U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Research Financial Assistance Program

The objectives of the NRC Grant and Cooperative Agreement Program have been- (1) To support the coordination between state and Federal activities to achieve solutions to present and future radiation control issues; (2) To foster the exchange of idea

The goals of this program were to - (1) Support the coordination between state and Federal activities to achieve solutions to present and future radiation control information, (2) Support effective research and information dissemination regarding unwanted and orphan material to ensure the safe use of radioactive materials for beneficial civilian purposes, and (3) Aid the development of Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) standards that include but are not limited to Level 1 (e.g., Large Early Release Frequency (LERF), internal events, internal and external hazards, etc.), full accident progression and source term analysis (level 2 PRA), and consequence analysis (level 3 PRA), of operating reactors and advanced and non- light-water reactor (LWR reactors.

Under the prior Program - Private nonprofit institution/organization, Quasi-public nonprofit organization, Native American Organizations No new awards were made since September 11, 2023, but two existing cooperative agreements remain open and are still active, subject to periodic reviews, audits, and termination if the cooperative agreements no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities, or if it is determined that the remaining portion of the Federal award will not accomplish the purposes for which the Federal award was made.

Beneficiary eligibility were the same as applicant eligibility

This program provided funding to educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, State and local governments, and professional organizations.

The award recipient bears primary responsibility for general supervision of all financial assistance activities. Funds may not be used for purposes other than those specified in the award. All NRC awards are subject to the administrative requirements in accordance with 2 CFR Part 200 and other considerations described in "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Standard Terms and Conditions for U.S. Non-Governmental Recipients."

The period of performance for project grants and cooperative agreements shall not exceed 5 years.

The selection criteria included (1) the significance of the project, including how public safety would be benefitted; (2) whether the program framework, methods, and processes were adequately developed, well integrated, and well-reasoned; (3) the feasibility that the proposed work could be accomplished within the proposed budget by the entity, given its experience and expertise, past progress, available resources, institutional/organizational commitment, and access to technologies. No new awards were made since January 2023, but two existing cooperative agreements remain open and are still active, subject to periodic reviews, audits, and termination if the cooperative agreements no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities, or if it is determined that the remaining portion of the Federal award will not accomplish the purposes for which the Federal award was made. 2 CFR 200, "Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards," applies to this program. Any future Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for this listing will be posted on Grants.gov.

The selection criteria included: (1) the significance of the study, including how public safety would be benefitted; (2) whether the program framework, methods, and processes were adequately developed, well integrated, well-reasoned, and appropriate to the objectives of the project; and (3) whether the proposed work could be accomplished within the budget proposed by the applicant, given the applicant's experience, expertise, past progress, available resources, institutional and organizational commitment, and access to technologies.

Applications were evaluated and rated individually by a panel of peer reviewers comprised of both Federal and non-Federal experts in the field, and award recommendations were made by the NRC Selecting Official, based on a set of criteria established by the NRC, as stated in the NOFO.