Virtual DEPSCoR Day ZOOM Chat Questions & Answers.docx

2021 Virtual Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) Day

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Questions & Answers via the Zoom Chat

1. Good morning from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Just want to make sure Indiana qualifies for the DEPSCoR program even though we are not for the National Science Foundation (NSF) EPSCoR.

Yes, Indiana is a DEPSCoR eligible state. Please see slide # 5 of the FOA presentation, page 3 of the Research Collaboration FOA, and page 2 of the Capacity Building FOA, which list all DEPSCoR eligible states/territories.

2. Will the slides be provided after the meeting?

Yes, slides are available on grants.gov under the related documents tab, and will also be posted on the DEPSCoR section of the Basic Research Office website under News. They have also been sent to all webinar registrants.

3. Will today's sessions be recorded?

There is no recording of the Virtual DEPSCoR Day.

4. Is there any preference for the PI to be a junior faculty, or does the seniority of the PI not matter?

It does not matter. The Applicant does not need to be a junior faculty member. The Applicant must be new to the DoD basic research ecosystem. We have had submissions in the past where the Applicant was a full professor and quite established and the Collaborator, who served as a mentor, was junior faculty but had extensive experience working with the DoD.

5. For the DEPSCoR Research Collaboration FOA: Are there any guidelines on how much of the $200K must be shared with the Collaborator/Mentor?

The only requirement we have is the Applicant IHE must receive greater than 50% of the funding. Other than that, there is no requirement. We leave it up to you to determine what is the appropriate split in that funding given the collaboration that you propose.

6. A follow up question on the previous one, can the funds be used to support graduate student(s) of the Collaborator or can it only be used to support student(s) of the Applicant?

Funds can be used to support students supporting the research effort for both the Applicant and Collaborator.

7. Are there any restrictions on the type of research award from the DoD Agency? For example SBIR, single investigator, MURI... or are all eligible?

If this question is in reference to the requirement that a Collaborator serve as a PI on a previous DoD award, there is no limit. So, for example, a MURI award would have a PI and several sub or co-PIs. To be considered eligible, they must have served as the PI listed on that award. Similarly, for SBIR or STTR where awards generally go to a small business and the university may be a sub award, they need to be a PI on the direct award not on the sub award.

To serve as a Collaborator a candidate must be in a tenured or tenure-track position at an IHE in a DEPSCoR eligible state, been funded on a DoD directly funded Prime research award sometime between 1 OCT 2014 and 30 SEP 2021, and served actively as the PI.

8. What exactly does the "Copy of the award" entail? A copy of the signed DoD contract form?

Yes, a copy of the award document signed by the contracting officer that lists the PI. If this is not available, please provide a point of contact for a government POC that can confirm your role in the award.

9. A person that was a Federal Employee at a DoD institution (and recently moved to an [D]EPSCoR University) that was a PI of a DoD program (through a MIPR), is considered as a possible "Collaborator"?

Yes, if they have a DoD directly funded Prime research award where they served actively as the PI sometime between 1 OCT 2014 and 30 SEP 2021, and they are in a tenured or tenure-track position at an IHE in a DEPSCoR eligible state, then they would be considered eligible.

10. Any preference for both the PI and Collaborator to be from the same DEPSCoR state or from different DEPSCoR states?

There is no preference. It really is about what is best for the research collaboration. If you happen to be from the same state, or the same university, that is fine, but there is no preference for that. If you are from different universities, different states, that is fine too, as long as both states are DEPSCoR eligible.

11. Are sub awards to industry possible, as long as the 50% criterion for the PI is fulfilled?

DEPSCoR’s objectives are to: (1) increase the number of university researchers in eligible States/Territories capable of performing S&E research responsive to the needs of the DoD; and (2) enhance the capabilities of institutions of higher education (IHE) in eligible States/Territories to develop, plan, and execute science and engineering (S&E) research that is relevant to the mission of the DoD, and competitive under the peer-review systems used for awarding Federal research assistance; and (3) increase the probability of long-term growth in the competitively awarded financial assistance that IHE in eligible States receive from the Federal Government for S&E research. With consideration of these objectives of the DEPSCoR program, a small portion of the budget may be allocated through a subaward to non-university partners (such as industry or a National DOE lab) in DEPSCoR-eligible states/territories. These proposed costs should be justified in the whitepaper.

12. Clarifying eligibility. Does serving as a Co-PI on a previous award from AFRL mean I am not eligible as an applicant? Language from FOA: “faculty member who has never served as a PI on a prior DoD directly funded research Prime award” Thank you!

The FOA states you are eligible to apply as an Applicant as long as you were NOT listed as the PI on a previous DoD funded research award, and are a full time faculty member in a tenured or tenure track position in a DEPSCoR eligible State/Territory. Being a “Co-PI” or “sub-PI” on a prior DoD funded award does not count as being a “PI” for the purposes of eligibility of the Applicant for the DEPSCOR-RC FOA.

13. Can an Applicant collaborate with a National Lab to leverage specific experimental facilities as a part of the project?

All funds issued under both FOAs must remain in DEPSCoR-eligible states and territories. Both the Applicant and Collaborator must be at IHEs. National Lab facilities can be used if the National Lab is in a DEPSCoR eligible state or territory. If you are using for example, a beamline to do research somewhere that is fine, but a substantial portion of the funding cannot go to a National Lab. We would have to look at the individual/specific circumstance there. In the White Paper you would need to justify why you need access to that facility and why the collaboration is needed.

14. Are DEPSCoR Collaborative proposals limited to the 14 topics identified? I was encouraged to apply from a PM outside of these areas.

For the DEPSCoR Research Collaboration funding opportunity available right now (FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2021-0007), the topics are limited to the 14 listed. If you are encouraged to apply by another Program Officer, I would encourage you to reach back out to them as they may be referencing one of their BAAs. Only the 14 topic areas listed in the DEPSCOR Research Collaboration FOA are eligible for this round.

15. Are there specific expectations or contexts for the types of activities and outcomes of the mentoring?

We don’t have anything documented. Our goal is to foster a mentor relationship that will really help in navigating how to engage in the DoD basic research ecosystem, not only through the application process and discussing ideas with POs, but once you have an award how to engage and become more integrated into that ecosystem. The POs will help with that. There may be conferences and events that the mentor can suggest or recommend attending. Often our new researchers to the DoD ecosystem find it of value to volunteer to review proposals for some of these programs. That can provide insight into what POs are thinking and the types of research ideas they are funding. So, those are some examples of mentoring activities. We don’t have any concrete expectations. We expect that the Collaborator will not only serve as a Collaborator during the research project but will also serve as a mentor.

16. Is a research scientist who has never been a faculty (tenure/tenure track) eligible?

If you are not tenure or tenure-track, you can still apply if you can provide a letter from the IHE stating that you will be considered for a tenure or tenure track position. That is outlined in the FOA.

17. Besides the PI and the Collaborator, would it be allowed to also include a sub-contractor who is going to also apply for this funding at this time?

So, if there are two proposals that are submitted, each one is evaluated individually. So each one has to stand its own and is evaluated on its own. If the question is if there is a small component you would like to sub out to a third researcher, that’s possible if they are in a DEPSCoR-eligible state or territory. But again, the main bulk of the work should be done by the Applicant IHE receiving greater than 50% of the funding and the Collaborator IHE.

18. Is the Applicant for the research collaboration competition eligible if they have been a subaward, but not PI on DOD funding?

The FOA states you are eligible to apply as an Applicant as long as you were NOT listed as the PI on a previous DoD funded research award, and are a full time faculty member in a tenured or tenure track position in a DEPSCoR eligible State/Territory. Being a “Co-PI” or “sub-PI” on a prior DoD funded award does not count as being a “PI” for the purposes of eligibility of the Applicant for the DEPSCOR-RC FOA.

19. What is the rationale for tenure/TT faculty, when many universities have non-TT base budget funded research faculty expressly focusing on research and applying for sponsored research projects?

One of the goals of DEPSCoR is to build capacity and long term research capability in DEPSCoR eligible states/territories. The tenure/tenure-track position demonstrates a greater potential for long term increase in research capability.

20. Should the funds allocated to the Collaborator be included as a subcontract in the Applicant's budget?

The DEPSCoR award will be to the Applicant IHE so funding to the Collaborator IHE will be through a subaward. The funds allocated to the Collaborator IHE should be captured as such in the Applicant’s budget.

21. Are those who have been awarded Summer Faculty Fellowships through the Air Force or Navy eligible to apply as a PI?

Yes, because if you received a Summer Faculty Fellowship award you would NOT have been listed as a Principal Investigator on the award. As per the FOA, you are eligible to apply as the Applicant/PI under the DEPSCoR-RC FOA as long as you were NOT listed as the Principal Investigator on a previous DoD funded research award, and are a full-time faculty member in a tenured or tenure track position in a DEPSCoR eligible State/Territory. Being a “Co-PI” or “sub PI” on a prior DoD funded award does not count as being a “PI” for the purposes of eligibility of the Applicant for the DEPSCoR-RC FOA.

22. Can an Associate Vice President for Research serve as PI on the capacity building proposals?

We realize schools are organized differently. The PI needs to be at the institutional level to be able to ensure that your proposal addresses the strategic objectives at the institutional level and has a sustainment plan for the future.

23. ONLINE REGISTRATION VIA nVISION: Who will register, the applicant or his university research office?

Registration and submission of the white paper can be submitted directly by the PI on the nVision system, or, the Applicant’s University Research Office can register on their behalf and submit the required documentation. PLEASE NOTE THIS CORRECTION: While in the webinar chat we stated it was only the Applicant’s University Research Office that could register and submit the white paper, nVision has confirmed the software is capable of having the PI register and submit their white paper directly.

The full proposal submission on Grants.gov must be submitted by the Applicant’s authorized official from their University Research Office.

24. For CB proposals, is it expected/required that there is a direct linkage to one or more of the 14 POs identified in the RC FOA?

There are no specific topics for the Capacity Building FOAs. Capacity building activities proposed must be in a DoD-relevant area. We are asking you to look at the service BAAs. They are listed in the FOA and an overview of them was briefed in the DEPSCoR webinar. You should address one or more of the areas listed in the BAAs.

25. Are CB proposals permitted to involve two IHEs, including partnerships that span state lines (assuming both IHEs are in DEPSCoR-eligible states)?

Per the Capacity Building FOA IHEs can apply individually or in partnership with others in DEPSCoR eligible States/Territories.

26. Is it possible to be PI on more than one DEPSCoR grant?

If an Applicant has served as a PI on a DEPSCoR grant then they wouldn’t be eligible to apply as an Applicant again per the eligibility criteria in the current FOA , they could serve in the Collaborator role if they met all the eligibility requirements outlined for that role in the FOA.

27. What is a reasonable cost allocation to the Applicant and the mentor in the Collaborative DEPSCoR proposal?

One of the evaluation criteria is that the Applicant IHE receive greater than 50% of the total funding amount of $600k. Other than that, it’s up to the Applicant/Collaborator how they will split funds.

28. Is geographical diversity a consideration when awarding DEPSCoR collaborative competition awards?

Evaluation criteria are as stated in the FOAs.