SSAA Center FOA Questions 2789.pdf

SSAA Center FOA DE-FOA-0002789

Questions to post on FedConnect

Question: Is NNSA really interested in funding centers focused on research and development of early technologies such as those within pulsed power science, advanced laser drivers, imaging and detection systems, or diagnostics and measurement techniques?

Response: The NNSA is interested in these topics as they are included in the Research Area descriptions in Section I of the SSAA Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0002789. Please keep in mind that, as stated in Section I, “Proposals should have an appropriate balance between experimentation and analysis using theory and computational simulation and be of relevance to the NNSA Defense Programs stockpile stewardship mission.”

Question: Could you point to key materials of interest under topic area #1 Advanced Characterization of Materials Properties under Extreme Conditions? It is unclear from the call if for example if ceramics (and which families among them, oxides, carbides, nitrides, etc.) or metals (and which type of alloys among them, ferrous, non-ferrous, high temperature, high energy, etc.) are of particular interest.

Response: No further guidance on what type of materials should be studied will be provided beyond what is in DE-FOA-0002789.

Question: Is irradiation as an extreme environment of interest? If not directly, is in-situ characterization under irradiation and/or pre- and post-irradiation property comparison (in addition to high pressure, high temperature, fast loading rates, etc.) of interest?

Response: Irradiation can be considered an extreme environment of interest, however high pressure, temperature, and loading rate are of greater interest. If irradiation is woven into a proposal containing themes with high pressure, temperature, and loading rate, that could be of interest.

Question: Can a potential unpaid collaborator be listed on more than one proposal?

Response: Yes

Question: The Establishes a Center Scientific Advisory Committee (CSAC) paragraph states, “… DOE/NNSA SSAA Program Manager (SSAA PM) has review and approval authority for membership of the CSAC … .” Should names of proposed CSAC members be submitted before the proposal is submitted or will approval of CSAC members be part of the negotiations of a Cooperative Agreement with applicants selected to be funded as Centers under this NOFO?

Response: Names of proposed CSAC members are not required to be submitted before the proposal is submitted or with the proposal. There is no advantage or disadvantage to providing a list of proposed CSAC members with the proposal. Discussions regarding potential members of the CSAC with the DOE/NNSA SSAA Program Manager could begin once a notice of negotiations leading to award is received.

Question The NOFO mentions the “CSAC produces an annual report of Findings and Recommendations from the review …. .” Does this requirement of producing a “product” (a report) after their meeting imply that the members of CSAC who are not employed by national laboratories or other government or government-sponsored organizations can (and should) be paid honoraria for their participation in the annual CSAC meetings?

Response: The requirement of a report from the CSAC meeting does not imply that an honoraria can or should be paid to CSAC members who are not employed by a national laboratory or other government or government-sponsored organization. This is left to the judgement and discretion of the proposer.

Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) cost principles apply.

Question: If there are a large number of partners participating in the project, can the budget exceed the $3M ceiling or would it be rejected without review?

Response: No, the project proposal cannot exceed $3M per year. A proposal submitted for an amount over the budget ceiling may be judged as non-responsive to the terms of the solicitation and risks rejection without review.

Question: The "U.S. person" requirement in Appendix 7 of the solicitation conflicts with our university’s non-discrimination policy. Is it possible to get an exemption from NNSA for this requirement?

Response: No exemption from the terms of the NOFO regarding the Appendix 7 “Non-U.S. Citizen Support List” will be granted.

Per the eligibility requirements, the PI or Co-PI(s) must be a U.S. Person(s) working for a U.S. university.

A U.S. Person is defined as an individual who is a citizen of the United States OR an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Non-U.S. Persons can participate in the research of the Center as collaborators or investigators, subject to review and written permission of the cognizant SSAA Program Manager prior to award.

A list of all non-U.S. Persons, including full name and place of citizenship that are planned to be supported in the applicant’s proposal, must be provided in Appendix 7 of the. This includes non-U.S.

persons supported through proposed subawards. The cognizant SSAA Program Manager will review the list of non-U.S. persons for each proposal selected to move forward with negotiations to award under their purview. If necessary the SSAA Program Manager will discuss the list with the Principal Investigator (PI). Written permission for non-U.S. persons that can be supported by the award will be provided by the cognizant SSAA Program Manager prior to award. Once the cooperative agreement is awarded, the Center Director/PI must request and receive written permission for any new non-U.S.

persons to receive funding support under the cooperative agreement. Each non U.S. person proposed to be supported by a new award under this NOFO must be included in the Appendix 7 list, regardless of whether they have been approved for support under a previous award.

Question: Can collaborators from DOE laboratories receive travel reimbursements for participation in Center events, e.g., CSAC and external review meetings, and/or for collaborative technical discussions?

Response: DOE laboratories may not receive travel reimbursements for participation in Center events.

Response: DOE laboratories may not receive travel reimbursements for participation in Center events.