV.D. CONTENT AND APPLICATION FORMS

IV.E. SUBMISSIONS FROM SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS

IV.F. SUBMISSION DATES AND TIMES

SECTION V - APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

V.A. CRITERIA

V.B. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

V.C. ANTICIPATED NOTICE OF SELECTION AND AWARD DATES

SECTION VI – AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

VI.A. AWARD NOTICES

VI.B. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

VI.C. REPORTING

VI.D. REPORTING OF MATTERS RELATED TO RECIPIENT INTEGRITY AND

PERFORMANCE (DECEMBER 2015)

VI.E. INTERIM CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE...41

SECTION VII - QUESTIONS/AGENCY CONTACTS

VII.A. QUESTIONS

VII.B. AGENCY CONTACTS

SECTION VIII – SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

VIII.A. HOW-TO GUIDES

VIII.B. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

VIII.C. REFERENCE MATERIAL

i

UPDATES AND REMINDERS

RECOMMENDATION

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC) encourages you to register in all systems as soon as possible. You are also encouraged to submit Letters Of Intent (LOIs), pre-applications, and applications well before the deadline.

INFORMATIONAL WEBINAR

SC plans to hold an informational webinar about this FOA before the LOI submission deadline.

Registration instructions and other details will be posted at https://science.osti.gov/hep/Funding- Opportunities.

PROMOTING INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE RESEARCH (PIER) PLAN

All new and renewal applications must provide a Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research (PIER) Plan as an appendix to the project narrative. Please read the instructions in Section IV and the associated review criteria in Section V.

INTERAGENCY FORMATS FOR CURRENT AND PENDING SUPPORT AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

Interagency common instructions for preparing current and pending support and biographical sketches are being developed. The Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) system at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv/ will be updated to support the forthcoming common instructions and formats. The fillable PDFs provided by the National Science Foundation are no longer available. When interagency common formats and instructions are promulgated, their use will be required. SC strongly encourages all researchers to use the online SciENcv system to ensure that their documents are prepared in the appropriate format with the least inconvenience.

INDIVIDUALS WHO SHOULD NOT SERVE AS MERIT REVIEWERS

Follow the updated instructions in Section VIII and consider the use of the Collaborator Template available at https://science.osti.gov/grants/Policy-and-Guidance/Agreement-Forms. Do not include this list as part of the biographical sketch.

LIVING WAGES

SC is committed to ensuring that students, trainees, and postdoctoral fellows are paid a fair and equitable wage sufficient to allow a reasonable standard of living. Applicant institutions are strongly encouraged to examine their institutional pay scales to ensure that all personnel earn a living wage. The provision of fellowships, traineeships, stipends, honoraria, subsistence allowances, and other similar payments may be allowable expenses on SC financial assistance awards, per 2 CFR 200.430, § 200.431, and § 200.466. For graduate students, SC considers a reasonable living wage to be an annual income of $45,000, excluding benefits.

https://science.osti.gov/hep/Funding-Opportunities https://science.osti.gov/hep/Funding-Opportunities https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv/ https://science.osti.gov/grants/Policy-and-Guidance/Agreement-Forms ii

SC STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT

The DOE SC is fully and unconditionally committed to fostering safe, diverse, equitable, and inclusive work, research, and funding environments that value mutual respect and personal integrity. SC is committed to advancing belonging, accessibility, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion across the portfolio of activities we sponsor. SC’s effective stewardship and promotion of safe, accessible, diverse, and inclusive workplaces that value and celebrate the diversity of people, ideas, cultures, and educational backgrounds across the country and that foster a sense of belonging in our scientific community is foundational to delivering on our mission. We are committed to promoting people from all backgrounds, including individuals and communities that were historically underrepresented and minoritized in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and the activities we sponsor in recognition of our responsibility to serve the public. We also recognize that harnessing a broad range of views, expertise, and experiences drives scientific and technological innovation and enables the SC community to push the frontiers of scientific knowledge for U.S. prosperity and security. Discrimination and harassment undermine SC’s ability to achieve its mission by reducing productivity, discouraging, or inhibiting talent retention and career advancement, and weakening the integrity of the SC enterprise overall. SC does not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, including sexual or non-sexual harassment, bullying, intimidation, violence, threats of violence, retaliation, or other disruptive behavior at institutions receiving SC funding or other locations where activities funded by SC are carried out. All applicants and collaborators should familiarize themselves with the SC Statement of Commitment available at https://science.osti.gov/SW- DEI/SC-Statement-of-Commitment.

UPDATING YOUR PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (PAMS) PROFILE

All applicants are encouraged to update their profiles in the PAMS website at https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov regularly, at least annually, to ensure SC has your most up to date information. The PAMS profile now requires that individuals provide responses to the demographic related fields. SC strongly encourages personnel at applicant and recipient institutions, including Principal Investigators (PIs), Co-PIs, and other Key Personnel, to provide their demographic information. By providing your demographic information, you are assisting with SC’s continued commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in its business practices. Alternatively, for information you wish not to disclose, please select, “Do not wish to provide.” Your individual demographic information will not be shared with peer reviewers and the information in your PAMS profile is protected by the requirements established in the Federal Privacy Act of 1974. Aggregate, anonymized demographic information may be shared with confidential review committees who are charged to evaluate the quality and efficacy of SC’s business practices. For example, summary statistics of all applicants to or award selections from a particular SC FOA may be reviewed by a Committee of Visitors.

PORTABLE DOCUMENT FORMAT (PDF) GENERATION

The project narrative in an application must be one single machine-readable PDF file that contains the DOE Title Page, project narrative, all required appendices, and other attachments.

This single PDF file may not be scanned from a printed document and must be attached in Field https://science.osti.gov/SW-DEI/SC-Statement-of-Commitment https://science.osti.gov/SW-DEI/SC-Statement-of-Commitment https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/ iii

8 on the Grants.gov form. This must be a plain PDF file consisting of text, numbers, and images without editable fields, signatures, passwords, redactions, or other advanced features available in some PDF-compatible software. The project narrative will be read by SC staff using the full version of Adobe Acrobat: Please ensure that the narrative is readable in Acrobat. If combining multiple files into one research narrative, ensure that a PDF portfolio or binder is not created. If creating PDF files using any software other than Adobe Acrobat, please use a “Print to PDF” or equivalent process to ensure that all content is visible in the project narrative. Once a project narrative has been assembled, please submit the combined project narrative file through a “Print to PDF” or equivalent process to ensure that all content is visible in one PDF file that can be viewed in Adobe Acrobat. Review your submission to ensure that blank pages are not present.

https://www.grants.gov/ iv

Checklist for Avoiding Common Errors:

Item Issue Applications Submitted in Grants.gov. Do not submit applications in PAMS or FedConnect.

Grants.gov Submission Ensure that applications are submitted under the correct Opportunity Number.

Standard Form (SF)-424 Research and Related (R&R):

- Attach nothing to field 20

- Attach nothing to field 21

SF-424 Research and Related Other Project Information form:

- Attach the abstract to field 7

- Attach the project narrative, with all appendices, to field 8

- Attach nothing to field 9

- Attach nothing to field 10

- Attach nothing to field 11

- Attach the list of individuals who should not serve as merit reviewers (Collaborator Template) to field 12

- Do not attach other files to field 12

- NOTE: Files attached to field 12 will not be shared with merit reviewers.

Letters of Intent (LOIs)

- Submit your LOI in PAMS.

- Do not submit your LOI in Grants.gov.

- Do not attach your LOI to the SF-424

Research and Related (R&R) form.

- Follow the instructions in Section IV for the preparation of an LOI.

Page Limits Strictly followed throughout application, including particular attention to:

- Project narrative and appendices

- Biographical sketches

- Data Management Plans (DMPs)

- Promoting Inclusive and Equitable

Research (PIER) Plan Letter(s) of Collaboration or Access, if any

Personally Identifiable Information - None present in the application Project Narrative Composed of one PDF file including all appendices (bibliography, facilities, equipment, DMP, PIER) v

Item Issue Project Summary / Abstract Name of PI, PI’s institutional affiliation(s), Co-Investigator(s), Co-Investigator’s institutional affiliation(s)

DOE Title Page Follow instructions closely Budget Use current negotiated indirect cost and fringe benefit rates Budget Justification (attached to budget) Justify all requested costs Biographical Sketches Follow page limits strictly and do not include list of collaborators. Attach the biographical sketch to the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Form.

Current and Pending Support Ensure complete listing of all activities, regardless of source of funding. Attach the current and pending support to the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Form.

List of Individuals who Should not Serve as Merit Reviewers

Attach to field 12 of the SF-424 Research and Related Other Project Information form.

Data Management Plans (DMP) - If referring to an experiment’s DMP, describe the relationship to the proposed research.

Include a DMP even if no experimental data is expected.

Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research (PIER) Plan

- PIER Plans are required for new and renewal applications.

Institutions capable of being funded through the DOE Field Work System

If National Laboratories and/or DOE sites are permitted to submit under this FOA:

- Do not create new institutions in the PAMS website.

- Submit applications in Grants.gov using the name of the laboratory or site in Field 5 of the SF-424(R&R) application form, not the contractor operating the laboratory or site.

Submissions under this FOA will be evaluated for technical merit, but any resulting funding, work, or awards will be made under the laboratory or site’s contract with DOE. No separate financial assistance awards will be made. No administrative provisions of this FOA will apply to the laboratory or any laboratory subcontractor.

Section I – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

GENERAL INQUIRIES ABOUT THIS FOA SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO:

Technical/Scientific Program Contacts:

Dr. Glen Crawford Pathfinder Experiments glen.crawford@science.doe.gov

Dr. William Kilgore HEP-QIS Theory William.Kilgore@science.doe.gov

Dr. Helmut Marsiske Quantum Sensing Helmut.Marsiske@science.doe.gov

Administrative Contact (questions about budgets and eligibility):

sc.hepfoa@science.doe.gov

STATUTORY AUTHORITY

Section 646 of Public Law 95-91, U.S. Department of Energy Organization Act Section 901, et seq. of Public Law 109-58, Energy Policy Act of 2005 Section 401 of Public Law 115-368, National Quantum Initiative Act

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS

Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal

Awards, codified at 2 CFR 200 U.S. Department of Energy Financial Assistance Rules, codified at 2 CFR 910 U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science Financial Assistance Program Rule, codified at 10

CFR 605

SUMMARY

The DOE SC program in High Energy Physics (HEP) hereby announces its interest in receiving interdisciplinary applications for open scientific research on Quantum Information Science (QIS) Enabled Discovery (QuantISED) to further the HEP mission to understand how the universe works at its most fundamental level [1]. Successful applications will help define an exploratory program where innovative solutions for scientific discovery are developed and deployed to advance HEP science drivers and contribute to QIS research and technology for public benefit.

The QIS subprogram within HEP has been developed over the last few years with a series of workshops, followed by funding opportunities in 2018 and 2019 [2], and is aligned with a broader SC initiative in QIS and coordinated with various national and interagency QIS mailto:glen.crawford@science.doe.gov mailto:William.Kilgore@science.doe.gov mailto:Helmut.Marsiske@science.doe.gov mailto:sc.hepfoa@science.doe.gov programs [3], including the National QIS Research Centers [4]. Cross-cutting the traditional frontiers and thrusts of the HEP program, the QIS subprogram exploits the interdisciplinary nature of QIS and associated partnerships for exploratory, early-stage research aimed at high impact discoveries aligned with HEP science goals, but also driving developments in foundational QIS and related scientific and technology research areas.

Such research is intended to create public benefit within HEP’s Congressionally-authorized mission space by increasing human understanding of the physical universe and driving relevant developments of advanced technologies that support that mission.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Program Objective

Recent advances in quantum theory and quantum sensors have opened entirely new vistas for exploring fundamental interactions of particles and forces [5,6,7]. The application of ideas from Quantum Information to Quantum Field Theory has las led to exciting developments that suggest a possible route to a theory of quantum gravity that resolves the apparent contradictions between quantum mechanics and general relativity [8]. The demonstrable “quantum advantage” of current state-of-the-art technology already enables discovery-class experiments that would be impossible with conventional approaches. Pursuing these opportunities requires significant further development of the theory and practice of understanding and deploying real-world quantum systems, building on the significant achievements of the first cycle of QuantISED awards [2].

Hence this FOA represents QuantISED 2.0.

The U.S. particle physics community’s current vision for the future is embodied in the 2023 Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5) report [9] that presents a strategy for the next decade centered on three intertwined science themes. These themes not only explore fundamental quantum physics and its impact on the observable universe, but also consider how modern quantum-enabled technologies can help us answer fundamental questions about the nature of the universe. Developing and deploying quantum techniques and technologies and exploring innovative concepts and emerging experimental methods and tools are key to the success of this vision and to contributions of the HEP program to the broader science and technology ecosystem.

The main topics to be investigated are: research in QIS theory and quantum sensing that extends the scientific reach of existing HEP programs well beyond what is currently achievable and enables new lines of inquiry; using quantum theory to improve the understanding of capabilities and limitations of fundamental QIS; and developing pathfinding experiments that demonstrate the full potential of state-of-the-art quantum sensing as a powerful tool to enable new discoveries when scaled from proof of concept to essential scientific instrumentation.

Program Research Topics and Application Structure

One aim of this FOA is to consolidate existing parallel efforts and to foster new research directions towards the specific objectives noted above. Applications are sought that primarily focus on one of the following topic areas, though research may benefit secondary areas:

• HEP-QIS Theory: This topic includes theoretical research exploiting recent developments in quantum gravity, computational complexity, quantum error correction, holographic correspondences including AdS/CFT, quantum information theory, emergent space-time, black hole physics, scrambling, and qubit system protocols and thermalization. It also includes innovative uses of field theory techniques, gauge symmetries, and tensor networks invoking quantum information and entanglement concepts, related algorithms for current and future quantum computers, and quantum simulation experiments or analog simulations of HEP quantum problems with the goals of advancing theoretical tools, techniques, and knowledge (see for example Refs [8,10]).

Team applications (see below) that leverage existing HEP research group and/or DOE lab capabilities are particularly encouraged.

• Quantum Sensing: Quantum sensing involves creating, manipulating, and reading out individual quantum states or ensembles thereof. It employs individual or arrays of quantum sensors and may utilize measurement techniques involving photon counting or purely quantum mechanical effects that have no classical equivalent. Quantum sensors include qubits and continuous-variables quantum devices of various types as developed by the quantum computing community, quantum materials and spin ensembles developed by the condensed matter and materials science communities, and atomic and optomechanical sensors, clocks, and interferometers developed by the atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics and gravitational wave communities, in each case repurposed and re-optimized to target HEP science. Quantum effects include superposition, entanglement, squeezing, and backaction evasion, aiming at a measurement precision better than the Standard Quantum Limit. Team applications (see below) involving HEP researchers and researchers from the above-mentioned communities are particularly encouraged.

• Pathfinder Experiments: Innovative experimental concepts that employ quantum sensors, superconducting devices or other quantum systems, to enable proof-of-principle measurements of fundamental properties of particles and forces consistent with the HEP mission and the strategic priorities of the field [9]. These “pathfinder” applications should demonstrate the potential to significantly extend the discovery reach in a particular area of experimental HEP beyond what is presently achievable, but do not necessarily have to produce physics results during the award period. Applications may include theoretical studies, simulations, and device prototypes necessary to achieve the proof-of-principle demonstration. Team applications (see below) that leverage existing research group capabilities and/or DOE lab facilities are particularly encouraged.

There are two paths for applications seeking support from this FOA: multi-disciplinary or multi-institution “Team” awards; and single-investigator “Seed” awards:

Team awards: This FOA seeks to support broad ambitious research requiring multiple institutions and/or multiple disciplines via research teams. Such teams are particularly appropriate when the involvement of multiple institutions and/or multiple disciplinary experts is required to address multi-faceted questions of scientific inquiry.

Seed awards: Exploratory investigations by researchers and institutions new to the field, or smaller-scale HEP QIS research efforts are sought through the Seed awards. Applications for Seed awards may only propose a single lead investigator but may involve subaward(s) if appropriate for the proposed scope of work. Applications in the Seed award path may be appropriate for PIs from non-traditional HEP institutions, HEP investigators who have minimal prior QIS research experience, or for establishing feasibility of speculative “blue-sky” research.

Seed applications in the Pathfinders topic, limited in scope to conceptual design and small-scale prototyping, are also encouraged.

Seed applications may contain one or more subawards, but the budget for subawards may not exceed 25% of the total budget for the application. There is no budget limitation on subawards in Team applications.

DOE/NNSA National Laboratories and other Federal agencies are not eligible to submit Seed applications but may be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application. Such institutions may also submit Team applications as the lead institution or be a member of a multi-institutional team. See Section III.

The intention of both the Team and Seed awards is to fund basic research. Support for equipment and instrumentation may be available at a lower priority and is expected to be capped per institution, for the HEP-QIS Theory and Quantum Sensing topics. Pathfinder Experiment applications should propose equipment and/or instrumentation budgets as needed to achieve the scientific objectives, supported with appropriate detail in the budget justification.

General Program Guidance for Applications

Successful applications should be cognizant of existing relevant QIS R&D and address how their application is complementary to, and not duplicative of, existing research activities, including for example the research pursued at the National QIS Research Centers.

HEP QIS activities are broadly expected to advance the HEP mission scope and science themes and potentially contribute to QIS research and technology for public benefit. Applications requesting new coordinated activities with non-HEP-supported efforts are allowed, provided they justify clear delineations of the scope of the work proposed under QuantISED 2.0.

The QuantISED 2.0 program does not support research on quantum computing per se (see also below); but applications may leverage calculations performed on currently available qubit systems, quantum annealers or other quantum test beds that are available at their institution(s) or supplied from partners.

Multidisciplinary efforts are particularly encouraged where appropriate for the work proposed.

Developing interdisciplinary collaborations that positively impact both HEP and QIS fields is a key feature of the program objectives. Applications should address how their proposed work will further such collaborations and be of public benefit within the above framework.

Inclusive and intentional mentorship and training of a diverse cadre of junior researchers is an important value of the basic research enterprise that contributes broadly to economic competitiveness in STEM fields, resulting in a highly capable workforce experienced in advanced technology development. Successful applications should address how their efforts will engage with their communities in meaningful ways to contribute to QIS workforce development.

Support for junior staff, students and trainees will be considered a priority when considering budget requests.

See Section III for additional limits on the number of submissions and minimum time commitment.

The QuantISED 2.0 Program seeks broad representation in its award portfolio, including a geographically diverse set of institutions (including those in EPSCoR jurisdictions [11]), minority-serving institutions (MSIs [12]), and emerging research institutions (ERIs [13]). PIs who are women, early-career researchers, persons with disabilities, and other members of underrepresented groups, are especially encouraged.

The following topics and subjects are outside the scope of this FOA. Applications dedicated to these items are nonresponsive and may be declined without merit review:

• General quantum computing research, algorithms, networks or computing hardware;

• Basic research within the mission space of other SC programs, such as quantum materials;

• Research and/or technology R&D funded by other HEP sub-programs or any other research scope that is duplicative of active awards; and

• Other research that is outside the scope of the HEP mission, even if it uses QIS tools and techniques. For a fuller description of HEP research and technology areas, see:

https://science.osti.gov/hep/-/media/grants/pdf/foas/2023/DE-FOA-0003177-000001.pdf

Annual Meetings

The selected awardees will be expected to attend one annual PI meeting and participate in coordination activities with other projects. Applicants should anticipate a need for travel to effectively communicate with other researchers and request appropriate funding in their budgets.

Teaming Arrangements Multi-disciplinary and/or multi-institutional research teams are required for larger-scope (Team) applications. See below for further details on allowed Multi-Institutional Team arrangements;

Section III for details on eligibility criteria; and Section II for details on award size and scope.

References

1. HEP program website: https://science.osti.gov/hep https://science.osti.gov/hep/-/media/grants/pdf/foas/2023/DE-FOA-0003177-000001.pdf https://science.osti.gov/hep

2. See https://science.osti.gov/- /media/hep/pdf/Awards/HEP_Quantum_Information_Science_Awards_FY-2018.pdf ;

https://science.osti.gov/-/media/hep/pdf/Awards/QuantISED-FY19---List-of-Awards.pdf

3. See https://www.quantum.gov and references therein

4. DOE QIS centers: https://science.osti.gov/Initiatives/QIS/QIS-Centers

5. Snowmass Community Study report: https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.06581

6. HEP Detector R&D Basic Research Needs Workshop Report: https://science.osti.gov/-

/media/hep/pdf/Reports/2020/DOE_Basic_Research_Needs_Study_on_High_Energy_Physic s.pdf

7. HEP workshop reports on quantum sensing: https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.11306 and https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.01930

8. Snowmass Theory Frontier QIS Topical Report: https://arXiv.org/abs/2209.14839

9. 2023 P5 report: https://science.osti.gov/-

/media/hep/hepap/pdf/Reports/P5Report2023_120123-DRAFT-to-HEPAP.pdf

10. PRX Quantum 4 (2023) 2, 027001 (also available as arXiv:2204.03381)

11. DOE EPSCOR website: https://science.osti.gov/bes/epscor

12. MSIs are understood broadly to include, but not be limited to, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Asian American Native American and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Native American Serving Non- Tribal Institutions, and Predominantly Black Institutions.

13. Emerging Research Institutions (ERIs) are defined in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 as institutions of higher education receiving less than $50 million in Federal research expenditures, using data tabulated by the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvyherd/.

SC has posted a list of institutions with their designations as MSIs and ERIs at https://science.osti.gov/grants/Applicant-and-Awardee-Resources/Institution-Designations.

This list is offered as a convenience and is not exhaustive.

Open Science

SC is dedicated to promoting the values of openness in Federally supported scientific research, including, but not limited to, ensuring that research may be reproduced and that the results of Federally supported research are made available to other researchers. These objectives may be met through any number of mechanisms including, but not limited to, data access plans, data sharing agreements, the use of archives and repositories, and the use of various licensing schemes.

The use of the phrase “open-source” does not refer to any particular licensing arrangement, but is to be understood as encompassing any arrangement that furthers the objective of openness.

Guidance for Application Budgets and Costs

All costs requested in a budget must adhere to standard requirements for all Federal awards:

• Costs must be reasonable, using a prudent-person standard. (2 CFR 200.404),

• Costs must be allocable, related to the particular Federal award. (2 CFR 200.405), https://science.osti.gov/-/media/hep/pdf/Awards/HEP_Quantum_Information_Science_Awards_FY-2018.pdf https://science.osti.gov/-/media/hep/pdf/Awards/HEP_Quantum_Information_Science_Awards_FY-2018.pdf https://science.osti.gov/-/media/hep/pdf/Awards/QuantISED-FY19---List-of-Awards.pdf https://www.quantum.gov/ https://science.osti.gov/Initiatives/QIS/QIS-Centers https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.06581 https://science.osti.gov/-/media/hep/pdf/Reports/2020/DOE_Basic_Research_Needs_Study_on_High_Energy_Physics.pdf https://science.osti.gov/-/media/hep/pdf/Reports/2020/DOE_Basic_Research_Needs_Study_on_High_Energy_Physics.pdf https://science.osti.gov/-/media/hep/pdf/Reports/2020/DOE_Basic_Research_Needs_Study_on_High_Energy_Physics.pdf https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.11306 https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.01930 https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.14839 https://science.osti.gov/-/media/hep/hepap/pdf/Reports/P5Report2023_120123-DRAFT-to-HEPAP.pdf https://science.osti.gov/-/media/hep/hepap/pdf/Reports/P5Report2023_120123-DRAFT-to-HEPAP.pdf https://science.osti.gov/bes/epscor https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvyherd/ https://science.osti.gov/grants/Applicant-and-Awardee-Resources/Institution-Designations

• Costs must be allowable under the relevant Federal cost principles. (See 2 CFR 200.420 and following),

• Costs must be consistently treated, whether they are paid for with Federal funds or institutional funds. (2 CFR 200.403(c))

Allowable costs may include, but are not limited to, the following, subject to the applicable cost principles:

• “Buying out” faculty time dedicated to teaching or administrative responsibilities,

• Support for administrative personnel dedicated to the proposed activity,

• Support for professional development, training, mentoring of students and junior researchers,

• Travel to meet with collaborators at other institutions and relevant DOE/NNSA national laboratories, including costs for internships at the national laboratories; or to attend one or more science team, user facility, scientific conference, workshop, or professional society meetings relevant to the proposed research; or for the conduct of off-site research,

• Fringe benefits, which must be paid in accordance with an institution’s negotiated rates agreement, institutional policies, and the individual’s appointment,

• Temporary dependent-care costs incurred during travel,

• Instrumentation required to conduct proposed research,

• Equipment (items with a useful life of more than 12 months and a per-item acquisition cost of more than $5,000) required to conduct proposed research,

• Purchase of equipment, modification of equipment, or provision of services necessary to enable work to be carried out by project personnel with a disability,

• Stipends and benefits for students and post-doctoral researchers, recognizing their dual nature as both trainees and employees,

• Salary support to cover time to participate in outreach for recruitment, internships, and training events, science team meetings, partnership development, or information gathering, and

• Other direct costs, e.g., materials and supplies such as office supplies, desktop or laptop computer, and/or software licenses that are directly necessary to enable the proposed activities.

Multi-Institutional Teams

SC uses two different mechanisms to support teams of multiple institutions. For this FOA, both Collaborative Applications and Lead with Subawards organizational models will be accepted.

The Multi-institutional Team should decide which model it prefers and make the case in its application narrative why this model will work well for the specific research effort(s) being proposed. The specific requirements, and differences between the models are discussed below.

COLLABORATIVE APPLICATIONS

Teams of multiple institutions may submit collaborative applications. Each submitted application in such a team must indicate that it is part of a collaborative project/group. Every partner institution must submit an application through its own sponsored research office. Each multi-institutional team can have only one lead institution. Each application within the multi-institutional team, including the narrative, starting with the title page, and all required appendices and attachments, must be identical with the following exceptions:

• Each application must contain a correct SF-424 (R&R)1 cover page [or a PAMS cover page] for the submitting institution only.

• Each application must contain a unique budget corresponding to the expenditures for that application’s submitting institution only.

• Each application must contain a unique budget justification corresponding to the expenditures for that application’s submitting institution only.

• Each application must contain a Project/Performance Site Location(s) form for the submitting institution and its subawards.

• Each application must include a list for the Identification of Merit Review Conflicts for the submitting institution’s senior/key personnel and its subawards’ senior/key personnel.

• Each application must include a Research and Related Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) form with the biographical sketches and current and pending support from that institution’s senior/key personnel. The applicant leading the multi-institutional team must include biographical sketches and current and pending support from each institution’s senior/key personnel.

Our intent is to create from the various applications associated with a multi-institutional team one document for merit review that consists of the common, identical materials combined with a set of detailed budgets from the partner institutions. Each team member’s application must contain the same project title. Team members may use Grants.gov Workspace(s), webforms, and their system-to-system services in any combination.

SUBAWARDS2

Multi-institutional teams may submit one application from a designated lead institution with all other team members proposed as subrecipients.

DOE/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) National Laboratories3, other Federal agencies, and another Federal agency’s FFRDCs4, if participating in a team led by another institution, may be proposed as subrecipients.

Note that the value of any such proposed subaward may be removed from any such prime award:

DOE may make separate awards to Federally affiliated institutions.

1 The Standard Form 424 (SF-424) family of forms is used to apply for Federal financial assistance through https://www.Grants.gov. The Research and Related (R&R) set of forms is used by the Office of Science.

2 Subawards are made to subrecipients. Both terms are defined in 2 CFR 200.1 (https://www.ecfr.gov) 3 The phrase “National Laboratories” is used broadly to encompass DOE/NNSA laboratories and sites capable of performing the work described in this FOA and capable of receiving funds through the DOE Field Work System.

4 An authoritative list of all Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) may be found at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ffrdclist/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.ecfr.gov/ https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ffrdclist/

DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN COLLABORATIVE APPLICATIONS AND SUBAWARDS

The following points of advice to applicants may be helpful:

1. Both collaborative applications and proposed subawards are methods by which multiple institutions can work together to reach the scientific objectives described in this FOA.

Choose the appropriate structure based on the nature of the scientific work being proposed. If multiple institutions will be functioning as a network of peer-level researchers, a collaborative structure would be more appropriate. If multiple institutions will be functioning with leadership and direction coming from one institution, a subaward arrangement would be more appropriate.

a. Collaborative applications are assembled from multiple identical applications submitted by the proposing institution. Such applications may be submitted under this FOA in Grants.gov. The multiple applications will be assembled into one joint collaborative application, which will be merit-reviewed as one document, with recommendations to fund or decline the application made at the level of each independent application.

b. Subawards exist when multiple institutions work together to submit one application with a designated prime recipient and multiple potential subrecipients.

c. DOE/NNSA National Laboratories, other Federal agencies, and another Federal agency’s FFRDCs may be proposed as subrecipients, but the value of any such proposed subaward may be removed from any such prime award: DOE will often make separate awards to Federally affiliated institutions.

2. A well-thought-out research plan and its associated budget(s) should leave no confusion about which institution will do which parts of the research.

All entities submitting applications to this FOA must recognize the moral and legal obligations to comply with export controls and policies that limit the transfer of technologies with potential dual use. Applicants are reminded that international activities must comply with nonproliferation, sanction, and other protocols described at https://www.export.gov.

International activities related to special nuclear materials (SNM) are subject to additional requirements. Please see 10 CFR 810 for further information.

All work proposed under this FOA must be for basic and fundamental research whose results may be published in scholarly literature. Do not submit applications containing restricted data or unclassified controlled nuclear information as defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 USC 2011, et seq., 10

CFR 1017, 10 CFR 1045.

https://www.export.gov/

Section II – AWARD INFORMATION

II.A. TYPE OF AWARD INSTRUMENT

DOE anticipates awarding grants, interagency agreements, and/or National Laboratory authorizations under this FOA.

DOE will consider funding multi-institution teams submitted as collaborative applications, in which each institution must submit its own application with an identical common project narrative, under this FOA. Multi-institutional teams may also apply using a prime and subaward model with one application submitted by the lead institution.

Statement of Substantial Involvement

Not applicable.

II.B. ESTIMATED FUNDING

DOE expects that, subject to the availability of future year appropriations, $60-70 million will be used to support grants, national laboratory authorizations, and interagency agreements under this FOA and its companion program announcement.

DOE is under no obligation to pay for any costs associated with preparation or submission of applications. DOE reserves the right to fund, in whole or in part, any, all, or none of the applications submitted in response to this FOA.

II.C. MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM AWARD SIZE

(See B. Estimated Funding above.)

The award size will depend on the number of meritorious applications and the availability of appropriated funds.

The ceiling and floor described in this FOA represent the expected range of award sizes.

Applicants should request sufficient funding to achieve their proposed results.

The ceiling and floor specified below are for total costs, both direct and indirect costs, for all years of an award.

Ceiling

Seed awards : $1,000,000 total (all topics) Team awards : $5,000,000 total ( all topics)

A multi-institutional Team, whether applied for as a prime applicant with subawards or as collaborative applications, is limited to a request of no more than $1,500,000 per year.

A multi-investigator Team from a single institution is limited to a request of no more than $1,000,000 per year.

Applications requesting more than this amount of support may be declined without further review.

Floor

Seed awards: $140,000 total (all topics) Team awards: $1,200,000 total (all topics)

The floor for Team awards applies to both multi-institutional and multi-investigator, single institution applications.

See Table below for a summary of award types, funding ranges and related guidance.

Application features Application Type

Seed Team Number of Sr./Key personnel 1 2 or more Number of institutions 1 1 or more Subawards allowed? Yes, but limited to

25% of total budget Yes. Required for multi-institutional team with lead-and-subaward structure.

DOE labs allowed? Only as subawardee Yes: as Lead, partner, or subawardee Other FFRDCs allowed? Only as subawardee Only as subawardee Other Fed agencies allowed? Only as subawardee Yes: as Lead, partner, or subawardee Funding floor (all yrs) $140,000 all topics $1,200,000 all topics Funding ceiling (all yrs) $1,000,000 all topics $5,000,000 all topics Annual funding limits None Multiple Institutions: $1,500,000/yr

Single Institution: $1,000,000/yr Project duration 2-3 years 3-5 years Type of application New New or Renewal

II.D. EXPECTED NUMBER OF AWARDS

(See B. Estimated Funding above.)

Approximately 5 to 10 Seed awards and 6 to 12 Team awards are expected.

The exact number of awards will depend on the number of meritorious applications and the availability of appropriated funds.

II.E. ANTICIPATED AWARD SIZE

(See B. Estimated Funding above.)

It is anticipated that Seed award sizes may range from $70,000 per year to $350,000 per year, with a median award size of approximately $150,000 per year to $200,000 per year.

It is anticipated that Team award sizes may range from $400,000 per year to $1,500,000 per year, with a median award size of approximately $800,000 per year to $1,200,000 per year.

The award size will depend on the number of meritorious applications and the availability of appropriated funds.

II.F. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

(See B. Estimated Funding above.)

DOE anticipates making awards with a project period of 2-3 years for Seed awards and 3-5 years for Team awards. DOE further anticipates conducting mid-term progress reviews in the third year for awards with a project period greater than 3 years.

Continuation funding (funding for the second and subsequent budget periods) is contingent on:

(1) availability of funds appropriated by Congress and future year budget authority; (2) progress towards meeting the objectives of the approved application; (3) submission of required reports;

and (4) compliance with the terms and conditions of the award.

II.G. TYPE OF APPLICATION

DOE will accept new and renewal applications under this FOA. Information about how to distinguish between new and renewal applications is located in Section VIII.

Existing QuantISED awards supporting single investigators will be concluded in 2024. Lead PIs on these awards may be named as PIs on new applications submitted to QuantISED 2.0. HEP PIs who currently receive HEP QIS funding awarded under other FOAs (such as the Early Career Research Program or HEP’s comparative review process) may also be named as PIs on new applications submitted to QuantISED 2.0 for distinct new research scopes.

Note that DOE/NNSA National Laboratories may only submit applications marked as “new” under this FOA. National Laboratories requesting additional support and time for an existing activity as part of a renewal of a previous QuantISED collaboration award must include a list of all publications resulting from the existing activity as an Appendix to the Project Narrative. See the standard instructions for Appendix 7 to a project narrative.

Section III – ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

III.A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

All types of domestic applicants are eligible to apply, except nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995.

Federally affiliated5 entities must adhere to the eligibility standards below:

III.A.1. DOE/NNSA National Laboratories

DOE/NNSA National Laboratories are not eligible to submit Seed applications under this FOA but may be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application. If recommended for funding as a proposed subrecipient, the value of the proposed subaward will be removed from the prime applicant’s award and will be provided to the laboratory through the DOE Field-Work Proposal System and work will be conducted under the laboratory’s contract with DOE.

Additional instructions for securing authorization from the cognizant Contracting Officer are found in Section VIII of this FOA.

DOE/NNSA National Laboratories are eligible to submit Team applications (either as a lead organization or as a team member in a multi-institutional team) under this FOA and may be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application. If recommended for funding as a lead applicant or a team member, funding will be provided through the DOE Field-Work Proposal System and work will be conducted under the laboratory’s contract with DOE. No administrative provisions of this FOA will apply to the laboratory or any laboratory subcontractor. If recommended for funding as a proposed subrecipient, the value of the proposed subaward will be removed from the prime applicant’s award and will be provided to the laboratory through the DOE Field-Work Proposal System and work will be conducted under the laboratory’s contract with DOE. Additional instructions for securing authorization from the cognizant Contracting Officer are found in Section VIII of this FOA.

III.A.2. Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs

Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are not eligible to submit applications under this FOA but may be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application. If recommended for funding as a proposed subrecipient, the value of the proposed subaward may be removed from the prime applicant’s award and may be provided through an interagency agreement to the FFRDC’s sponsoring Federal Agency. Additional instructions for securing authorization from the cognizant Contracting Officer are found in Section VIII of this FOA.

5 Institutions that are not DOE/NNSA National Laboratories, a non-DOE/NNSA FFRDC, or another Federal agency are not Federally affiliated, even if they receive Federal funds or perform work under a Federal award or contract.

III.A.3. Other Federal Agencies

Other Federal Agencies are not eligible to submit Seed applications under this FOA but may be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application. If recommended for funding as a proposed subrecipient, the value of the proposed subaward may be removed from the prime applicant’s award and may be provided through an interagency agreement. Additional instructions for providing statutory authorization are found in Section VIII of this FOA.

Other Federal Agencies are eligible to submit Team applications (either as a lead organization or as a team member in a multi-institutional team) under this FOA and may be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application. If recommended for funding as a lead applicant or a team member, funding will be provided through an interagency agreement. If recommended for funding as a proposed subrecipient, the value of the proposed subaward may be removed from the prime applicant’s award and may be provided through an interagency agreement. Additional instructions for providing statutory authorization are found in Section VIII of this FOA.

Notes for applicants of all types:

Individual applicants without institutional affiliation are unlikely to possess the skills, abilities, and resources to successfully accomplish the objectives of this FOA. Individual applicants are encouraged to address this concern in their applications and to demonstrate how they will accomplish the objectives of this FOA.

This FOA seeks to support basic research to advance understanding rather than to address commercial opportunities. Applications that propose research related to current commercial activity or current customer needs may be declined without merit review.

Applicants may propose non-domestic entities as subrecipients in their applications. Applicants are advised that successful applications that propose non-domestic entities as subrecipients include a detailed demonstration of how the proposed non-domestic subrecipients possess skills, resources, and abilities that do not exist among potential domestic subrecipients.

III.B. COST SHARING

Cost sharing for basic and fundamental research is not required pursuant to an exclusion from the requirements of Section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Cost…