PKG00263961-instructions.pdf

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Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT)

Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC)

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number: DE-FOA-0002425

FOA Type: Cooperative Agreements CFDA Number: 81.010

FOA Issue Date: October 29, 2020 Applicant Informational Webinar: November 18, 2020, 1:00pm ET Submission Deadline for Letter of Intent: December 9, 2020, 5:00pm ET Submission Deadline for Questions: January 19, 2021, 5:00pm ET Submission Deadline for Full Applications: February 3, 2021, 5:00pm ET Expected Date for OTT Selection Notifications: April 8, 2021 Expected Timeframe for Award: April-May 2021

• Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent by 5:00pm ET on the due date listed above to be eligible to submit a Full Application.

• To apply to this FOA, applicants must register with and submit application materials through OTT Exchange at https://ott-exchange.energy.gov/, the online application portal OTT is using for this FOA.

• Applicants must designate in OTT Exchange primary and backup points-of-contact with whom OTT will communicate to conduct award negotiations. If an application is selected for award negotiations, it is not a commitment to issue an award. It is imperative that the applicant/selectee be responsive during award negotiations and meet negotiation deadlines. Failure to do so may result in cancelation of further award negotiations and rescission of the selection.

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Table of Contents

Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) ....................................................................................................... i

Table of Contents................................................................................................................................................... ii

1. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Background and Context

i. Purpose and Background

ii. Technology Space and Strategic Goals

B. Program Description C. Applications Specifically Not of Interest D. Authorizing Statutes

2. Award Information

A. Award Overview

i. Estimated Funding

ii. Period of Performance

B. OTT Funding Agreements

i. Cooperative Agreements

ii. Funding Agreements with Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDCs)

3. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

i. Domestic Entities

ii. Foreign Entities

iii. Incorporated Consortia

iv. Unincorporated Consortia

B. Cost Sharing

i. Legal Responsibility

ii. Cost Share Allocation

iii. Cost Share Types and Allowability

iv. Cost Share Contributions by FFRDCs

v. Cost Share Verification

vi. Cost Share Payment

C. Compliance Criteria

i. Compliance Criteria

D. Responsiveness Criteria E. Other Eligibility Requirements

i. Requirements for DOE/NNSA and non-DOE/NNSA Federally Funded Research and Development Centers Included as a Subrecipient

F. Limitation on Number of Letters of Intent and Full Applications Eligible for Review G. Questions Regarding Eligibility

4. Application and Submission Information

i. Additional Information on OTT Exchange

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A. Application Forms B. Content and Form of the Letter of Intent C. Content and Form of the Full Application

i. Full Application Content Requirements

ii. Technical Volume

iii. Resumes

iv. Letters of Commitment

v. Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO)

vi. SF-424: Application for Federal Assistance

vii. Budget Justification Workbook

viii. Summary/Abstract for Public Release

ix. Summary Slide

x. Subrecipient Budget Justification (if applicable)

xi. Budget for DOE/NNSA FFRDC (if applicable)

xii. Authorization for non-DOE/NNSA or DOE/NNSA FFRDCs (if applicable)

xiii. SF-LLL: Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (required)

xiv. Waiver Requests: Foreign Entities and Foreign Work (if applicable)

xv. U.S. Manufacturing Commitments

D. FFRDCs E. Post Selection Information Requests F. Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number and System for Award Management

(SAM)

G. Submission Dates and Times H. Intergovernmental Review I. Funding Restrictions

i. Allowable Costs

ii. Pre-Award Costs

iii. Performance of Work in the United States (Foreign Work Waiver)

iv. Construction

v. Foreign Travel

vi. Equipment and Supplies

vii. Lobbying

viii. Risk Assessment

ix. Invoice Review and Approval

5. Application Review Information

A. Technical Review Criteria

i. Full Applications

B. Standards for Application Evaluation C. Other Selection Factors

i. Program Policy Factors D. Evaluation and Selection Process

i. Overview

ii. Pre-Selection Clarification

iii. Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters

iv. Selection

E. Anticipated Notice of Selection and Award Negotiation Dates

6. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

i. Ineligible Submissions

ii. Letter of Intent Notifications ....................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

iii. Full Application Notifications

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iv. Successful Applicants

v. Alternate Selection Determinations

vi. Unsuccessful Applicants

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

i. Registration Requirements

ii. Award Administrative Requirements

iii. Foreign National Access Under DOE Order 142.3A, “Unclassified Foreign Visits and Assignments

Program”

iv. Subaward and Executive Reporting

v. National Policy Requirements

vi. Environmental Review in Accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

vii. Applicant Representations and Certifications

viii. Statement of Federal Stewardship

ix. Statement of Substantial Involvement

x. Subject Invention Utilization Reporting

xi. Intellectual Property Provisions

xii. Reporting

xiii. Go/No-Go Review

xiv. Conference Spending

xv. Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Financing Statements

7. Questions/Agency Contacts

8. Other Information

A. FOA Modifications B. Government Right to Reject or Negotiate C. Commitment of Public Funds D. Treatment of Application Information E. Evaluation and Administration by Non-Federal Personnel F. Notice Regarding Eligible/Ineligible Activities G. Notice of Right to Conduct a Review of Financial Capability H. Requirement for Full and Complete Disclosure I. Retention of Submissions J. Title to Subject Inventions K. Government Rights in Subject Inventions L. Rights in Technical Data M. Copyright N. Export Control O. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) P. Annual Independent Audits Q. Informational Webinar

Appendix A – Cost Share Information

Appendix B – Sample Cost Share Calculation for Blended Cost Share Percentage

Appendix C – Waiver Requests and Approval Processes: 1. Foreign Entity Participation as the Prime Recipient;

and 2. Performance of Work in the United States (Foreign Work Waiver)

Appendix D – Glossary

Appendix E – List of Acronyms

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1. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Background and Context

i. Purpose and Background

Purpose Innovation clusters enhance national energy entrepreneurship and commercialization. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) seeks to fund the most creative, comprehensive, and impactful innovation-accelerating organizations that support energy and related hardware technology development and testing in regional innovation clusters—geographic concentrations of specialized skills, industries, and technology sectors.

Innovation-accelerating, entrepreneurially-focused organizations (often referred to as accelerators or incubators) are critical to the growth of an innovation economy; these organizations help entrepreneurs accelerate the launch, growth, and scale of their businesses, ultimately resulting in the commercialization of new technologies and business models, and development of jobs in the United States.

Through this FOA, the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) seeks to support the formation and development of regional clusters supporting entrepreneurs and startups by funding innovation-accelerating organizations that demonstrate the ability to advance energy and related technologies in collaboration with and with the support of state, regional, and/or local entities. To accomplish these goals, the EPIC FOA anticipates funding four to eight innovation-accelerating organizations across the United States.

OTT welcomes as applicants organizations that aid in the development of new business ventures, business incubators and accelerators, co-working startup communities, or any other organizations and multi-organizational applicants that self-identify as advocates for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Background

DOE helps power and secure America's future and ensure the country’s role as a leader in science and technology. In 2015, the Secretary of Energy authorized the formation of OTT to be responsible for developing and overseeing delivery of DOE’s strategic vision and goals for technology commercialization and engagement with the business and industrial sectors across the United States.

OTT’s mission is to expand the commercial impact and public benefit of DOE’s

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research and development portfolio to advance the economic, energy, and national security interests of the Nation.

Energy startups and innovative technologies are critical to the growth of the energy economy in the United States and abroad. Startups strengthen existing industries and drive technology development and the creation of new industries, business model innovation, and job creation. Barriers to market entry for hardware or hard-tech startups are particularly high and include large capital requirements, long development times, and the need to integrate into complex systems and supply chains.

OTT recognizes that technology startups particularly in the energy and related sectors often require a variety of services over and above capital access, including mentorship, technology validation, business development and connections to manufacturers. Innovation-accelerating organizations provide important services to assist startups in getting to market and play an increasingly important role for companies and entrepreneurs.

Strong business incubation services—including, but not limited to, mentoring, entrepreneurial training, access to testing and prototyping assistance—not only provide direct support for startups, but also have the potential to de-risk the startups for follow-on investors. Innovation-accelerating organizations have the potential to bolster regional economic development, strengthen national innovation capacity, and expand domestic energy-related manufacturing. By providing due diligence, screening applicant companies, assisting with prototyping, connecting entrepreneurs with manufacturers, and advising startups to prudently use their capital on vital services, innovation-accelerating organizations play a critical role in supporting startups as they transition into the market.

ii. Technology Space and Strategic Goals

The EPIC FOA seeks to recognize innovation-accelerating organizations focused on stimulating energy and related hardware technology development and supportive clusters.

FOA applicants should have a program to create or bolster innovation clusters through regional engagement, including with other private actors—both for- and non-profit—as well as with state and local entities that will provide additional resources. This FOA seeks to address a capital gap in supporting these critical organizations by providing funding to enable creative, enterprising organizations to think more expansively about their role in the broader regional and national innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Further, it is DOE’s hope that this

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funding opportunity will enable successful applicants to enhance their organization’s resilience and operational sustainability. DOE encourages applications that incorporate novel approaches to or novel extensions of successful programs.

Through this Funding Opportunity, DOE plans to fund four to eight innovation-accelerating organizations to propose and implement regional engagement plans, and guide companies as they scale to production and enhance our energy manufacturing competitiveness. An innovation-accelerating organization’s role and participation in its local ecosystem is a critical element to the FOA as OTT recognizes the importance of clusters, which increase productivity of area companies; drive the direction and pace of innovation—thus spurring future productivity growth; and stimulate the formation of new businesses, which expands and strengthens the cluster itself.

B. Program Description Funding energy innovation can be difficult due to the technically challenging and capital intensive processes of developing and commercializing next generation energy hardware solutions. Those challenges present themselves across different industries, including transportation, manufacturing, and power generation. The private sector rarely researches, scales, and commercializes new energy and related technology because of legacy systems, information barriers, risk aversion, and scarce capital. Partnerships that leverage public support with private-sector buy-in to encourage industry investment and connect innovators to resource networks are effective tools in building capacity and sustainable ecosystems.

This Funding Opportunity seeks to fund innovation-accelerating organizations to develop and enhance programs that have the support of state, regional, and/or local entities. OTT expects support from state, regional, and/or local entities to include financial commitments, whether cash or in-kind. From DOE’s experience in previous programs, including the DOE Small Business and Clean Energy Alliance Partnership, Innovation Ecosystem Development Initiative, National Incubator Initiative for Clean Energy (NIICE) and Innovative Pathways, OTT identified a key set of characteristics associated with high-performing innovation-accelerating organizations. These characteristics are divided into Applicant Characteristics and Elements of the Regional Engagement Strategy and Implementation Plan. High scoring applications will have many, if not all of these attributes.

Applicant Characteristics (not listed in order of importance)

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• The entity’s efforts are focused on the formation and growth of startups, with a concentration on companies that are developing or commercializing hardware for energy-related applications within DOE’s portfolio.

• It employs a selective process to choose participating startups.

• It hosts regular networking opportunities for startups.

• It makes introductions to customers, partners, suppliers, advisory boards, and other players.

• It provides high-growth and tech-driven startup mentorship and commercialization assistance.

• It facilitates resource sharing and arrangements for startups.

• Its resources include virtual tools and telework capabilities.

• It provides its startups with physical spaces to operate.

• It creates opportunities for startups to pitch ideas to investors, along with providing other capital formation avenues for startups.

• It assists member startups in obtaining angel money, seed capital, or structured loans.

• It has a strong mentorship program.

• It provides entrepreneurial training.

• It uses metrics and data analytics to track its performance.

• It provides access to legal and contract services.

In keeping with the goal of growing a community of innovators, applicants are encouraged to form multidisciplinary teams while developing their concept. DOE does not ask applicants to simply present strategies that replicate another successful model because what works in one environment or region of the country may not work in another. OTT encourages applicants to examine existing successful models for best practices and lessons learned, and to submit creative ideas.

Regional Engagement Strategy Plan The applicant is required to submit a regional engagement strategy with an implementation plan. The plan should identify the opportunity and outline clear goals with objectives for addressing the opportunity, and how and when the applicant will execute its plan. If awarded, this will become the basis of the DOE-funded project. The plan should include a description with all available evidence to support how the applicant will foster a sustainable entrepreneurial environment through regional engagement. More details about implementation plan requirements can be found in Section 4.C.ii. (Technical Volume). Proposals should provide a description of the applicant’s organization, its regional engagement strategy, and its up to three-year implementation plan. High-scoring proposals will have plans that include many, if not all, of the following attributes:

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Elements of the Regional Engagement Strategy (not listed in order of importance)

• Partnerships and/or working relationships with regional entities— including state and local government as well as private sector entities (including for- and non-profits).

• Energy hardware focus o Like the applicant, its support from regional stakeholders must concentrate on commercializing hardware within DOE’s energy and related technology portfolio.1

• Access to prototyping, testing, and demonstration facilities o Partnerships with local providers (i.e., labs/universities/private and public organizations) may provide additional demonstration or prototyping capabilities and equipment to member startups.

For example, a partnership could be based on reduced fees or free access to facilities.

• A unique value proposition and description of the applicant organization’s structural advantages in implementing the regional engagement plan (i.e., how the organization is built to be successful within a respective region).

• The applicant’s Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, Time-bound (SMART) strategy to develop or enhance regional innovation clusters.

• The primary risk factors the applicant anticipates mitigating or overcoming to successfully implement the regional engagement strategy.

• A description of the plan’s potential to be transferable to other innovation-accelerating organizations/regions.

• A description of how the plan will yield an improvement in the organization’s offerings as a resource to local and regional entrepreneurs and innovators, and how it will boost the regional innovation ecosystem’s productivity.

• A description of the key factors that define the applicant’s regional cluster, such as available energy resources; economic challenges; shared energy challenges, needs, and markets; and capabilities and opportunities for energy innovation.

1 https://www.energy.gov/offices

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Metrics OTT considers it critically important to track awardee performance metrics during the award period. Therefore, the awardee project director shall provide to OTT semi-annually, data on the performance metrics listed below, which OTT intends to collect on EPIC awardees and the companies they serve during the period of performance. OTT shall use these data to measure the performance of the awardee in terms of productivity and output throughout the duration of the program.

Awardee Performance Metrics

• Number of companies served and types of technologies, including names and locations

• Number of graduated companies in business, merged, or acquired. If merged, with whom? If acquired, by whom?

• Number of companies served and graduated

• Number of technologies vetted

• Support provided by state, regional, and/or local entities, both as cash and in-kind

• Number of mentors or entrepreneurs-in-residence placed with clients

• Number of partnership agreements facilitated o Between the awardee and National Labs, universities, state and local entities, and other private companies (both for profit and non-profit) o Between the awardee’s member startups and National Labs, universities, state and local entities, and other private companies (both for profit and non-profit)

• Revenue generated by companies before and after being served

• Amount and description of follow-on private and public funding (equity, debt, grants, etc.)

• Number of patents awarded

• Number of patents and disclosures filed

• Number of jobs created or retained by client or graduated companies

(full time, part time), including in low-income communities and among under-represented entrepreneurs

• Average size measured by annual revenue and number of employees of startups, at the beginning of the DOE project performance as well as at the conclusion of it

C. Applications Specifically Not of Interest The following types of applications will be deemed nonresponsive and will not be reviewed or considered (See Section 3.D. of the FOA):

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• Applications that fall outside the technical parameters specified in Section

1.A. and 1.B. of the FOA

• Applications that support proposed technologies that are not based on sound scientific principles (e.g., violate the laws of thermodynamics).

D. Authorizing Statutes

The Office of Technology Transitions issues this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) under the programmatic authorizing statute codified at 42 U.S.C. § 16191(a)(2). The FOA and any awards made under this FOA are subject to 2 C.F.R. Part 200 as amended by 2 C.F.R. Part 910.

2. Award Information

A. Award Overview

i. Estimated Funding

OTT expects to make available approximately $4 million of Federal funding for new awards under this FOA subject to the availability of appropriated funds. OTT anticipates making approximately four to eight awards under this FOA. OTT may issue one, multiple, or no awards. Individual awards may vary between approximately $500,000 and approximately $1,000,000.

OTT may establish more than one budget period for each award and fund only the initial budget period(s). Funding for all budget periods, including the initial budget period, is not guaranteed. Before the expiration of the initial budget period(s), OTT may perform a down-select among different recipients and provide additional funding only to a subset of recipients.

ii. Period of Performance

OTT anticipates making awards that will run up to 36 months in length, comprised of one or more budget periods. Project continuation will be contingent upon several elements, including satisfactory performance and Go/No-Go decision review (for a complete list, see Section 6.B.xiii). At the Go/No-Go decision points, OTT will evaluate project performance, project schedule adherence, the extent to which milestone objectives are met, compliance with reporting requirements, and overall contribution to the program goals and objectives. As a result of this evaluation, OTT may, at its discretion, authorize the following actions: (1) continue to fund the project, Problems with OTT Exchange? Email EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov Include FOA name & number in subject line.

contingent upon the availability of funds appropriated by Congress for the purpose of this program and the availability of future-year budget authority; (2) recommend redirection of work under the project; (3) place a hold on federal funding for the project, pending further supporting data or funding; or (4) discontinue funding the project because of insufficient progress, change in strategic direction, or lack of funding.

B. OTT Funding Agreements

Through cooperative agreements, OTT provides financial and other support to projects that have the potential to realize FOA objectives. OTT does not use such agreements to acquire property or services for the direct benefit or use of the United States government.

i. Cooperative Agreements

Through cooperative agreements, OTT provides financial or other support to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by federal statute. Under cooperative agreements, the government and prime recipients share responsibility for the direction of projects.

OTT has substantial involvement in all projects funded via cooperative agreement. See Section 6.B.ix of the FOA for more information on what substantial involvement may involve.

ii. Funding Agreements with Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDCs)

In most cases, FFRDCs are funded independently of the remainder of the project team. The FFRDC then executes an agreement with any non-FFRDC project team members to arrange work structure, project execution, and any other matters.

Regardless of these arrangements, the entity that applied as the prime recipient for the project will remain the prime recipient for the project.

3. Eligibility Information To be considered for substantive evaluation, an applicant‘s submission must meet the criteria set forth below. If the application does not meet these eligibility requirements, it will be considered ineligible and removed from further evaluation.

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A. Eligible Applicants

i. Domestic Entities For-profit entities, educational institutions, and nonprofits that are incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a particular state or territory of the United States and have a physical location for business operations in the United States are eligible to apply for funding as a prime recipient or subrecipient.

Nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995 are not eligible to apply for funding.

State, local, and tribal government entities are eligible to apply for funding as a prime recipient or subrecipient.

DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are eligible to apply for funding as a subrecipient, but are not eligible to apply as a prime recipient.

Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are eligible to apply for funding as a subrecipient, but are not eligible to apply as a prime recipient.

Federal agencies and instrumentalities (other than DOE) are eligible to apply for funding as a subrecipient, but are not eligible to apply as a prime recipient.

ii. Foreign Entities Foreign entities, whether for-profit or otherwise, are eligible to apply for funding under this FOA. Other than as provided in the “Individuals” or “Domestic Entities” sections above, all prime recipients receiving funding under this FOA must be incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a state or territory of the United States and have a physical location for business operations in the United States. If a foreign entity applies for funding as a prime recipient, it must designate in the Full Application a subsidiary or affiliate incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a state or territory of the United States to be the prime recipient. The Full Application must state the nature of the corporate relationship between the foreign entity and domestic subsidiary or affiliate.

Foreign entities may request a waiver of the requirement to designate a subsidiary in the United States as the prime recipient in the Full Application (i.e., a foreign entity may request that it remains the prime recipient on an award). To do so, the applicant must submit an explicit written waiver request in the Full Application. Appendix C lists the necessary information that must be included in

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a request to waive this requirement. The applicant does not have the right to appeal OTT’s decision concerning a waiver request.

In the waiver request, the applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of OTT that it would further the purposes of this FOA and is otherwise in the economic interests of the United States to have a foreign entity serve as the prime recipient. OTT may require additional information before considering the waiver request.

A foreign entity may receive funding as a subrecipient.

iii. Incorporated Consortia Incorporated consortia, which may include domestic and/or foreign entities, are eligible to apply for funding as a prime recipient or subrecipient. For consortia incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a state or territory of the United States, please refer to “Domestic Entities” above. For consortia incorporated in foreign countries, please refer to the requirements in “Foreign Entities” above.

Each incorporated consortium must have an internal governance structure and a written set of internal rules. Upon request, the consortium must provide a written description of its internal governance structure and its internal rules to the OTT Contracting Officer.

iv. Unincorporated Consortia Unincorporated Consortia, which may include domestic and foreign entities, must designate one member of the consortium to serve as the prime recipient/consortium representative. The prime recipient/consortium representative must be incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a state or territory of the United States. The eligibility of the consortium will be determined by the eligibility of the prime recipient/consortium representative under Section 3.A. of the FOA.

Upon request, unincorporated consortia must provide the OTT Contracting Officer with a collaboration agreement, commonly referred to as the articles of collaboration, which sets out the rights and responsibilities of each consortium member. This agreement binds the individual consortium members together and should discuss, among other things, the consortium’s:

• Management structure;

• Method of making payments to consortium members;

• Means of ensuring and overseeing members’ efforts on the project;

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• Provisions for members’ cost sharing contributions; and

• Provisions for ownership and rights in intellectual property developed previously or under the agreement.

B. Cost Sharing

Cost Share 20% The cost share must be at least 20% of the total allowable costs for research and development projects (i.e., the sum of the government share, including FFRDC costs if applicable, and the recipient share of allowable costs equals the total allowable cost of the project) and must come from non-federal sources unless otherwise allowed by law. (See 2 CFR 200.306 and 2 CFR 910.130 for the applicable cost sharing requirements.)

To assist applicants in calculating proper cost share amounts, OTT has included a cost share information sheet and sample cost share calculation as Appendices A and B to this FOA.

i. Legal Responsibility Although the cost share requirement applies to the project as a whole, including work performed by members of the project team other than the prime recipient, the prime recipient is legally responsible for paying the entire cost share. If the funding agreement is terminated prior to the end of the project period, the prime recipient is required to contribute at least the cost share percentage of total expenditures incurred through the date of termination.

The prime recipient is solely responsible for managing cost share contributions by the project team and enforcing cost share obligation assumed by project team members in subawards or related agreements.

ii. Cost Share Allocation Each project team is free to determine how best to allocate the cost share requirement among its team members. The amount contributed by individual project team members may vary, as long as the cost share requirement for the project as a whole is met.

iii. Cost Share Types and Allowability Every cost share contribution must be allowable under the applicable federal cost principles, as described in Section 4.I.i. of the FOA. In addition, cost share must be verifiable upon submission of the Full Application.

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Project teams may provide cost share in the form of cash or in-kind contributions. Cost share may be provided by the prime recipient, subrecipients, or third parties (entities that do not have a role in performing the scope of work). Vendors/contractors may not provide cost share. Any partial donation of goods or services is considered a discount and is not allowable.

Cash contributions include, but are not limited to: personnel costs, fringe costs, supply and equipment costs, indirect costs, and other direct costs.

In-kind contributions are those where a value of the contribution can be readily determined, verified and justified but where no actual cash is transacted in securing the good or service comprising the contribution. Allowable in-kind contributions include, but are not limited to: the donation of volunteer time or the donation of space or use of equipment.

Project teams may use funding or property received from state or local governments or regional entities to meet the cost share requirement, so long as the funding was not provided to the state or local government by the federal government.

The prime recipient may not use the following sources to meet its cost share obligations including, but not limited to:

• Revenues or royalties from the prospective operation of an activity beyond the project period;

• Proceeds from the prospective sale of an asset of an activity;

• Federal funding or property (e.g., federal grants, equipment owned by the federal government); or

• Expenditures that were reimbursed under a separate federal program.

Project teams may not use the same cash or in-kind contributions to meet cost share requirements for more than one project or program.

Cost share contributions must be specified in the project budget, verifiable from the prime recipient’s records, and necessary and reasonable for proper and efficient accomplishment of the project. As all sources of cost share are considered part of total project cost, the cost share dollars will be scrutinized under the same federal regulations as federal dollars to the project. Every cost share contribution must be reviewed and approved in advance by the Contracting Officer and incorporated into the project budget before the expenditures are incurred.

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Applicants are encouraged to refer to 2 CFR 200.306 as amended by 2 CFR

910.130 for additional cost sharing requirements.

iv. Cost Share Contributions by FFRDCs Because FFRDCs are funded by the federal government, costs incurred by FFRDCs generally may not be used to meet the cost share requirement. FFRDCs may contribute cost share only if the contributions are paid directly from the contractor’s Management Fee or another non-federal source.

v. Cost Share Verification Applicants are required to provide written assurance of their proposed cost share contributions in their Full Applications.

Upon selection for award negotiations, applicants are required to provide additional information and documentation regarding their cost share contributions. Please refer to Appendix A of the FOA.

vi. Cost Share Payment OTT requires prime recipients to contribute the cost share amount incrementally over the life of the award. Specifically, the prime recipient’s cost share for each billing period must always reflect the overall cost share ratio negotiated by the parties (i.e., the total amount of cost sharing on each invoice when considered cumulatively with previous invoices must reflect, at a minimum, the cost sharing percentage negotiated). As FFRDC funding will be provided directly to the FFRDC(s) by DOE, prime recipients will be required to provide project cost share at a percentage commensurate with the FFRDC costs, on a budget period basis, resulting in a higher interim invoicing cost share ratio than the total award ratio.

In limited circumstances, and where it is in the government’s interest, the OTT Contracting Officer may approve a request by the prime recipient to meet its cost share requirements on a less frequent basis, such as monthly or quarterly.

Regardless of the interval requested, the prime recipient must be up-to-date on cost share at each interval. Such requests must be sent to the Contracting Officer during award negotiations and include the following information: (1) a detailed justification for the request; (2) a proposed schedule of payments, including amounts and dates; (3) a written commitment to meet that schedule; and (4) such evidence as necessary to demonstrate that the prime recipient has complied with its cost share obligations to date. The Contracting Officer must approve all such requests before they go into effect.

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C. Compliance Criteria To be considered for substantive evaluation, an applicant submission must meet the Compliance criteria set forth below. Letters of Intent and Full Applications must meet all compliance criteria listed below or they will be considered noncompliant, including submissions through means other than OTT Exchange;

anything submitted after the applicable deadline; and/or submitted incomplete.

OTT will not extend the submission deadline for Applicants that fail to submit required information due to server/connection congestion.

i. Compliance Criteria

Letters of Intent

Letters of Intent (LOIs) are a mandatory step in the application process. LOIs are deemed compliant if:

• The LOI complies with the content and form requirements in Section 4.B. of the FOA;

• The applicant successfully uploaded all required documents and clicked the “Submit” button in OTT Exchange by the deadline stated in this FOA; and

• The LOI is from an eligible applicant and describes a proposal that is responsive to this FOA.

Full Applications

Full Applications are deemed compliant if:

• The applicant submitted a compliant LOI that is responsive to the

FOA;

• The Full Application complies with the content and form requirements in Section 4.C. of the FOA; and

• The applicant successfully uploaded all required documents and clicked the “Submit” button in OTT Exchange by the deadline stated in the FOA.

D. Responsiveness Criteria

OTT will perform a preliminary technical review of Letters of Intent and Full Applications. All “Applications Specifically Not of Interest,” as described in Section 1.C. of the FOA, are deemed nonresponsive and are not reviewed or considered.

E. Other Eligibility Requirements

Problems with OTT Exchange? Email EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov Include FOA name & number in subject line.

i. Requirements for DOE/NNSA and non-DOE/NNSA Federally Funded Research and Development Centers Included as a Subrecipient

DOE/NNSA and non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs may be proposed as a subrecipient on another entity’s application subject to the following guidelines:

1. Authorization for non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs

The federal agency sponsoring the FFRDC must authorize in writing the use of the FFRDC on the proposed project and this authorization must be submitted with the application. The use of a FFRDC must be consistent with its authority under its award.

2. Authorization for DOE/NNSA FFRDCs

The cognizant Contracting Officer for the FFRDC must authorize in writing the use of the FFRDC on the proposed project and this authorization must be submitted with the application. The following wording is acceptable for this authorization:

Authorization is granted for the Laboratory to participate in the proposed project. The work proposed for the laboratory is consistent with or complementary to the missions of the laboratory, and will not adversely impact execution of the DOE assigned programs at the laboratory.

3. Value/Funding

The value of and funding for the FFRDC portion of the work will not normally be included in the award to a successful applicant. Usually, DOE will fund a DOE/NNSA FFRDC contractor through the DOE field work proposal (WP) system and non-DOE/NNSA FFRDC through an interagency agreement with the sponsoring agency.

4. Cost Share

Although the FFRDC portion of the work is usually excluded from the award to a successful applicant, the applicant’s cost share requirement will be based on the total cost of the project, including the applicant’s, the subrecipient’s, and the FFRDC’s portions of the project.

5. Responsibility

The prime recipient will be the responsible authority regarding the settlement and satisfaction of all contractual and administrative issues including, but not limited to disputes and claims arising out of any agreement between the prime recipient and the FFRDC contractor.

Problems with OTT Exchange? Email EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov Include FOA name & number in subject line.

F. Limitation on Number of Letters of Intent and Full Applications Eligible for Review

For this FOA, applicants may submit only one Letter of Intent, and may only submit a Full Application that corresponds to an eligible and compliant LOI. If an applicant submits more than one Letter of Intent, OTT will only consider the last timely submission for evaluation. Any other submissions received listing the same applicant will be considered noncompliant and not eligible for further consideration. This limitation does not prohibit an applicant from collaborating on other applications (e.g., as a potential Subrecipient or partner) so long as the entity is only listed as the Prime Applicant on one LOI and Full Application submitted under this FOA.

G. Questions Regarding Eligibility

OTT will not make eligibility determinations about potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant.

4. Application and Submission Information The application process will include two phases: a Letter of Intent phase and a Full Application phase. Only applicants who have submitted a compliant Letter of Intent will be eligible to submit a Full Application. At each phase, OTT performs an initial eligibility review of the applicant submissions to determine whether they meet the eligibility requirements of Section 3 of the FOA. OTT will not review or consider noncompliant and/or nonresponsive submissions. All submissions must conform to the following form and content requirements, including maximum page lengths, described below and must be submitted via OTT Exchange at https://ott-exchange.energy.gov/, unless specifically stated otherwise. OTT will not review or consider submissions submitted through means other than OTT Exchange, submissions submitted after the applicable deadline, and incomplete submissions. OTT will not extend deadlines for Applicants who fail to submit required information and documents due to server/connection congestion.

Once a Letter of Intent is submitted, a Control Number is issued. This control number must be included with all documents for the duration of the application process, as described below.

The Letter of Intent and Full Application must conform to the following requirements:

• Each must be submitted in Adobe PDF format unless otherwise stated;

• Each must be written in English;

Problems with OTT Exchange? Email EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov Include FOA name & number in subject line.

• All pages must be formatted to fit on 8.5 x 11 inch paper with margins not less than one inch on every side. Use Times New Roman typeface, a black font color, and a font size of 12 point or larger (except in figures or tables, which may be 10 point font). A symbol font may be used to insert Greek letters or special characters, but the font size requirement still applies. References must be included as footnotes or endnotes in a font size of 10 or larger. Footnotes and endnotes are counted toward the maximum page requirement;

• The Control Number must be prominently displayed on the upper right corner of the header of every page. Page numbers must be included in the footer of every page; and

• Each submission must not exceed the specified maximum page limit, including cover page, charts, graphs, maps, and photographs when printed using the formatting requirements set forth above and single spaced. If applicants exceed the maximum page lengths indicated below, OTT will review only the authorized number of pages and disregard any additional pages.

Applicants are responsible for meeting each submission deadline. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their Letters of Intent (LOIs) and Full Applications at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline. Under normal conditions (i.e., at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline), applicants should allow at least one hour to submit an LOI or Full Application. Once the LOI or Full Application is submitted in OTT Exchange, applicants may revise or update that submission until the expiration of the applicable deadline. If changes are made to any of these documents, the applicant must resubmit the LOI or Full Application.

OTT urges Applicants to carefully review their Letters of Intent and Full Applications, and to allow sufficient time for the submission of required information and documents. All Full Applications that pass compliance review will undergo comprehensive technical merit review according to the criteria identified in Section 5.A.i of the FOA.

i. Additional Information on OTT Exchange

OTT Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should applicants experience problems with OTT Exchange prior to the FOA deadline, they should contact the OTT Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The OTT Exchange helpdesk and/or the OTT Exchange system administrators will assist applicants in resolving issues.

Problems with OTT Exchange? Email EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov Include FOA name & number in subject line.

A. Application Forms The application forms and instructions are available on OTT Exchange. To access these materials, go to https://ott-exchange.energy.gov/and select the appropriate funding opportunity number.

Note: The maximum file size that can be uploaded to the OTT Exchange website is 10MB. Files in excess of 10MB cannot be uploaded, and hence cannot be submitted for review. If a file exceeds 10MB but is still within the maximum page limit specified in the FOA, it must be broken into parts and denoted to that effect. For example:

ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Project_Part_1 ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Project_Part_2

B. Content and Form of the Letter of Intent

To be eligible to submit a Full Application, applicants must submit a Letter of Intent by the specified due date and time. The Letter of Intent must conform to the following content requirements. OTT will use Letters of Intent to plan for the merit review process. The letters should not contain any proprietary or sensitive business information. The letters will not be used for down-selection purposes apart from the compliance and responsiveness screen, and they do not commit an applicant to submit an application.

OTT will not review or consider ineligible Letters of Intent (see Section 3 of the

FOA).

Each applicant must provide the following information in its Letter of Intent:

• Project Title;

• Lead Organization;

• Organization Type (Business < 500 Employees; Business > 1000 Employees;

Business 500-1000 Employees; government-owned, government-operated;

Non-Profit; University);

• Whether the application has been previously submitted to DOE;

• % of effort contributed by the Lead Organization;

• The project team, including:

o The Project Director for the prime recipient;

o Team Members (i.e., subrecipients); and o Key Participants (i.e., individuals who contribute in a substantive, measureable way to the execution of the proposed project);

• Technology-Area focus; and

• Abstract – The abstract provided should be not more than 200 words in length, and should provide a truncated explanation of the proposed project.

Problems with OTT Exchange? Email EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov Include FOA name & number in subject line.

C. Content and Form of the Full Application

Applicants must submit a Full Application by the specified due date and time to be considered for funding under this FOA. Applicants must complete the following application forms found on the OTT Exchange website at https://ott-exchange.energy.gov/, in accordance with the instructions.

All Full Application documents must be marked with the Control Number issued to the applicant. Applicants will receive a control number upon submission of their Letter of Intent, and should include that control number in the file name of their Full Application submission (i.e., Control number_Applicant Name_Full Application).

i. Full Application Content Requirements OTT will not consider or review ineligible Full Applications (see Section 3. of the

FOA).

Each Full Application shall be limited to a single concept. Unrelated concepts shall not be consolidated in a single Full Application. Full Applications must conform to the following requirements:

Submission Components File Name

Full Application (PDF, unless stated otherwise)

Technical Volume (PDF format.