DE-FOA-0003452.000001.pdf

Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC)

Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Genomics - Enabled Understanding and Advancing Knowledge on Plant Gene Function(s)

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Number:

DE-FOA-0003452

NOFO Type: Amendment 000001

CFDA Number: 81.049

Amendment 000001 is issued to remove references to diversity, equity, and inclusion; to remove references to PIER plans; to update regulatory requirements from Title 2 CFR; and to update research, technology, and economic security provisions.

NOFO Issue Date: October 15, 2024 Submission Deadline for Pre-Applications:

December 2, 2024, 5:00 pm (Eastern Time) A Pre-Application is required.

Pre-Application Response Date: January 2, 2025, 5:00 pm (Eastern Time) Submission Deadline for Applications: February 10, 2025, 11:59 pm (Eastern Time)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. BASIC INFORMATION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

FUNDING DETAILS

KEY FACTS

KEY DATES

AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION

RECOMMENDATION

II. ELIGIBILITY

A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

B. COST SHARING

C. ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS

D. LIMITATIONS ON SUBMISSIONS

III. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

A. PURPOSE

B. PROGRAM GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND PRIORITIES

C. AWARD CONTRIBUTION TO GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

D. PERFORMANCE GOALS

E. SUBSTANTIAL INVOLVEMENT

F. PROGRAM UNALLOWABLE COSTS

G. CITATIONS TO STATUTE AND REGULATIONS

H. PROGRAM HISTORY

I. OTHER INFORMATION

IV. APPLICATION CONTENTS AND FORMAT

A. PRELIMINARY SUBMISSIONS

B. APPLICATION

C. COMPONENT PIECES OF THE APPLICATION

D. INFORMATION THAT MUST BE SUBMITTED AFTER APPLICATION BUT

BEFORE AWARD

V. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINES

A. ADDRESS TO REQUEST APPLICATION PACKAGE

B. UNIQUE ENTITY IDENTIFIER (UEI) AND SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT

(SAM.GOV)

C. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

D. SUBMISSION DATES AND TIMES

VI. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

A. RESPONSIVENESS REVIEW

B. MERIT REVIEW CRITERIA

C. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

D. RISK REVIEW ................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

VII. AWARD NOTICES

ANTICIPATED TIMELINE FOR NOTICE OF SELECTION FOR AWARD

NEGOTIATION

VIII. POST-AWARD REQUIREMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION

A. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

B. REPORTING

C. REPORTING OF MATTERS RELATED TO RECIPIENT INTEGRITY AND

PERFORMANCE (DECEMBER 2015)

D. INTERIM CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

IX. OTHER INFORMATION

A. CHECKLIST FOR AVOIDING COMMON ERRORS

B. HOW-TO GUIDES ........................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

C. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS .................. ERROR!

BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

D. REFERENCE MATERIAL .............................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

I. Basic Information

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC)

Executive Summary

The DOE SC program in Biological and Environmental Research (BER) hereby announces its interest in receiving applications for research within the Biological Systems Science Division’s (BSSD) Genomic Science Program (GSP) (http://genomicscience.energy.gov) mission-space.

This NOFO solicits applications for “Genomics - Enabled Understanding and Advancing Knowledge on Plant Gene Function(s)” to effectively design bioenergy crops by developing approaches to: a) understand regulatory elements, biological mechanisms and develop predictive models for dissecting multigene traits and their component parts that govern plant growth under different growing conditions, biochemical and signaling pathways; b) understand genetic components and molecular mechanisms underlying plant regeneration/organogenesis in tissue culture to improve heterologous DNA transfer to germlines of bioenergy crops; and c) understand genetic and molecular mechanisms that will reduce the cycle time for out-crossing energy crops (e.g. self-incompatibility) to speed development of new plant feedstocks underpinning a more broader and more competitive U.S. bioeconomy.

Funding Details

Expected total available funding $25 million Expected number of awards 8-12 Expected dollar amount of individual awards $750,000 – $3,000,000 Expected award project period 3 yrs

Key Facts

NOFO Title Genomics-Enabled Understanding and Advancing Knowledge on

Plant Gene Function(s) NOFO Number DE-FOA-0003452 Announcement Type Amendment Assistance Listing 81.049 Statutory Authority The programmatic authorizing statute is:

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

Governing 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 http://genomicscience.energy.gov/

Key Dates

Key dates are printed on the cover of this NOFO.

Agency Contact Information

Grants.gov Customer Support

800-518-4726 (toll-free) support@Grants.gov

PAMS

Customer Support

855-818-1846 (toll-free) 301-903-9610 sc.pams-helpdesk@science.doe.gov

Technical/Scientific Program Contact

Dr. Vijay Sharma (Primary contact) Vijay.sharma@science.doe.gov Dr. Shing Kwok Shing.kwok@science.doe.gov

Administrative Contact (questions about budgets and eligibility)

Ms. Meredith Rutledge Meredith.rutledge@science.doe.gov

Recommendation

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.

mailto:support@grants.gov mailto:sc.pams-helpdesk@science.doe.gov mailto:Vijay.sharma@science.doe.gov mailto:Shing.kwok@science.doe.gov mailto:Meredith.rutledge@science.doe.gov

II. Eligibility

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.

1. DOE/NNSA National Laboratories

DOE/NNSA National Laboratories are not eligible to submit applications under this NOFO 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. No administrative provisions of this NOFO will apply to the laboratory or any laboratory subcontractor. Additional instructions for securing authorization from the cognizant Contracting Officer are found in Section IX of this NOFO.

2. Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs

Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are not eligible to submit applications under this NOFO 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 IX of this NOFO.

3. Other Federal Agencies

Other Federal Agencies are not eligible to submit applications under this NOFO 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 IX of this NOFO.

Notes for applicants of all types:

• Individual applicants are unlikely to possess the skills, abilities, and resources to successfully accomplish the objectives of this NOFO. Individual applicants are encouraged to address this concern in their applications and to demonstrate how they will accomplish the objectives of this NOFO.

• Non-domestic applicants are advised that successful applications from non-domestic applicants include a detailed demonstration of how the applicant possesses skills, resources, and abilities that do not exist among potential domestic applicants.

This NOFO 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.

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.

C. Eligible Individuals

Individuals with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as a Principal Investigator (PI) are invited to work with their organizations to develop an application. Individuals from underrepresented groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply.

D. Limitations on Submissions

Applicant institutions are limited to no more than one, pre-application, or application for each PI at the applicant institution. DOE will consider the latest received submissions to be the institution’s intended submissions.

• Pre-applications in excess of the limited number of submissions may be discouraged.

• Applications in excess of the limited number of submissions may be declined without review.

The PI on a pre-application or application may also be listed as a senior or key personnel on separate submissions without limitation.

DOE/NNSA NATIONAL LABORATORY EFFORT

The scope of work to be performed by DOE/NNSA National Laboratories may not be more significant than the scope of work to be performed by the applicant.

The DOE/NNSA National Laboratory effort, in aggregate, shall not exceed 50 percent of the total estimated cost of the project, including the applicant’s and the DOE/NNSA National Laboratories’ portions of the effort.

LIMITATIONS ON PI

PIs must be in a permanent or indefinitely extensible position, or long-term at the applicant institution, whether tenured, tenure-track, or a staff appointment. Individuals in term-limited appointments that may not be extended, whether as adjunct, visiting faculty, fellows, or similar appointments, are not eligible to be proposed as a PI.

PIs are not required to be in tenure-track appointments. Individuals in part-time permanent positions are eligible to be proposed as a PI.

Individuals in a joint appointment are eligible to be proposed as a PI if work will be performed at the applicant institution and if the PI is a paid employee of the applicant institution. Individuals paid by another institution may not be named as the PI but may be named in other senior/key roles. A paid employee is one that is on the applicant institution’s payroll, receiving wages and benefits in accordance with the applicant institution’s normal wage and benefit practices, and whose position is not governed by any arrangement, agreement, or contract between the applicant institution and another institution.

Individuals receiving more than half of their salary and benefits from a DOE/NNSA National Laboratory may not be named as the PI in an application under this NOFO, regardless of any arrangement between the employing Laboratory and the applicant institution.

III. Program Description

A. Purpose

The DOE SC program in Biological and Environmental Research (BER) hereby announces its interest in receiving applications for research within the Biological Systems Science Division’s (BSSD) Genomic Science Program (GSP) (http://genomicscience.energy.gov) mission-space.

This NOFO solicits applications for “Genomics - Enabled Understanding and Advancing Knowledge on Plant Gene Function(s)” to effectively design bioenergy crops by developing approaches to: a) understand regulatory elements, biological mechanisms and develop predictive models for dissecting multigene traits and their component parts that govern plant growth under different growing conditions, biochemical and signaling pathways; b) understand genetic components and molecular mechanisms underlying plant regeneration/organogenesis in tissue culture to improve heterologous DNA transfer to germlines of bioenergy crops; and c) understand genetic and molecular mechanisms that will reduce the cycle time for out-crossing energy crops (e.g. self-incompatibility) to speed development of new plant feedstocks underpinning a more broader and more competitive U.S. bioeconomy.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The development of renewable and sustainable bioenergy resources is crucial for a more robust and carbon-neutral bioeconomy and ensuring global energy security. Plants offer a promising solution, but unlocking their full potential as a renewable central feedstock for a broader bioeconomy requires a deeper understanding of the gene functions that govern growth under different growing conditions, signaling pathways, reproduction, and regulation of metabolic pathways.

Purpose-driven bioenergy crops grown on underutilized land have the potential to play a significant role in an emerging bioeconomy as an alternative source of renewable feedstocks for fuels, chemicals and other products currently produced from petroleum. Plant scientists and breeders recognize that potentially larger gains in productivity and sustainability may be realized in such crops by leveraging multi-omics approaches, systems biology, and computational biology to better understand the regulation of critical plant processes at the molecular, cellular and tissue level. However, understanding molecular function remains a challenge in plants due to several unique features, such as segmental and whole genome duplications, differences in modes of reproduction, and domestication. Advances in ‘omics technologies together with computational modeling and data analysis are enabling the gathering of information on critical and complex plant processes such as metabolism, development, and signaling. Although immense amounts of data can be generated by these methodologies, much of the functional information extracted from these data is generated by correlation analysis and computational inference, lacking causal and verifiable knowledge. Experimental characterization of gene function continues to be a significant bottleneck, hampering our ability to fully exploit the potential of available ‘omics technologies and data. This in turn limits direct understanding of how genes regulate organismal function and ultimately the ability to accurately assign and validate gene function in non-model organisms. By elucidating complex regulatory processes at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels, a better understanding of plants as a whole and a http://genomicscience.energy.gov/ more accurate prediction of plant behavior under varying growing conditions can be achieved.

To overcome these obstacles, more efficient, high-throughput methods for interpreting experimental evidence need to be developed for accurate determination of gene function. While experimental approaches are unlikely to scale with advances in ‘omics technologies, concentrated development and application of new approaches are required to tackle this critical knowledge gap.

A critical tool used to validate plant gene function is plant transformation, which allows the study of the expression of genes and their interaction with other genetic elements within different pathways and gene networks. However, plant transformation is currently a time-consuming and low-throughput process, which has been identified as a critical barrier to advance the understanding of gene functionality, particularly in bioenergy crops. Furthermore, many bioenergy crops are perennial, out-crossers, and/or have large and polyploid genomes, posing additional challenges relative to model plants and other crops.

The overarching goal of this NOFO is to address the challenges and opportunities in associating gene(s) to function (i.e., genotype to phenotype), as well as to understand the biological processes relevant for plant transformation in plant systems of relevance to the BER mission in energy and the environment. This NOFO seeks applications that employ systems biology and high-throughput approaches to elucidate and validate the functional roles of genes, and associated pathways related to physiological and metabolic processes such as CO2 sequestration and belowground storage; nutrient and water use efficiency; tolerance and/or resistance to abiotic stresses such as drought and temperature extremes; developmental and reproductive processes critical to enhanced biomass yield and optimization or extension of growth range and metabolism of oils and fatty acids. Additionally, applications that employ omics/systems biology approaches to understand the genetic and molecular mechanisms involved in the process of in vitro organogenesis and embryogenesis that can provide a basic science foundation to enable the acceleration of plant transformation technologies are encouraged. Applications that address other processes that can affect bioenergy crop transformation, such as self-incompatibility and the infection of germline by Agrobacterium within plant reproductive tissues that could advance the tissue culture-free transformation methods to bioenergy crops are also encouraged.

Topics of interest for this NOFO include but are not limited to:

• Comprehensive investigations of regulatory elements and mechanisms in bioenergy crops (e.g., transcription factors, cis-regulatory regions, enhancers, insulators, epigenetic regulation, alternative splicing, gene duplication/sub-functionalization, etc.);

• Dissection of multigene traits involved in abiotic stress responses (e.g., nutrient and water availability, temperature, light, CO2 concentration, etc.) into their genetic components and characterization and validation of genetic functions at the molecular level;

• Developing computational models to predict the effects of internal and external factors on the biological processes, pathways, and networks that control biomass growth and response to abiotic stresses in bioenergy crops;

• Research to understand the genetic and genomic basis of tissue culture organogenesis and embryogenesis, self-incompatibility, and the transfer of heterologous DNA into the germline of bioenergy corps.

The proposed research should focus on expeditiously gathering the experimental evidence needed to understand gene function in plants; to accelerate experimental plant gene function discovery and validation; and to implement new and innovative ways to combine experimental and computational methods to study plant gene function.

Projects should involve comprehensive, integrative, systems biology approaches that may include biochemical and physiological methods coupled with computation, engineering, robotics, and other disciplines and technologies to develop higher-throughput systems for gene function determination. While development of new approaches is expected and encouraged, applications focused solely on tool and/or method development will not be considered responsive. Examples of species of interest include candidate bioenergy plants (e.g., sorghum, switchgrass, miscanthus, Populus) and oilseed crops (e.g., non-food Brassica crops). Research using model species such as Arabidopsis, Brachypodium, Chlamydomonas, and Nicotiana is acceptable if the applicant demonstrates clear relevance of the focal genetic system to the DOE BER mission in bioenergy and bioproducts as well as potential for translation to bioenergy crops. This NOFO continues a program area initiated in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 supported by the 2018 DOE BER workshop “Breaking the Bottleneck of Genomes: Understanding Gene Function Across Taxa” (https://science.osti.gov/-/media/ber/pdf/workshop-reports/2019/Breaking_the_Bottleneck_2019.pdf). The 2023 DOE BER workshop “Barriers in Plant Transformation: A Focus on Bioenergy Crops” provides background on the challenges and opportunities in bioenergy crop transformation (https://science.osti.gov/- /media/ber/pdf/workshop-reports/2024/Plant_Transformation_low-resolution.pdf).

NOTE: BER encourages the submission of innovative “high-risk/high-reward” research applications that address critical knowledge gaps and have the potential for high impact. The probability of success and the risk-reward balance will be considered when making funding decisions. This NOFO encourages individual investigators as well as interdisciplinary teams that assemble a range of expertise into a coordinated approach. For the latter situation, applicants must include a clear plan describing the individual contributions of each participant, as well as an overall management plan.

The following areas are not within the scope of this NOFO: Research that seeks to increase starch content for improved nutrient qualities; to facilitate the digestion and fermentation of starch to produce sugars and other bio-based products or biofuels; to improve soybean, food grade canola or other oilseed crops to be used as a food source or for pharmaceutical or cosmetic use; or to increase grain yields or food yields for human consumption. Proposals targeting non-terrestrial plants, except for Lemnaceae and Chlamydomonas, will not be considered under this

NOFO.

Data Sharing: Any application submitted without a data sharing and digital data management plan including gene function data will be declined without review. Information about the DOE Genomic Science Program data release policy, with which awardees will be expected to comply, is available at http://genomicscience.energy.gov/datasharing/.

Availability of User Facilities and Other Specialized Resources: Applicants are encouraged to consider the use of resources provided by DOE Scientific User Facilities and Community https://science.osti.gov/-/media/ber/pdf/workshop-reports/2019/Breaking_the_Bottleneck_2019.pdf https://science.osti.gov/-/media/ber/pdf/workshop-reports/2019/Breaking_the_Bottleneck_2019.pdf https://science.osti.gov/-/media/ber/pdf/workshop-reports/2024/Plant_Transformation_low-resolution.pdf https://science.osti.gov/-/media/ber/pdf/workshop-reports/2024/Plant_Transformation_low-resolution.pdf http://genomicscience.energy.gov/datasharing/

Resources. These include the DOE Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase;

https://www.kbase.us), the National Microbiome Data Collaborative (NMDC;

https://microbiomedata.org/), the DOE Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL;

https://www.emsl.pnnl.gov/emslweb/), the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC; https://www.nersc.gov), the BER Structural Biology and Imaging Resources (https://berstructuralbioportal.org), and the DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI; https://jgi.doe.gov).

Awarded projects will receive prioritized consideration for use of JGI capabilities through the Biological and Environmental Research Support Science (BERSS) user program (https://jgi.doe.gov/userprograms/other-programs/). To determine the feasibility of the planned work to be done by JGI, applicants should contact JGI before submitting their application.

Related Programs

The following programmatic areas within BER are at the interface with GSP’s plant genomics portfolio.

Systems Biology Research to Advance Bioenergy Crop Production: The DOE-BER BSSD GSP portfolio in sustainable bioenergy is focused on omics-driven basic research aimed at enabling the integrated development of sustainable bioenergy feedstock systems in:

i. Systems-level research to improve understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying bioenergy feedstock productivity under varied and at times suboptimal environmental conditions.

ii. Systems biology-enabled investigations into the roles of microbes and microbial communities (including rhizosphere consortia, e.g. bacteria, fungi, diazotrophs, endophytes, viruses) in supporting plant productivity and vigor.

Applications that focus on research that may be perceived to overlap with one of these programs need to provide details within the application that describes how the application is responsive to this specific NOFO.

Annual Principal Investigator (PI) Meeting: If a project is funded, beginning in the first year of funding, one or more project participants will be required to attend an annual Genomic Science Program Principal Investigator (PI) meeting, generally held in the Washington, D.C., area. Reasonable travel expenses may be included as part of the project budget. Applicants are encouraged to visit the GSP website for more detailed information about the program:

http://www.genomicscience.energy.gov/.

Multi-Institutional Teams Applications for multi-institutional teams must ensure that that the lead institution performs a greater portion of the scientific and technical work than any other team member. Requests to change the institution performing the greatest portion of the scientific and technical work after an application is submitted will result in the application being declined unless the request is the result of the lead PI’s death, incapacitation, or relocation.

SC uses two different mechanisms to support teams of multiple institutions.

https://www.kbase.us/ https://microbiomedata.org/ https://www.emsl.pnnl.gov/emslweb/ https://www.nersc.gov/ https://berstructuralbioportal.org/ https://jgi.doe.gov/ https://jgi.doe.gov/userprograms/other-programs/ http://www.genomicscience.energy.gov/

COLLABORATIVE APPLICATIONS

Collaborative applications (in which each team member submits its own application with a common Project Narrative) will not be accepted under this NOFO.

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

DOE/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) National Laboratories1, other Federal agencies, and another Federal agency’s FFRDCs2, if participating in a team led by another institution, must be proposed as subrecipients.

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.

All entities submitting applications to this NOFO 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 NOFO 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.

B. Program Goals, Objectives, and Priorities

1 The phrase “National Laboratories” is used broadly to encompass DOE/NNSA laboratories and sites capable of performing the work described in this NOFO and capable of receiving funds through the DOE Field Work System.

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

The Office of Science’s (SC) mission is to deliver scientific discoveries and major scientific tools to transform our understanding of nature and advance the energy, economic, and national security of the United States (U.S.). SC is the Nation’s largest Federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences and the lead Federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for our Nation’s energy future.

SC accomplishes its mission and advances national goals by supporting:

• The frontiers of science—exploring nature’s mysteries from the study of fundamental subatomic particles, atoms, and molecules that are the building blocks of the materials of our universe and everything in it to the DNA, proteins, and cells that are the building blocks of life. Each of the programs in SC supports research probing the most fundamental disciplinary questions.

• The 21st Century tools of science—providing the nation’s researchers with 28 state-of-the-art national scientific user facilities, the most advanced tools of modern science, propelling the U.S. to the forefront of science, technology development, and deployment through innovation.

• Science for energy and the environment―paving the knowledge foundation to spur discoveries and innovations for advancing the Department’s mission in energy and environment. SC supports a wide range of funding modalities from single principal investigators to large team-based activities to engage in fundamental research on energy production, conversion, storage, transmission, and use, and on our understanding of the earth systems.

SC is an established leader of the U.S. scientific discovery and innovation enterprise. Over the decades, SC investments and accomplishments in basic research and enabling research capabilities have provided the foundations for new technologies, businesses, and industries, making significant contributions to our nation’s economy, national security, and quality of life

C. Award Contribution to Goals and Objectives

Awards resulting from this NOFO are intended to increase our understanding of scientific phenomena.

D. Performance Goals

You will be expected to demonstrate progress toward increasing knowledge in annual progress reports and presentations in annual meetings.

E. Substantial Involvement

Either a grant or cooperative agreement may be awarded under this NOFO. If the award is a cooperative agreement, the DOE contract specialist/grants management specialist and DOE program manager will negotiate a Statement of Substantial Involvement prior to award.

F. Program Unallowable Costs

You must apply the cost principles of 2 CFR 200, as supplemented by 2 CFR 910 and 10 CFR 605, to your application and any resulting award.

G. Citations to Statute and Regulations

The programmatic authorizing statute is:

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 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

H. Program History

You can learn about SC’s history at https://science.osti.gov/About/History. You can read about our achievements at https://science.osti.gov/Science-Features/Science-Highlights. You can find information about all of our awards at https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/WebPAMSExternal/interface/awards/AwardSearchExtern al.aspx.

I. Other Information

ANTICIPATED AWARD SIZE

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

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

DOE anticipates making awards with a project period of 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.

AWARD BUDGET PERIODS

SC is committed to distributing workloads (internally and externally) across as much of the calendar as is practical. Accordingly, awards made under this NOFO will generally be made with budget periods that end between December 1 and June 30. New awards may be made with a first budget period of more than 12 months.

Applicants should prepare budgets with 12-month budget periods. Actual start dates and cycle https://science.osti.gov/About/History https://science.osti.gov/Science-Features/Science-Highlights https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/WebPAMSExternal/interface/awards/AwardSearchExternal.aspx https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/WebPAMSExternal/interface/awards/AwardSearchExternal.aspx dates will be negotiated if an application is recommended for award. Budget periods will generally not be made for less than 9 months or more than 18 months.

IV. Application Contents and Format

A. Preliminary Submissions

1. Letter of Intent (LOI)

Not applicable.

2. Pre-application

PRE-APPLICATION DUE DATE

The pre-application due date is printed on the cover of the NOFO.

ENCOURAGE/DISCOURAGE DATE

The pre-application response date is printed on the cover of the NOFO.

A pre-application is required and must submitted by the date indicated on the cover of the

NOFO.

Pre-applications will be reviewed for responsiveness of the proposed work to the research topics identified in this NOFO. DOE will send a response by email to each applicant encouraging or discouraging the submission of an application by the date indicated on the cover of the NOFO.

Applicants who have not received a response regarding the status of their pre-application by this date are responsible for contacting the program to confirm this status.

If a multi-institutional team is submitting collaborative applications, only the lead institution should submit a pre-application.

Applications that have not been encouraged by DOE may be declined without merit review.

The pre-application must begin with a title page that will not count toward the pre-application page limitation. Include, at the top of the first page, the following information:

Title of Pre-application Principal Investigator Name, Job Title

[Lead] Institution PI Phone Number, PI Email Address

NOFO Number: Include the NOFO Number indicated on the cover of this NOFO Include a list of all senior/key personnel at the applicant and team member institutions.

The material listed here defines the required content of a title page. Additional material is not allowed.

The first page of the pre-application must specify at least one scientific hypothesis whose investigation motivates the proposed work, using no more than 100 words, in a box with a black border. For any hypothesis that is not itself innovative, the pre-application must describe at least one innovative insight into how the hypothesis can be investigated that may be exploited by the planned research.

This information must be followed by a clear and concise description of the objectives and technical approach of the proposed research. The pre-application should not exceed three pages, when printed using standard letter-size (8.5-inch x 11-inch) paper with 1-inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right). The body text font must not be smaller than 11 point. Figures and references, if included, must fit within the three-page limit. Pre-applications that exceed the page limit will be discouraged. It is the responsibility of the applicant to include sufficient information in the pre-application to enable evaluation of responsiveness to this announcement.

In addition, the pre-application must include a listing of senior/key personnel and a listing of individuals who should not serve as merit reviewers of a subsequent application. Detailed instructions for how to craft the required listings are provided in Section IX of this NOFO. Note that the listing of individuals who should not serve as merit reviewers is rarely empty because the instructions contain mandatory inclusions requirements. This listing will not count toward the pre-application’s page limit. The list of individuals must be converted to a PDF file and appended to your pre-application for submission through the PAMS website at https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov.

The pre-application, including the list of conflicts of interest, must be machine readable. Do not submit a scanned image of a printed document.

PRE-APPLICATION REVIEW

Those pre-applications that are encouraged will be used to help SC begin planning for the application peer review process. SC’s intent in discouraging submission of certain applications is to save the time and effort of applicants in preparing and submitting applications not responsive to this NOFO.

The PI will be automatically notified when the pre-application is encouraged or discouraged. The DOE SC Portfolio Analysis and Management System (PAMS) will send an email to the PI from PAMS.Autoreply@science.doe.gov, and the status of the pre-application will be updated at the PAMS website https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/. Notifications are sent as soon as the decisions to encourage or discourage are finalized.

PRE-APPLICATION SUBMISSION

Pre-applications are created in the software system of your choice and must be submitted electronically through the DOE SC Portfolio Analysis and Management System (PAMS) website https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/. You cannot draft or edit a pre-application in PAMS. Do not submit a pre-application through FedConnect or Grants.gov.

Pre-applications may be submitted by the PI or an authorized institutional representative with the “Submit to DOE” privilege in PAMS.

https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/ mailto:PAMS.Autoreply@science.doe.gov https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/ https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/ https://www.fedconnect.net/ https://www.grants.gov/

Detailed instructions about how to submit a pre-application are in Section IX of this NOFO.

B. Application

Applications in response to this NOFO must be submitted through Grants.gov. Detailed instructions for registering in and using Grants.gov are in Section IX of this NOFO.

C. Component Pieces of the Application

LETTERS OF COLLABORATION OR ACCESS

Letters from collaborators or from institutions providing access to data, models, software, equipment and/or facilities may be appended to your Project Narrative and are not considered part of the Project Narrative’s page limit. Please ensure that letters from collaborators or from institutions providing access to data, models, software, equipment and/or facilities only describe the nature of the collaboration or the access to data, models, software, equipment and/or facilities. The description of additional experimental details or the inclusion of additional references or figures is not allowed. Letters of recommendation are not allowed in applications under this NOFO.

1. SF-424 (R&R)

Complete this form first to populate data in other forms. Complete all the required fields in accordance with the pop-up instructions on the form. The list of certifications and assurances referenced in Field 17 is available on the DOE Financial Assistance Forms Page at https://energy.gov/management/office-management/operational-management/financial-assistance/financial-assistance-forms under Certifications and Assurances3. Applicants are bound by their representations and certifications in SAM.gov.

TYPE OF SUBMISSION (FIELD 1)

Select the checkbox for “Application” for an initial submission. Select the checkbox for “Changed/Corrected Application” if submitting an updated version of an application. Do not submit pre-applications via Grants.gov: Do not select the checkbox for “Pre-application.”

IDENTIFYING NUMBERS (FIELD 4)

For renewals and supplemental funding, enter the DOE award number in Field 4a. Do not enter any other number in Field 4a. Do not enter anything in Field 4b. If submitting an updated version of an application, you may enter the previous Grants.gov Tracking ID in Field 4c, though this is not required.

3 No separate form or submission is required for the Certifications and Assurances.

https://energy.gov/management/office-management/operational-management/financial-assistance/financial-assistance-forms https://energy.gov/management/office-management/operational-management/financial-assistance/financial-assistance-forms

UEI AND EIN NUMBERS (FIELDS 5 AND 6)

The Uniform Entity Identifier (UEI) and Employer Identification Number (EIN) fields on the SF-424 (R&R) form are used in PAMS to confirm the identity of the individual or organization submitting an application.

• Enter the UEI as a 12-digit alpha-numerical sequence.

• Enter the EIN as a nine-digit number.

• Do not use hyphens or dashes.

• SC does not use the 12-digit EIN format required by some other agencies.

• Applications will not be rejected if an applicant’s system-to-system service uses a 12-digit

EIN format or inserts hyphens or dashes in an EIN.

TYPE OF APPLICATION (FIELD 8)

A new application is one in which DOE support for the proposed research is being requested for the first time. Applications that propose work that will build on an existing or prior award must be submitted as new applications.

Do not attach pre-applications to Field 20 of the SF-424(R&R) form or letters of intent to Field 21 of the SF-424(R&R) form.

DOE will only accept new applications under this NOFO.

2. Research and Related Other Project Information

Complete questions in fields 1 through 6 of the SF-424 Research and Related Other Project Information form.

Note regarding question 4.a. and 4.b.:

If any environmental impact, positive or negative, is anticipated, indicate “yes” in response to question 4.a., “potential impact – positive or negative - on the environment.” Disclosure of the impact should be provided in response to question 4.b. First indicate whether the impact is positive or negative and then identify the area of concern (e.g., air, water, exposure to radiation, impacts to endangered species or historic properties, etc.). Should the applicant have any uncertainty, they should check “yes.”

DOE understands the phrase in field 4.a., “potential impact … negative” to apply if the work described in the application could potentially have any of the impacts listed in (1) through (5) of 10 CFR 1021, Appendix B, Conditions that Are Integral Elements of the Classes of Action in Appendix B. (https://www.ecfr.gov)

Additionally, for actions which could have any other adverse impacts to the environment or have any possibility for adverse impacts to human health (e.g., use of human subjects, Biosafety Level 3-4 laboratory construction/operation, https://www.ecfr.gov/ manufacture or use of certain nanoscale materials which are known to impact human health, or any activities involving transuranic or high level radioactive waste, or use of or exposure to any radioactive materials beyond de minimis levels), applicants should indicate a “negative” impact on the environment.

Lastly, 1) if there would be extraordinary circumstances (i.e., factor or circumstance that could increase the level of significance of environmental effects normally associated with the proposed action) (10 CFR 1021.410 (b)(2)), 2) if the work is connected to other actions with potentially significant impacts (10 CFR

1021.410 (b)(3), or 3) if the work is related to other nearby actions with the potential for cumulatively significant impacts (10 CFR 1021.410 (b)(3)), applicants should indicate a “negative” impact on the environment.

The bulk of your application will consist of files attached to the Research and Related Other Project Information form. The files must comply with the following instructions:

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT (FIELD 7 ON THE FORM)

The project summary/abstract is a summary of the proposed activity suitable for distribution to the public and sufficient to permit potential reviewers to identify conflicts of interest. It must be a self-contained document. The project summary/abstract must be comprised of:

• The project title, the PI name and the PI’s institutional affiliation, and any coinvestigators and their institutional affiliations. This information will not count toward the abstract’s one-page limit.

• This information must be followed by a statement of the project’s objectives, a description of the project, including methods to be employed, and the potential impact of the project (i.e., benefits, outcomes).

• The description of the proposed research may not exceed one page (excluding Project Title and list of investigators) when printed using standard letter-size (8.5-inch x 11-inch) paper with 1-inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right). The body text font must not be smaller than 11 point. Figures and references, if included, must fit within the one-page limit.

A sample is provided below:

Project Title

A. Smith, Lead Institution (Principal Investigator) A. Brown, Institution 2 (Co-Investigator) A. Jones, Institution 3 (Co-Investigator)

Text of abstract (no more than one page, excluding Project Title and list of investigators)

If an application is recommended for award, the project summary will be used in preparing a public abstract about the award. Award abstracts and titles form a Government document that describes the project and justifies the expenditure of Federal funds in light of the DOE and SC mission statements at https://energy.gov/mission and https://science.osti.gov/about/.

• Do not include any proprietary or sensitive business information.

• DOE may use the abstract to prepare public reports about supported research.

DOE TITLE PAGE

(PART OF PROJECT NARRATIVE ATTACHED TO FIELD 8 ON THE FORM)

The application narrative must begin with a title page that will not count toward the Project Narrative page limitation. The title page must include the following items:

• The project title:

• Applicant/Institution:

• Street Address/City/State/ZIP:

• Postal Address:

• Lead PI name, telephone number, email:

• Administrative Point of Contact name, telephone number, email:

• NOFO Number: Include the NOFO number printed on the cover of this NOFO.

• DOE/SC Program Office:

• DOE/SC Program Office Technical Contact:

• PAMS LOI or Pre-application tracking number (if applicable):

Important Instructions to the Sponsored Research Office of Submitting Institutions: SC requires that you create 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 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. Do not use PDF portfolios or binders. 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 Project 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. Do not attach any of the appendices listed in this paragraph separately in any other field in Grants.gov. If you do, these additional attachments will not become part of the application in PAMS.

TITLE PAGE SUPPLEMENT FOR MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL APPLICATIONS

(PART OF PROJECT NARRATIVE ATTACHED TO FIELD 8 ON THE FORM)

If a multi-institutional team is submitting collaborative applications, provide the following information on a separate page as a supplement to the title page. This page will not count toward the Project Narrative page limitation.

https://energy.gov/mission https://science.osti.gov/about/

• List all institutions by name with each institution’s PI on the same line.

• Indicate the lead PI who will be the point of contact and coordinator for the combined research activity.

• Provide a statement explaining the leadership structure of the team.

• Include a description of each institution’s facilities, equipment, and resources that will be made available to the team.

• If applicable, explain how students and early-stage researchers will be trained and mentored by senior researchers.

• Include a table modeled on the following chart providing summary budget information from all institutions. Provide the total costs of the budget request in each year for each institution and totals for all rows and columns.

Collaborative Application Information

Names Institution Year 1 Budget

Year 2 Budget

Year 3 Budget

Total Budget

Lead PI

Co-PI Co-PI Co-PI

Example budget table ($ in thousands)

(NOTE: All collaborators, including sub-awardees, DOE National Laboratories, and non-DOE Federal Agencies and their FFRDCs should be included in the above table even if they will be funded separately.)

PROJECT NARRATIVE (FIELD 8 ON THE FORM)

The Project Narrative must not exceed a page limit of 15 pages of technical information, including charts, graphs, maps, photographs, and other pictorial presentations, when printed using standard letter-size (8.5-inch x 11-inch) paper with 1-inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right). The body text font of all main text must not be smaller than 11 point. Merit reviewers will only consider the number of pages specified in the first sentence of this paragraph. This page limit does not apply to the Title Page, Budget Page(s), Budget Justification, biographical material, publications and references, appendices, and an optional table of content, each of which may have its own page limit defined later in this NOFO.

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