EERE eXCHANGE: FAQs

Question 1: I am interested in gaining more information about the grant opportunity listed above. I would like to know more about the additional eligibility requirements and also the cost sharing/matching ratio. Also when applying what will give my company the best opportunity to become qualified and to receive funding.
Answer 1:

Please see Section III. Eligibility Information of the FOA document in EERE Exchange at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaId206d9bfc-57ae-498d-a877-aa882b004110 for information on Eligible Applicants and Cost Sharing.

DOE will not comment on specific proposals except in response to concept papers that have been formally submitted per the instructions in the FOA.

Question 2: We would like to submit a proposal on low-E films. The FOA mentions ‘Dynamic windows and films’ in the category of ‘deemed nonresponsive.’ Does this apply to applied films?
Answer 2: Applications closely related to dynamic windows and dynamic films will be deemed nonresponsive. A low-E film is not the same as a dynamic film. Therefore, applicants may propose projects in the area of low-E films.

Question 3: Are K-12 public schools eligible to apply for the this funding opportunity?
Answer 3: Please see Section III. Eligibility Information of the FOA document in EERE Exchange for eligibility requirements. 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 are eligible to apply for funding as a Prime Recipient or Subrecipient. State, local, and tribal government entities are eligible to apply for funding as a Prime Recipient or Subrecipient.

Question 4: FOA page 38 Section IV. D. 7. states that a budget justification is required for any subawardee with work estimated to exceed $250K. However, the EERE 159 Excel workbook instruction page references this amount at $100K. Can you please clarify?
Answer 4: The FOA document is correct: Applicants must provide a separate budget justification, EERE 159 (i.e., budget justification for each budget year and a cumulative budget) for each subawardee that is expected to perform work estimated to be more than $250,000 or 25 percent of the total work effort (whichever is less).

Question 5: Can one company submit proposals for and receive funding for two projects in the two topic areas of Incubators and Frontiers?
Answer 5: Please see FOA Section III. Eligibility Information, paragraph F. Applicants may submit more than one Full Application to this FOA, provided that each application describes a unique, scientifically distinct project.

Question 6: The FOA states a "concept paper" is required for submission - and then there is a document below that heading listing use of the "Market Definition Calculator" - my question is are both a concept paper, and the Market Definition calculator required for the initial submission? Also, is there a link on your website that has an example of a concept paper?
Answer 6:

The FOA does not require the use of the Market Definition Calculator spreadsheet as a tool; it is only provided as an example. Applicants are free to use the spreadsheet if they wish. The numbers created by the spreadsheet calculations are relevant, thus the provided example. Applicants are required to submit the results of certain calculations as defined in the FOA. The spreadsheet just shows one real example of how this is done.

There is not a link to a sample Concept Paper; see FOA Section IV.C. for Content and Form requirements for the Concept Paper.

Question 7: Please send me the necessary forms for this project.
Answer 7: To apply to this FOA, Applicants must register with and submit application materials through EERE Exchange at https://eere‐Exchange.energy.gov, EERE’s online application portal.

Question 8: I request to be involved in the Building-Envelope Innovations research program. I would like to develop a residential envelope concept.
Answer 8:

To apply to this FOA, Applicants must register with and submit application materials through EERE Exchange at https://eere‐Exchange.energy.gov, EERE’s online application portal.

DOE will not comment on specific proposals except in response to concept papers that have been formally submitted per the instructions in the FOA.

Question 9: Please consider my residence available for inclusion in your study.
Answer 9: To apply to this FOA, Applicants must register with and submit application materials through EERE Exchange at https://eere‐Exchange.energy.gov, EERE’s online application portal.

Question 10: I am interested in Topic 4: HIGHLY INSULATING BUILDING ENVELOPE COMPONENTS. However, on Page 13, it is mentioned that applications closely related to currently supported projects will not be considered which include “attic insulation”. I am confused with this because some insulating materials can be used both for “attic” and for “wall” if such material has a low thermal conductivity, such as “polyurethane foam containing aerogel with kxx = 0.016 W/m-k”.
Answer 10: Subtopic 2 refers to "building envelope thermal insulation material that can be added to walls of existing buildings". If the proposed material can also be used in an attic space, that would be acceptable. The requirement is for insulation as applied to walls. Submissions focused exclusively on attic insulation will be rejected as being non-complient.

Question 11: May all eligible applicants listed in the FOA apply to the Incubators Areas of Interest? Is the Incubators Areas of Interest restricted to small businesses?
Answer 11: Please see Section III.A. (Eligibility Information) of the FOA. 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 are eligible to apply for funding as a Prime Recipient or Subrecipient.

Question 12: I am very interested in the BENEFIT program and would like to have access to the Webinar presentation available on Feb 7.
Answer 12: The FOA Informational Webinar recording is posted on the BTO website at: http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/downloads/benefit-funding-opportunity-webinar-presentation

Question 13: The link you have “To apply to this FOA, Applicants must register with and submit application materials through EERE Exchange at https://eere‐Exchange.energy.gov has extraneous characters and leads to nothing.
Answer 13: If clicking a link in the FOA document does not take you directly to the intended website, try copying the link and pasting it into a web browser address box, or manually typing the address into the browser.

Question 14: I am writing the Concept Paper for the FOA-1027 and am having a problem meeting the required Energy Savings Estimate and Simple Payback calculations due to: 1. My invention is a new unknown technology that has not been simulated, tested/validated, nor documented. 2. The prototype has not been built yet; therefore, I don't have any data to do the calculations. Please advise.
Answer 14:

Please see FOA Appendix F, "Technical Potential and Payback Calculation." Each application to Topic 1: Open Topic for Energy Efficiency Solutions for
Residential and Commercial Buildings must describe a technology or approach that leads to a minimum annual primary energy savings technical potential of at least 250 TBtu (i.e., 0.25 Quads). All applicants proposing a technology innovation for Topic 1 should provide the Primary Energy Savings Technical Potential (TBtu), and the Simple Payback (years).

DOE will not comment on specific projects except in response to proposals submitted through the formal application process as defined in FOA Section IV., "Application and Submission Information."

Question 15: Is there a preferred starting and ending TRL for each Topic area?
Answer 15: There are no preferred starting or ending Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) specified in the FOA.

Question 16: Are such things as requirements of R>7 for windows and cost per square foot of retrofit inflexible? For example, suppose we can identify a less expensive funding mechanism that supports higher energy savings, but at a higher cost per sq ft.
Answer 16: Per the FOA (page 10), "Applicants are also encouraged to propose technologies that have higher R‐values than the specified targets in Table 6 provided that the installed cost premium yields a comparable simple payback period."

Question 17: Under the Frontiers category – will the Clothes Dryer topic cover both residential and commercial clothes dryers?
Answer 17: The focus of the FOA is on residential clothes dryers.

Question 18: Topic 4: Technology specifically not of interest includes “Dynamic windows and films”. Does that include only dynamic window films or all window films?
Answer 18: Applications closely related to dynamic windows and dynamic films will be deemed nonresponsive. However, for example a low-E film is not the same as a dynamic film. Therefore, applicants may propose projects in the area of low-E films.

Question 19: Can foreign entities participate as a Prime and what are the conditions? Is it penalized to utilize a foreign entity?
Answer 19: Foreign entities are eligible to apply for funding under this FOA, subject to the requirements specified in FOA Section III.A.3., "Foreign Entities."

Question 20: If the technology enables energy savings and it does directly create energy savings, is that compliant? For example, if we develop a tool and it enables energy savings, is that acceptable?
Answer 20: All submissions must be within the specified topic areas in the FOA. Submissions outside the scope of the specified topic areas will be considered non-compliant and will be rejected. Please see the requirements in FOA Section I. for your Topic Area.

Question 21: For the Incubator Open Topic #1, there appears to be only one roadmap -- on solid-state lighting (SSL) -- on the referenced link to “BTO Program Plans, Implementation, and Results,“ while the BTO Multi-Year Plan is only 5 pages long and non-technology specific. Therefore, generally, are all building technologies except SSL and the two technologies listed in FOA section 1.C, able to be proposed under the Open Topic #1? And specifically, are Building Integrated Solar Technologies able to be proposed under the Open Topic #1?
Answer 21: All submissions must be within the specified topic areas in the FOA. Submissions outside the scope of the specified topic areas will be considered non-compliant and will be rejected. Please see the requirements in FOA Section I. for your Topic Area.

Question 22: The FOA discourages proposals focused only on insulating attics. Therefore, I presume sealed attics are also discouraged. Is this correct? We would like to submit a concept that includes sealing the attic and the walls.
Answer 22: Subtopic 2 refers to "building envelope thermal insulation material that can be added to walls of existing buildings". If the proposed material can also be used in an attic space, that would be acceptable. The requirement is for insulation as applied to walls. Submissions focused exclusively on attic insulation will be rejected as being non-complient.

Question 23: Is there a link on your website or FOA to view a sample concept paper? I have seen several on other agencies websites, and each one is different.
Answer 23: There is not a sample Concept Paper available for this FOA. Please see FOA Section IV.C. for Content and Form requirements for the Concept Paper.

Question 24: Regarding FOA-0001027 Page 6: What interactions between sensors and modeling tools are supported and responsive?
Answer 24: The description on page 6 (Adobe Acrobat page number) of the FOA is an overview. Please reference a particular topic area and resubmit your question if necessary.

Question 25: The FOA asks for: a) commercialization plan b) scalability What happened to business plan? For example, if an awardee doesn’t have a viable business plan, then no amount of commercialization will insure commercialization of an invention.
Answer 25: The business plan is part of the commercialization plan.

Question 26: I wish to register my request for a funding opportunity for conventional cooking stoves.
Answer 26: Please see the full FOA at: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaId206d9bfc-57ae-498d-a877-aa882b004110.

Question 27: I have a question regarding potential applicants to Area of Interest 2 in this FOA - “Innovative Sensors & Sensor Systems”. Would it be possible for an applicant that only produces sensor software, not hardware, to be successful in submitting an application to this funding opportunity?
Answer 27: Topic 2.3 (Virtual, proxy, or other inferential sensing and monitoring solutions) allows for software only solutions.

Question 28: For the incubation part, SSL concepts I understood are out of scope as they are described in DOE roadmap. I also understood that lighting controls using non SSL sources are in scope. What about innovative lighting controls ideas using SSL sources as examples?
Answer 28: Correct--all technologies except SSL and those listed in FOA Section I.C. can be proposed, including Building Integrated Solar Technologies, provided that each concept leads to at least 0.25 Quads in annual primary energy savings in USA buildings.

Question 29: What are the guidelines for funding, as it relates to projects that a company is already undertaking? Can a company be funded for future expenses in an on-going project (e.g. late-stage product development, lab/field testing, marketing, advertising, and other associated activities during product commercialization), or are the funds only directed towards initial product development work?
Answer 29: Applicants may apply for funding for work already in process. The application should indicate this status, and clearly define the role DOE funding would apply to within the project as it applies to future work. This typically would not apply to another federal project in process, as this would violate cost share rules as described in FOA Section III.B.

Question 30: We would like to propose a ventilation cooling project targeting residential buildings in dry climates. The product we intend to propose is approximately 80% developed; we are in the process of adding features to it at this time. Can Federal funds be used to make and beta test 100 – 200 units of our proposed product?
Answer 30: Projects selected for negotiation for award can propose test units as appropriate. This is a negotiable item.

Question 31: Will there be any webinars or other information released on this announcement? Are you requesting/accepting concept papers? If so, what is the deadline for them? Could you explain the cost share relating to small businesses regarding the announcement? Is teaming with a research organization recommended? Is there a technical POC to discuss concepts with?
Answer 31:

Please see the full FOA at: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaId206d9bfc-57ae-498d-a877-aa882b004110.

The FOA Informational Webinar recording is posted on the BTO website at: http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/downloads/benefit-funding-opportunity-webinar-presentation

Question 32: Would a VAWT (Vertical Axis Wind Turbine) design that could generate from 7 kWh (residential) to 250 kWh (commercial & Industrial) be able to be funded through this FOA, if there has been no previous federal funding for R&D, marketing & sales, etc?
Answer 32: Renewable Energy projects are not within the scope of this FOA.

Question 33: Can you confirm that March 21, 2014 is when the DOE is expected to notify those organizations that submit a concept paper of whether they have been "encouraged/discouraged"?
Answer 33: DOE expects to make Encourage/Discourage notifications on Concept Papers in EERE Exchange around March 21, 2014.

Question 34: I have the following questions from "FOA #DE-FOA-0001027 Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Incubator Technologies (BENEFIT) - 2014" that should shead light on some perplexing issues: 1. Provisions were given for floor and ceiling limits for both the Incubator and Frontier areas of interest. How rigid is the floor limit ($500,000.00), why was that value chosen, and if an applicant's costs do not equate to the floor limit will that be grounds for disqualification? 2. Incubator area of interest Topic 1 "Open Topic for Energy Efficiency Solutions for Residential and Commercial Buildings" utilizes a spreadsheet that has sections for Lighting, Cooking, ..., but nothing specific for the building envelope. Is the spreadsheet still applicable if an applicant considers the building envelope as an Incubator Project? 3. Can one project be considered in more than one area of interest Topic? 4. Should manufacturing costs be considered for area of interest Topic 4 in conjunction with R&D costs?
Answer 34:

1. The lower funding floor limits are guidelines. The upper level funding guidelines are more rigid. DOE will consider applications that are below the funding floor specified.
2. Use of the spreadsheet is optional. If an Applicant does not feel the spreadsheet is beneficial, then the Applicant should not use it.
3. During application submission, an applicant will be allowed to choose only one topic for that application. However, an applicant may submit more than one application to this FOA. If you believe your application is relevant to more than one topic, please choose the one that is most applicable.
4. Manufacturing costs directly impact qualifying metrics for this topic. So in this sense at least, manufacturing costs need to be addressed.

Question 35: There seems to be some ambiguity in the language of: 2. TOPIC 2: INNOVATIVE SENSORS & SENSOR SYSTEMS, under Topic 2 Successful Applicant Description The instructions state that applicants "will develop open‐source hardware sensing solutions for buildings in one of three sub‐topic areas," but then state, "The solution should comprise the following components," implying we are to use all three. Should applicants focus on a single sub-topic area, or can we combine more than one in our concept proposal?
Answer 35: Applicants can either focus on a single sub-topic area, or combine more than one sub-topic area.

Question 36: Would the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)’s in-kind work or cash funds could be recognized as cost share under the BENEFIT FOA? BPA is an independent Federal entity within the Department of Energy whose operations are funded by ratepayers, rather than taxpayers.
Answer 36: Yes, the cost share would be allowed since it is not from Federal funds.

Question 37: The FOA gives target energy savings numbers, (e.g. 250 TBtu) in several places, but it doesn't give a timeframe over which that number is to be calculated. The 250TBtu is too high for an annual number, but is it cumulative from 2015-2030? 2020-2030? What is the timeframe? Also, the FOA does not prescribe any methods for estimating the technical potential. Are there any required or preferred methods that must be followed for estimating the technical potential?
Answer 37: The target primary energy savings technical potential of 0.25 Quads is an annual number, effective in the year 2030. FOA Appendix F describes an approach for calculating the primary energy savings technical potential.

Question 38: Is the FOA-1027 limited to small and medium commercial and residential buildings?
Answer 38: There is no restriction on the size or type of building specified in this FOA as pertains to topics 1, 2 and 4. The question is not pertinent to Topic 3.

Question 39: I understand that heating is a major factor in power consumption, but depending on the region, cooling can also be a significant factor. Would this be something this FOA will be interested in?
Answer 39: The purpose of the BENEFIT FOA is to reduce primary energy consumption in US residential and commercial buildings, which includes reducing the energy required for either heating, cooling, or both.

Question 40: My organization has been working on a way to remove the entire air conditioning load for a house or small commercial building from the electrical grid during the eight hours of peak load demand. As such, it holds the potential for a significant reduction in electricity use during the most critical electricity generation time window. The technology is primarily a peak shaving/shifting solution which shifts energy usage into night-time hours. While the technology will require slightly less net electricity, its key benefit is that it uses almost no energy during peak demand hours. Would this technology be eligible for BENEFIT program consideration? More specifically, when using the energy calculator you discussed during the webinar, would the technology’s benefit be based upon net reduction in energy Quad usage or could we “take credit” for the much larger reduction in Quad usage during peak load demand?
Answer 40: As stated in FOA Section I.B., “BTO’s goal is to deliver 50% primary energy savings in the year 2030, relative to the baseline energy consumption projected by the 2010 Annual Energy Outlook.” Therefore, if the peak demand reduction resulting from your technology enables primary energy savings, then it is potentially of interest. The Building Technologies Office Market Definition Calculator, i.e., the “energy calculator,” only calculates the primary energy consumed for specific end uses and markets in the USA.

Question 41: We are envisioning a project that would involve combining a high-R insulation material (meeting the requirements of Topic 4, Subtopic 2) with another building envelope component to facilitate its application to the building envelope and reduce installation costs. Can this proposal be submitted in response to Topic 4 or is this a Topic 1 proposal?
Answer 41: Applicants are responsible for selecting the topic area that best fits their application.

Question 42: Our cost-share partners (from the private sector) are concerned about IP generated as a result of R&D w/ National Labs. The question is, who has the rights in intellectual property developed during the course of the R&D project between a National Lab. (prime applicant) and a private company (cost share)
Answer 42: See FOA Section VI.C.11, "Intellectual Property Provisions." The standard DOE financial assistance intellectual property provisions applicable to the various types of recipients are located at: http://energy.gov/gc/standard-intellectual-property-ip-provisions-financial-assistance-awards.

Question 43: We note that dynamic windows and films are noted as not being of interest. I was wondering if this exclusion applies to electrochromic technologies currently supported by EERE or encompasses all switchable windows including thermochromic solutions. Also, is this exclusion valid even for the Frontiers program?
Answer 43: As stated in the FOA (page 13), dynamic windows and films, including those based on electrochromic mechanisms, are not of interest for Topic 1. For Topic 4, electrochromic technologies are potentially of interest if they meet the performance and cost targets described in Table 6.

Question 44: I am working with a potential applicant on the BENEFIT solicitation, and we are concerned about the Limitations on Compensation clause in the FOA. Is it possible that the requirement could be amended for an award?
Answer 44: The "Limitations on Compensation Costs" provision in the award Terms and Conditions is an EERE requirement that will not be amended.

Question 45: Our Principal Investigator is not a permanent resident yet nor a US citizen. He is employed with this University and will follow our University's guidelines and submit the proposal using our Office of Research Services. If he gets the award he will do the work under our University's umbrella, same as any other grant we have with the Department of Energy. Is this situation considered as a one's individual application or is it considered as an application coming from a Domestic Entity?
Answer 45: An individual wishing to apply as a prime recipient should apply as an Individual; Universities are considered Domestic Entities. U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are eligible to apply for funding as a Prime Recipient or Subrecipient. See FOA Section III. "Eligibility Information" for more information.

Question 46: My concept paper is for developing a product B that is similar to, but has better thermal performance and much lower cost than product A. However, product A is not very widely used in buildings, primarily due to high cost. To calculate the technical potential and simple payback for B, what is the appropriate baseline? Is it regular residential construction (without product A) or residential construction with product A?
Answer 46: As described in FOA Appendix F, the baseline is a “typical new technology” that is being replaced. Since “product A is not very widely used in buildings,” it is not a typical new technology. Therefore, the appropriate baseline is “regular residential construction (without product A).”

Question 47: The fund and cost section of the website for submissions is requesting a selection of Cost Range. The options are: Proof of Concept / Seedling: $250,000 - $999,999.99 and Development / Demonstrations: $1 million - $10 million. How do these options correlate with the FOA topics?
Answer 47: The Proof of Concept / Seeding option generally is more accurate for Phase 1, but either option is acceptable, as all applicants are required to provide a detailed Budget Justification that will supersede that selection at the Full Application stage.

Question 48: For topics that are not chosen to move to full proposal, are the ideas protected from the public?
Answer 48: All information submitted to EERE by a FOA applicant is subject to public release under the Freedom of Information Act. See FOA Section VIII.E. "Treatment of Application Information" for more information.

Question 49: For Area of Interest 2 - Innovative Sensors & Sensor Systems, do we need to show the primary energy savings technical potential of a proposed technology?
Answer 49: Each topic area has specified metrics used for performance evaluation. The metrics for Topic 2 begin at the bottom of page 5 in the FOA and continue on page 6.

Question 50: I can not find the Building Technologies Office Market Definition Calculator on the EERE-Exchange Website. Can you give me the URL?
Answer 50: The Calculator is available in EERE Exchange, under the FOA at: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaId206d9bfc-57ae-498d-a877-aa882b004110. Look under the "Required Application Documents - Concept Paper" heading on the FOA web page.

Question 51: We are interested in designing a new control for ceiling fans and lighting. Would this be something within the scope of Area of Interest 1?
Answer 51: Yes.

Question 52: On the last page of the concept paper submission web site, there is a button that needs to be clicked stating that "I certify that I am authorized to submit on behalf of the University." Can I submit this myself, or does an authorized representative of the university from our research administration office need to submit?
Answer 52: Any individual who is duly authorized by the prime recipient organization may electronically submit the application. DOE cannot pre-judge who is duly authorized by an organization.

Question 53: We have assembled a research team to address the BENEFIT FOA Topic 3, Advanced, Energy-Efficient Clothes Dryers. We are developing an innovative, desiccant-based dryer. Would you be willing to chat with me for 10 minutes about the relative interest in a desiccant-based system?
Answer 53: Per FOA Section VII. "Questions/Agency Contacts," EERE personnel are prohibited from communicating (in writing or otherwise) with Applicants regarding the FOA except through the established question and
answer process as described in the FOA.

Question 54: Would a storage technology that dramatically reduces the amount of energy required to archive data be eligible for FOA DE-FOA-0001027?
Answer 54: For a proposal to be eligible for funding, it must address one of the four topics listed in the FOA. Please review the topic areas beginning on page 3 of the FOA.

Question 55: Will EERE accept concept papers that achieve their results by the creative integration of multiple concepts/technologies?
Answer 55: It is the responsibility of the applicant to select the most appropriate Topic when submitting their Concept Paper. Applications are restricted to the Topic areas of interest as described in the FOA.

Question 56: Is building energy modeling of interest under this FOA? Building energy modeling is already supported by BTO.
Answer 56:

Design tools, such as software modeling are within scope for topic 1. However, there is a restriction as mentioned on page 3 of the FOA:

Any innovative energy‐efficiency technologies, approaches, or design tools which show a clear application to residential and/or commercial buildings with significant primary energy savings potential that are neither (a) already supported by BTO (see section I.C Applications Specifically Not of Interest), or (b) described explicitly in a BTO roadmap (for example see http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/program‐plans‐implementation‐and‐results), are eligible to apply under Topic 1.

Question 57: I am writing a concept paper for submission related to DE-FOA-0001027, and noticed in Appendix C describing cost share - that there's a blended cost share calculation. My questions are: Does blended cost share apply to everyone? In other words, does Task 1, 2, 3, and 4 (described on page 77 of the FOA) have to be calculated and apportioned in advance of the concept paper submission? The reason I ask is that the cover sheet content requirements on FOA page 27 lists the anticipated project budget. Related question, if the above allocation between tasks (and their corresponding non-federal share) is required in advance of the concept paper submission ... where do I locate definitions/descriptions of each of the 4 tasks listed? The 4 tasks listed (FOA page 77) are Task 1 R&D; Task 2 R&D; Task 3 demonstration; and Task 4 outreach.
Answer 57:

Only R&D projects will be supported under this FOA, generally at a 20% cost share requirement. See FOA Section III.B. "Cost Sharing" for details and information on special cost share waiver requirements. The blended cost share example on FOA page 70 represents a project that has diverse cost share requirements. Cost share requirements are governed by the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 10, part 600 for this FOA. See 10 CFR 600 at:

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title10/10cfr600_main_02.tpl

10 CFR 600 Parts 30, 123, 224, and 313 are specific to cost sharing. A definition of R&D can be found in Part 3.

Question 58: I am planning to submit a CONCEPT PAPER for the BENEFIT program. In one part of the announcement it talks about LETTER OF INTENT, and in another part of the program announcement within the application process it mentions only CONCEPT PAPER. Do I need to submit a letter of intent? I appreciate your assistance.
Answer 58: A Letter of Intent is not required for this FOA. See FOA Section IV. "Application and Submission Information" for information on the required Concept Paper and Full Application.

Question 59: We have a few general questions related to Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0001027 (the FOA). • The FOA indicates that equipment purchased with the funds should generally be of U.S. origin. Given that most appliances are produced outside the U.S., how frequent are waiver requests for grant applications involving more energy efficient appliances? • Should waivers address: o R&D work supporting enhanced energy efficiency? o test equipment and prototype costs used to prove out the concept? o the purchase of the tooling that would be used to build the newly-designed, more energy-efficient products outside the U.S.? • Applicants are asked to submit U.S. manufacturing plans. If a company intends to assemble products resulting from the research outside the U.S., a large portion of the components of those products comes from U.S. suppliers, and the benefits to the U.S. based on the work performed and/or new products available are substantial (in the form of energy efficiency, cost savings, etc.), how should this requirement be addressed in the application? • Do you have a template grant application that includes waiver language and shows how to address some of the requirements where products are produced outside the U.S.? • Do you have available statistics on the percentage of grant requests that involve foreign manufacturing?
Answer 59:

The focus of this FOA is on American made goods and services. Foreign entities are addressed in FOA Section III.3. Exceptions for supplies and equipment are in FOA Section IV.D.11.ii on page 39.

A manufacturing plan is required in the full application, and is described in FOA Section IV.D.12.

Question 60: I am trying to understand our results from the BTO calculator. We are trying to estimate electric residential dryer market size for 2030. it seems that the hot water usage columns should be zero since dryers don’t use hot water… So I’m not sure if there is (1) an error in their calculator (2) a misunderstanding by me of the calculator or (3) some unexpected projections for 2030 built into their calculator. Or is the issue that the coloring for the “washing and hot water” category is wrong? Please clarify.
Answer 60: Applicants can compare their energy use estimates to the building energy data book (http://buildingsdatabook.eren.doe.gov/TableView.aspx?table=2.1.5), which states the 2010 energy consumption for all wet cleaning is 1.06 quad, and the footnote reads: 7) Includes clothes washers (0.03 quad), natural gas clothes dryers (0.06 quad), electric clothes dryers (0.19 quad), and dishwashers (0.10 quad). For correct evaluation of residential buildings cloth dryers, ensure the hot water usage is set to zero.

Question 61: I was wondering if this FOA applies to technology that is no longer in the R&D phase, but hasn't reached market adoption. Our company currently has two technologies. One has completed testing and has been installed in a handful of buildings. The second is still in the R&D phase. Would both of these technologies be able to respond to the FOA? Secondly, I was wondering how to calculate the cost share. Does our company have to already have projects lined up and this FOA would fund a specific project? Each installation of our technology technology ranges from $60,000 to $100,000. A large commercial building may require multiple devices. If there are only tentative projects in the pipeline, how would I calculate the cost share?
Answer 61: Applicants may apply for funding for work already in process. The application should indicate this status, and clearly define the role DOE funding would apply to within the specific project as it applies to future work. Secondly, see FOA Section III.B, "Cost Sharing" for information on that topic.

Question 62: In the webinar, it was stated with regard to the Sensors and Sensor Systems topic area (Incubators) that DOE doesn't want to have "proprietary solutions" as part of the proposal and that hardware and software should be "open source". Please elaborate. Can a company submit a proposal to develop a technology that they ultimately plan to offer to the market as a proprietary and patent protect technology?
Answer 62: Regarding Topic 2, solutions using proprietary communications and control interfaces will NOT be considered responsive to the FOA.

Question 63: Regarding Topic 4, subtopic 2 under DE-FOA-0001027, cost related guidance includes: 1) "added to walls of existing buildings at <$0.3/ft2 installed premium"; and 2) "The payback period for an additional 2 inches of an R8/inch insulation material at $0.3/ft2 incremental installed cost ..." Table 5 also refers to R8/inch and $0.30/ft2. Is the $0.30/ft2 spec for: a 1" thick material or for a 2" thick material? Or does the $0.30/ft2 correspond to the incremental installation services cost independent of the thickness of the material? Also, page 14 states "Applicants are also encouraged to propose technologies that have higher R-values than the specified targets in Table 6 provided that the installed cost premium yields a comparable simple payback period". Does this indicate that the $0.3/ft2 metric can be exceeded provided that the 10 year simple payback period is satisfied?
Answer 63: The cost metric of $0.30/ft^2 is the incremental cost independent of the thickness of the material, assuming the insulation material performance exceeds R8/inch. And yes, the $0.30/ft^2 incremental cost can be exceeded, provided that the 10-year simple payback is satisfied.

Question 64: Regarding the naming convention for the Concept Papers, can you please clarify how this should appear? The FOA stipulates ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Project however do you want it to appear as: • 1027-XXXX_LeadOrganization_BENEFIT • 1027-XXXX_LeadOrganization_BuildingEnergyEfficientFrontiersandIncubatorTechnologies(BENEFIT)2014 • 1027-XXXX_LeadOrganization _topic (i.e. Frontier, Incubator, or specific subtopic within each area).
Answer 64: The {{Project}} part of the file name should be the title that your organization has given your specific project, such as "Unique Residential Clothes Dryer Technology" (to avoid multiple submissions with this identical title, please avoid using this example). Thus, the Concept Paper file name format would be: ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Unique Residential Clothes Dryer Technology.

Question 65: Please confirm the web address of the BTO roadmap. The link in the FOA http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/program-plans-implementation-and-results does not take me to the site.
Answer 65: The following link currently works: http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/program-plans-implementation-and-results. As with any web hyperlink, if clicking the link does not take you directly to the intended site, try copying the link and pasting it into your web browser.

Question 66: Funding Opportunity Number: DE-FOA-0001027 shows $0. Is that accurate? Also, I’d like to speak with you regarding the best format when submitting an application.
Answer 66: See the FOA Executive Summary for information on anticipated award amounts, and FOA Section IV. "Application and Submission Information" for the required application format. EERE personnel are prohibited from communicating (in writing or otherwise) with Applicants regarding the FOA except through the established question and answer process as described in FOA Section VII "Questions/Agency Contacts."

Question 67: In the FOA, it calls out that there is a cost share waiver for FFRDC, along with other non-profit entities, which reduces cost share from 20% down to 10% as long as FFRDC is performing more than 50% of the work and the FFRDC is Prime. If an industry partner is a subcontractor on the team, does the 10% waiver also apply or does the cost need to remain at 20%?
Answer 67: If the prime recipient qualifies for a reduction in the cost share requirement down to 10% as defined in FOA Section III.B. "Cost Sharing," the cost share requirement for the total project will be 10%.

Question 68: We are developing an advanced control strategy for HVAC system under Topic 1 “Open Topic for Energy Efficiency Solutions for Residential and Commercial Buildings.” It is considered a “non‐technological solution.” It seems like the “Building Technologies Office Market Definition Calculator” is not quite applicable to this one. Do we need to use our own ways to determine the energy saving and payback period?
Answer 68: The calculator is provided as an example aid only. FOA Appendix F describes the required methodology for determining energy savings realized for Topic 1 applications.

Question 69: For the current BENEFIT FOA, I was wondering if the same instructions for marking confidential information as described for the full application (pages 59-60 of the FOA) can also be applied for the concept paper? We believe we have an idea that would be very relevant for an Incubator project under Topic 1--the Open Topic. The idea is also potentially patentable, although we have not yet filed for provisional patent protection. Before submitting a concept paper, we would like to ensure that we are not disclosing information that would either hurt our patent application, or reveal our idea to possible competitors. While the concept paper almost certainly would not contain sufficient information for a patent, it might give away the novelty of the concept. Can you provide assurances that the concept paper will not be made publicly available, either under the FOIA or otherwise? Or is it possible to mark specific sections of the concept paper as trade secrets that are privileged and confidential? I think the instructions are pretty clear about the full application, so this question is specifically about trade secrets and confidential information in the concept paper.
Answer 69: FOA Section VIII.E. "Treatment of Application Information" applies to Concept Papers as well as Full Applications. Subject to the specific FOIA exemptions identified in 5 U.S.C. 552(b), all information submitted to EERE by a FOA applicant is subject to public release under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. §552, as amended by the OPEN Government Act of 2007, Pub. L. No. 110‐175. It is the applicant’s responsibility to review FOIA and its exemptions to understand (1) what information may be subject to public disclosure and (2) what information applicants submit to the Government that are protected by law.

Question 70: Our Institute is conducting an analysis of relevant funding programs and calls for proposals that support innovation and development in Energy saving technologies related to buildings – especially window applications. We wish to identify and examine relevant current and future funding programs and calls for proposals. We have identified you as the contact person about BENEFIT 2014, and would be grateful if you could provide us with information.
Answer 70: Per FOA Section VII. "Questions/Agency Contacts," EERE personnel are prohibited from communicating (in writing or otherwise) with Applicants regarding the FOA except through the established question and answer process as described in FOA Section VII.

Question 71: The 3rd bullet in the Metrics for Topic 2 on Page 6 in the solicitation indicates “not need calibrating with third-party equipment”. Does use of third-party equipment (a physical meter for one-time measurements) in initial installation violate it?
Answer 71: Yes, any external devices required to calibrate the sensor will violate ‘Metrics for Topic 2, item 3'. The intent is that the sensors are self-calibrating and do not need to be calibrated at start up.

Question 72: We are focusing to develop a software technology product focused on improving energy efficiencies and sustainability for the residential and community markets by pointing out energy inefficiencies and how people can make a change by adopting new technologies and changing their usage behavior. We looked at your website and would like to find out if you do fund product such as ours.
Answer 72: All submissions must be within the specified topic areas in the FOA. Submissions outside the scope of the specified topic areas will be considered non-compliant and will be rejected. Please see the requirements in FOA Section I. for your Topic Area. DOE will not comment on specific proposals except in response to concept papers that have been formally submitted per the instructions in the FOA.

Question 73: We would like to submit a proposal on electro chromic attachments/shades. The FOA mentions ‘Dynamic windows and films’ in the category of ‘deemed nonresponsive.’ We understand that the attachments/shades are not windows or films but we would like to make sure that our understanding is correct and we can submit the concept under this FOA.
Answer 73: As stated in the FOA (page 13), dynamic windows and films, including those based on electrochromic mechanisms, are not of interest for Topic 1. For Topic 4, electrochromic technologies are potentially of interest if they meet the performance and cost targets described in Table 6.

Question 74: The FOA requests “open source hardware” and “open source sensors” but appendix D defines only “open source software”. What is the definition of “open source hardware”? From the context it appears to refer to hardware devices the use open networking and interface standards rather than proprietary communication. Is that correct? If not, please define “open source hardware” further. Meanwhile, in Section VIII. L it is stated that “Domestic Small Businesses, Educational Institutions, and Nonprofits: Under the Bayh‐Dole Act (35 U.S.C. § 200 et seq.), domestic small businesses, educational institutions, and nonprofits may elect to retain title to their subject inventions.” Could you reconcile that statement with the open source (hardware & software) statements?
Answer 74:

Regarding “open source software/hardware,” yes, this refers to hardware devices that use open networking and interface standards rather than proprietary communication.

Under the Bayh-Dole Act, domestic small businesses, educational institutions, and nonprofits may elect to retain title to inventions developed under the award. For applicants that are applying to one or more Topic Areas for which open source software distribution is required, FOA "Appendix D - Open Source Software" details the requirements for an award recipient to submit a plan describing how software produced under this FOA will be distributed.

Question 75: Page 27, Section C.1 of the FOA describes that the Concept Paper cover page abstract be no more than 200 words in length, but on the on-line submission site the abstract is limited to 4000 words. Which is correct for the Concept Paper? Are the cover page abstract and the submission web site abstract different?
Answer 75: The Concept Paper abstract and the Exchange submission web site abstract should be the same, no more than 200 words in length.

Question 76: Will there be any extension for the time to file a concept paper in light of the government’s closure yesterday and delays in responding to these questions?
Answer 76: There will be no extensions of the Concept Paper or Full Application due dates.

Question 77: The link for the February 7th webinar in the FAQ document does not work. Can you tell me how to access this webinar?
Answer 77:

The link has been revised to: http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/downloads/benefit-funding-opportunity-webinar-presentation. Links in previous Q&A have been updated to this link.

Question 78: Can an "other than DOE" federal agency provide in-kind contributions as a sub-recipient? This seems to be the case, per the guidelines on pg. 20 (labelled at the top of the page) of the FOA, item #4. However, it also seems that we are restricted from contributing towards the cost share, per the language on the subsequent page: "The Prime Recipient may not use the following sources to meet its cost share obligations: Federal funding or property." Can you please clarify which is the correct interpretation?
Answer 78:

The Prime Recipient may not use Federal funding or property (e.g., Federal grants, equipment owned by the Federal Government, or in-kind contributions from a Federal agency) to meet its cost share obligations. See FOA Section III.B. "Cost Sharing," and 10 CFR 600.30 "Cost sharing" at:

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=143bad9366988136f0996ae848137a66&node=10:4.0.1.3.9.1.13.27&rgn=div8.

Question 79: I’d like to ask 2 questions pertaining to a unique teaming arrangement between an “other than DOE” federal agency as sub-recipient and a Domestic Institution of Higher Education as Prime Recipient as follows: 1) Is the prime responsible for managing a 20% cost share requirement, or is there a waiver on this? 2) What mechanisms are in place to allow for the “other than DOE” federal agency to receive funds if awarded ? I.e. will the funds disbursement be the sole responsibility of the prime through a secondarily awarded subcontract or grant, or will DoE establish a direct line of funding through an interagency agreement?
Answer 79:

1) See FOA Section III.B. "Cost Sharing" for cost share requirements and waiver information.
2) Typically, Federal Agencies as subrecipients/vendors are funded through an Interagency Agreement (DOE Acquisition) and the Federal Laboratories are funded directly from DOE Headquarters through their Management & Operations (M & O) Agreement.

Question 80: What is the time deadline for Concept Papers on 3/6? 5PM ET?
Answer 80: See FOA Executive Summary and Section IV. G. "Submission Dates and Times" for information on Concept Paper and Full Application submission due dates and times.

Question 81: We are about to submit our Concept Paper to the funding opportunity DE‐FOA‐0001027. How definitive is the Team specification in the Cover Page? More specifically, can a team member be added at the Proposal Stage?
Answer 81: Additional or substitute team members may be added later, at the Full Application stage.

Question 82: My company is applying for the DE-FOA-0001027 grant. We have several letters of support from partnering organizations and advisors. Should we submit these letters with our Concept Paper?
Answer 82:

See FOA Section IV. “Application and Submission Information.” Letters of Support are not required at the time of Concept Paper submission. Any Letters of Support from partners/end users should be submitted as part of the Full Application.

Question 83: I need help with concept paper change.
Answer 83: As stated in FOA Section IV. "Application / Submission Information," once the Application is submitted in EERE Exchange, Applicants may revise or update their application until the expiration of the applicable deadline. Changes to a submitted document are not possible after the expiration of the deadline.

Question 84: Will there be a Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Incubator Technologies (BENEFIT) opportunity next year? I missed the deadline for the concept paper.
Answer 84: EERE cannot accurately predict future year funding opportunities.

Question 85: I’m submitting a proposal on behalf of an FFRDC. At present, we are uncertain as to whether or not we will be partnering with any other entities, FFRDC/university or other. FFRDCs are not authorized to provide any cost share under any circumstances, therefore we will not be able to meet the 10% exemption per the guidelines of the FOA for FFRDCs. Consequently, is it possible for an FFRDC-only applicant to be exempt from all cost share requirements?
Answer 85: As explained in FOA Section III.B. “Cost Sharing,” this FOA requires a cost share of 10%, rather than 20% for FFRDCs when certain conditions are met. Because FFRDCs and GOGOs are funded by the Federal Government, costs incurred by FFRDCs and GOGOs generally may not be used to meet the cost share requirement. FFRDCs may contribute the required cost share only if the contributions are paid directly from the contractor’s Management Fee or another non-Federal source such as a project partner, subrecipient, or vendor, but the cost share requirement must be met.

Question 86: I wanted to inquire about the 'DE-FOA-0001027: BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY FRONTIERS AND INCUBATOR TECHNOLOGIES (BENEFIT) - 2014.' As per my understanding, the concept paper submission was on 3/6/14, which we have missed so I was wondering if there's still some way that we could be considered.
Answer 86: As stated in the FOA page 1, Applicants must have submitted a Concept Paper by the due date listed in the FOA to be eligible to submit a Full Application.

Question 87: An FFRDC (national lab) is planning to submit a proposal if their concept paper is encouraged by EERE, but FFRDCs are barred from using their own funds to meet cost share requirements. This would seem to imply that an FFRDC applicant must take on a partner to submit a proposal to BENEFIT, because this is the only vehicle for meeting the cost sharing requirement. But what if the proposed work cannot be carried out in two separate physical locations? How does EERE handle situations in which partnering doesn’t make sense because of logistics? Is there some kind of waiver for the cost sharing requirement that we could apply for in which we explain why such a partnering arrangement would be disadvantageous to EERE from the standpoint of meeting performance objectives?
Answer 87: A partner/vendor/subrecipient of a FFRDC may provide the required cost share in the form of equipment, supplies, personnel, etc. to be used on the project at the FFRDC’s site. The cost sharing requirements in FOA Section III.B. must be met. Cost sharing waivers are not available.

Question 88: We submitted a concept paper on March 5th - I cannot locate the information regarding feedback from the reviewers. What is the typical timeline on first set of comments?
Answer 88:

The anticipated date for Concept Paper feedback is March 21.

Question 89: I don’t know how I missed this – I registered for the Webinar on the 25th, and I was just going back to begin writing the draft for submission, and I saw this date due of March 6, for concept papers, which I never saw, am I totally locked out of submitting for this now?
Answer 89: Applicants had to submit a Concept Paper by the due date of 3/6/2014 listed in the FOA to be eligible to submit a Full Application.

Question 90: Can you advise what time the second informational webinar will be held and how, if encouraged, we will be notified of participant information?
Answer 90:

The BENEFIT FOA Informational Webinar #2 is Tuesday, March 25, 2014 from 3:00-4:00 pm ET.

Webinar #2 Registration Link:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/344478633.

Webinar #2 Registration also may be accessed on this web page, under ‘Upcoming Webinars’:
http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/building-technologies-office.

Question 91: Is an application available for DE-FOA-0001027? I have submitted the Concept Paper, but can't find the full application. Please direct me to the full application.
Answer 91: See FOA Section IV.D., "Content and Form of the Full Application."

Question 92: We received an email with the registration information for the 2nd Informational Webinar on Tuesday, March 25. The EERE Exchange "My Submissions" page shows our Concept Paper Status as "Review Complete." Does this mean that we are “Encouraged” or “Discouraged” to apply? Or is the verdict still out? We have not heard back on that yet.
Answer 92:

The email sent Thursday, March 20 2014 regarding the 2nd FOA Informational Webinar on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 3:00-4:00 ET was sent to all Applicants. The Encourage/Discourage notifications are expected to be sent by Monday, March 24 2014. Applicants should log in to EERE Exchange "My Submissions" section on Monday, March 24 to check their Concept Paper status. Not all Concept Papers will receive comments beyond Encourage/Discourage.

Reminder, per FOA Section VII. "Questions/Agency Contacts," EERE personnel are prohibited from communicating (in writing or otherwise) with Applicants regarding the FOA except through the established question and answer process as described in the FOA. Applicants should not contact DOE staff directly regarding this FOA.

Question 93: Is it possible to get clarification on the Concept Paper's reviewer’s comment?
Answer 93: As described in FOA Section IV.C. "Content and Form of the Concept Paper," EERE will include only general comments provided from independent reviewers on an Applicant’s Concept Paper in the encourage/discourage notification sent to Applicants at the close of that phase. Not all notifications will include strengths/weaknesses. Additional detail is not available at the Concept Paper stage.

Question 94: I received an email regarding my concept paper for DE-FOA-0001027, and logged onto the website. Went to “My Submissions”, and the Concept Paper Response said “Non Compliant.” Is that the same as “Discouraged”?
Answer 94: See FOA Sections III.C. "Compliance Criteria" and D. "Responsiveness Criteria." EERE will not review or consider noncompliant and/or nonresponsive submissions. An applicant who receives a “discouraged” notification may still submit a Full Application.

Question 95: Can you please send me the reviewer’s comments on our Concept Paper?
Answer 95:

See the "EERE eXCHANGE Applicant User Guide_06July2011" at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx. Applicants may log in to their eXCHANGE account to access Concept Paper encourage/discourage status and any comments. By selecting the appropriate FOA area to which the applicant applied, the applicant will then click on the "My Submissions" tab. This tab takes the applicant to a summary screen of their submissions. By clicking on the control number of the proposal, the applicant can navigate to the Concept Paper reviewer comments, if present.

Question 96: The Field Work Proposal (FWP) process at my employer (a DOE National Lab) requires a DOE Headquarters point of contact. Who should be listed on our FWP form?
Answer 96: The DOE HQ point of contact for National Laboratory FWPs is Pat Phelan, EERE Building Technologies Office.

Question 97: Is the SF-LLL form optional or mandatory if it is deemed not applicable?
Answer 97: See FOA Section IV.D.10. "SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities" and the form's instructions for information on when the SF-LLL form must be submitted.

Question 98: Our Partner submitted a concept paper which was “discouraged.” They used the Exchange system to find the encouraged/discouraged status and found that, but no comments were provided. Can we receive the comments the reviewers noted about our concept paper?
Answer 98: Not all Concept Papers will receive comments beyond Encouraged/Discouraged. An applicant who receives a
“discouraged” notification still may submit a Full Application. EERE will provide Applicants with reviewer comments following evaluation of all compliant and responsive Full Applications.

Question 99: My group submitted a Concept Paper, and the only review comment shown online in the Exchange website is: "The proposed Federal share is significantly outside the range described in the FOA.” We proposed an $800,000 program, plus the required 10% cost share from the proposing team. The FOA guidelines show limits of $500K to $2M, and the average for our topic was stated to be around $750K, so I don’t understand how $800K in federal share can be significantly outside the described range. Kindly let me know if there is a misunderstanding.
Answer 99: Per FOA Section II.A.1. "Estimated Funding,", EERE anticipates making awards that range from $500,000 to $1,000,000 (total DOE share over the total project) for Topic 1 and Topic 2 awards. EERE may establish more than one budget period for each award and fund only the initial budget period(s); it is possible that proposals for significant DOE funding in Phase I may be in the upper end of the expected funding range.

Question 100: What fraction of concept papers received an "encouraged" response?
Answer 100: DOE will not provide information on the number of Concept Papers or Full Applications received, or the number of encouraged or discouraged applications.

Question 101: To whom should a National Lab's Contracting Officer letter be addressed?
Answer 101:

National Lab applicants may list Michael A. Buck as the Contracting Officer.

Reminder, per FOA Section VII. "Questions/Agency Contacts," EERE personnel are prohibited from communicating (in writing or otherwise) with Applicants regarding the FOA except through the established question and answer process as described in the FOA.

Question 102: If a foreign entity is a subrecipient, can work be done in the country of the foreign entity? Section III.A.3 of the FOA states that a foreign entity can be a subrecipient, but section IV.I.3 says that all work is required to be performed in the US. So, if a foreign entity subrecipient performs work in their country, a waiver has to be submitted?
Answer 102: As stated in FOA Section IV.I.3. "Performance of Work in the United States." EERE requires all work under EERE financial assistance agreements to be performed in the United States.To seek a waiver of this Performance of Work in the United States requirement, the Applicant must submit an explicit waiver request in the Full Application.

Question 103: I have four questions regarding the BENEFIT FOA: 1. Does the BTO intend to offer a class patent waiver for Topic 4 projects? 2. Is it acceptable to change the PI from what was submitted in the concept paper? 3. Please clarify the difference between letters of support and letters of commitment as contemplated by the FOA. Also, please confirm how you wish applicants to “provide written assurance of their proposed cost share contributions” (per III.B.6.). Typically, FOA’s require cost share commitment letters from third parties contributing to cost share to be uploaded as a single file in EERE Exchange, but this is not listed on the Full Application checklist. Letters of support are requested in the “Technical Qualifications and Resources” section of the narrative to be attached as an appendix, but it does not specify the typical required cost share language. Finally, Review Criterion 3 references letters of commitment but doesn’t specify whether this is just indicating level of participation in the work or level of contribution to cost share. 4. Please advise how the Data Management Plan described in Appendix E is to be submitted. Is this a standalone document, or potentially an appendix to the technical narrative to be submitted with the full proposal, or would this document be requested upon award notification?
Answer 103:

1. Per FOA Section VIII.L. "Title to Subject Inventions," EERE may issue “class patent waivers” under which large businesses and foreign entities that meet certain stated requirements may elect to retain title to their subject inventions. It is not known at this time whether such waivers will be issued.

2. It is acceptable to change the PI from what was submitted in the Concept Paper.

3. Letters of support are not required, but may be submitted with the Full Application. If the Applicant is selected for negotiation of an award, letters of third-party cost share commitment are required before an award is made. Criterion 3 letter(s) of commitment refers to team members' level of participation in the project.

4. Applicants whose Full Applications are selected for award negotiations will be required to submit a Data Management Plan during the award negotiations phase. The Data Management Plan is a document that outlines the proposed plan for data sharing or preservation. Failure to submit the plan during award negotiations may result in the termination of award negotiations. As a courtesy, guidance for preparing a Data Management Plan is provided in Appendix E of the FOA.

Question 104: Regarding FOA DE-FOA-0001027, we received an email invitation to participate in the second pre-application webinar (which we did) but did not receive a notification regarding whether we were “encouraged” or “discouraged” to submit a full proposal based upon our concept paper. How were those notifications transmitted - electronically via email or through the U.S. Post Office mail? I do not believe that we have received any communications since we submitted our concept paper.
Answer 104: Applicants may log in to their eXCHANGE account to access Concept Paper encourage/discourage status and any comments. See the "EERE eXCHANGE Applicant User Guide_06July2011" at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx for instructions.

Question 105: The FOA is mandating a U.S. Manufacturing plans commitment; is there a standardized form to use?
Answer 105: There is not a standardized form to use for the U.S. Manufacturing Plan. See FOA Section IV.D.12. "U.S. Manufacturing Commitments" for information on the U.S. Manufacturing Plan required as part of the Full Application.

Question 106: We do not participate in lobbying however the SF-LLL form doesn’t have a “does not participate” selection. As the form is mandatory, how is it recommended that we specify non-participation?
Answer 106: The FOA has been modified in Exchange to not require the SF-LLL form if it is not applicable to your organization. See FOA Section IV.D.10. "SF-LLL: Disclosure of Lobbying Activities" for information on the SF-LLL requirement.

Question 107: Based on our concept paper, we were discouraged from submitting a full proposal but the reason given is in error. Can you review the decision to not encourage a full application based on the reason given?
Answer 107: All encourage/discourage decisions have been reviewed and will stand. Individual concept paper reviewers tried to select the best available reason for the decision, but the comment choices were limited and preprogrammed. An applicant whose concept paper was discouraged still may submit a full application.

Question 108: Should costs be done in fiscal year or calendar year?
Answer 108: Costs should included in a Budget Period which is based on an interval of time that is negotiated after award selection and does not necessarily need to coincide with a recipient's fiscal year or calender year. Please refer to section II. A. 1 for additional information on Budget Periods.

Question 109: When will Webinar 2 Presentation slides be made available for viewing?
Answer 109: The BENEFIT FOA Webinar 2 slides are currently available at http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/downloads/benefit-funding-opportunity-webinar-presentation

Question 110: My concept paper is encouraged to submit a full proposal. My question is: Can we add another partner organization (compared to what was proposed in the concept paper) in my full application?
Answer 110: A team member may be added later, at the Full Application stage. The lead organization applicant may not change.

Question 111: Can you provide a template for the Summary Slide in PowerPoint?
Answer 111: There is not a template for the required Summary Slide. Please see FOA Section IV.D.6. for Summary Slide requirements.

Question 112: I am seeking clarification on a question that was asked on the webinar. The question was whether a manufacturing plan was required for non-hardware projects (i.e. software) and the answer was that a one line sentence saying that it does not apply was acceptable. I don’t see this answer to that question in writing and I wanted to make sure that it could be documented on FAQs.
Answer 112: For software, applicants should submit a one-sentence manufacturing plan explaining that their approach does not require any manufacturing.

Question 113: For many SBIR/STTR programs a 7% fee is allowed for the proposed budget. For this FOA, is a 7% fee allowed?
Answer 113:

The administrative requirements for DOE grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 10 CFR 600. 600.318 Fee and Profit states:

(a) Grants and cooperative agreements may not provide for the payment of fee or profit to recipients or subrecipients, except for awards made pursuant to the Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer Research programs.

(b) A recipient or subrecipient may pay a fee or profit to a contractor providing goods or services under a contract.

Awards under this FOA are not made pursuant to SBIR/SBTTR programs, so fee or profit to recipients or subrecipients are not allowed.

Question 114: When I go to the FOA 1027 there are only 4 forms to download: budget justification, lobby disclosure, SF424, and Market Definition Calculator; but when I go to the full application details there are 11 file uploads required. Are there templates or instructions for these?
Answer 114:

See FOA Section IV.D. "Content and Form of the Full Application." There are instructions but not templates for these other required application documents.

Question 115: Should the lead organization be doing 50% of the work in order to qualify for the 10% cost share? Our lead organization and a partner will conduct a combined 74% of the work, while another partner will conduct 26% of the work. Would you please let know whether our team is qualified to have the 10% cost share or not?
Answer 115: See FOA Section III.B. "Cost Sharing" for the two specific conditions that must be met in order to qualify for the Special Cost Share Waiver. There is only one Prime Recipient on an award.

Question 116: In FOA DE‐FOA‐0001027 Appendix E states: Each EERE Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for research, development and demonstration work issued on or after October 1, 2012 shall require each applicant or team of applicants to submit an acceptable Data Management Plan (DMP) as part of its proposal or application to the FOA. The submission process does not have a place to submit a DMP. Is it acceptable that the DMP will be submitted after selection for award but prior to contract start?
Answer 116:

Applicants whose Full Applications are selected for award negotiations will be required to submit a Data Management Plan during the award negotiations phase, not the Full Application phase as stated in FOA Appendix E. The Data Management Plan is a document that outlines the proposed plan for data sharing or preservation. Failure to submit the plan during award negotiations may result in the termination of award negotiations. As a courtesy, guidance for preparing a Data Management Plan is provided in Appendix E of the FOA.

Question 117: Is the SF-LLL: Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form required of all subrecipients, or just those that are required to submit the subawardee budget justification (over $250,000 subrecipient budget)?
Answer 117: FOA Section IV.D.10. "SF-LLL: Disclosure of Lobbying Activities" does not specify a subrecipient cost threshold, so it applies to all prime recipients and subrecipients as it reads. If required to submit the SF-LLL form, each prime recipient or subrecipient should submit its own SF-LLL form as a separate page in the full application.

Question 118: The EERE Exchange website Full Application section "Funds and Costs" tab requires applicants to select a Cost range of either $250,000 -$999,999 or $1 million - $10 million, but it does not specify whether that is the total project cost or only the federal cost share, and we were unable to find this information explicitly discussed in the FOA. Our estimated total project cost is over $1 million, but the federal share is less than $1 million. Which category applies?
Answer 118: Applicants should select the cost range that represents the total project cost, including DOE share and recipient cost share.

Question 119: Is the data management plan a requirement at the full application stage for this FOA?
Answer 119:

Applicants whose Full Applications are selected for award negotiations will be required to submit a Data Management Plan during the award negotiations phase, not the Full Application phase as stated in FOA Appendix E. The Data Management Plan is a document that outlines the proposed plan for data sharing or preservation. Failure to submit the plan during award negotiations may result in the termination of award negotiations. As a courtesy, guidance for preparing a Data Management Plan is provided in Appendix E of the FOA.

Question 120: In our full proposal, we have one University as the Lead Organization, and one FFRDC (DOE National Lab) and another University as partner organizations. Each of them would potentially qualify for 10% cost share individually. My question is: if the Lead Organization is performing under 50% but more than 40% of the project work (based on total cost), can we still qualify for 10% cost share (rather than 20%) for the project?
Answer 120:

See FOA Section III.B. “Cost Sharing,” which states: EERE has implemented a special cost share waiver for certain types of entities applying to this FOA. Accordingly, when the following conditions are met, this FOA requires a cost share of 10%, rather than 20%:

1) The Prime Recipient is a Domestic Institution of Higher Education, Domestic Nonprofit,

FFRDC, or U.S. State, Local, or Tribal Government entity, and

2) The Prime Recipient is performing more than 50% of the project work, as measured by

total project cost.

Applicants to this FOA seeking to utilize the reduced cost share must be prepared to verify to

EERE that these conditions are met.

Question 121: Where should we include the references? Should it be one appendix of the technical volume? Do references count toward the page limit (15-page)?
Answer 121: See FOA Section IV. "Application and Submission Information." References do count toward page limits.

Question 122: 1. The FOA provides, at Section VIII.N (Rights in Technical Data), that “certain categories of data” may be protected from public disclosure for up to five years after the data is generated. Does this protection apply to software? If so, do applicants need to request this protection in the proposal? 2. The FOA requires applicants to prepare a U.S. Manufacturing Plan (IV.D.12 U.S. Manufacturing Commitments). Are these commitments the standards against which the U.S. Manufacturing Plan obligations will be measured for purposes of “march-in rights” under VIII.M.2?
Answer 122:

1. Software is treated according to FOA Section VIII. O. "Copyright."

2. Yes.

Question 123: The EERE 159 Budget Justification template is an Excel workbook, but all the instructions on the FOA state to make it into a PDF for upload and submission. I just wanted to double check if that's correct and you don't need the Excel version of the EERE 159 worksheet. I thought DOE wanted to be able to see the formulas on the budget justification worksheet, when you can't if it's a PDF. And the summary slide should also be in PDF not PowerPoint format. If both versions are needed, how do we upload that?
Answer 123: Per FOA Section IV.D.1. "Full Application Content Requirements" table on FOA page 29, Full Application submission components are PDF unless stated otherwise. See the Components column in the table on page 29 for each required submission component format.

Question 124: Are we required to include a table of contents in The Technical Volume?
Answer 124:

While not specifically required in the FOA, a Table of Contents is recommended for the Technical Volume to aid the application reviewers.

EERE strongly urges applicants to allow sufficient time (several hours) to upload all application documents to the Exchange system and press Submit by the strict due date of 5:00 PM ET on Monday, April 21, 2014.

Question 125: I uploaded a Full Application for the BENEFIT FOA on behalf of my technical team on the due date April 21, 2014 and just realized that through human error, I forgot to upload the BioSketches (CVs/resumes).
Answer 125: Now that the Full Application deadline of April 21, 2014 has passed, no additional information or revisions may be submitted in Exchange. Application documents submitted through email will not be considered or reviewed.

Question 126: We have received a consistent reviewer comment that our cost share portion may be stated in error. I would like to clarify DOE's intention of the 50% cost share requirement. Is the requirement for 50% of the federal portion to be cost shared or is the requirement for the whole project cost to be cost shared by 50%? To be more specific, if the federal portion of the project is $1.3 million, should the cost share portion be: 1. $650,000 (half of the federal share) for a total project cost of $1.95 million -or– 2. $1.3 million (half of the total project cost) for a total project cost of $2.6 million?
Answer 126: See FOA Section III.B. "Cost Sharing" and Appendices B and C (particularly the example for Task 3) for information on calculating cost share. For example, if the cost share requirement is 50% and Total Project Cost is $2 million, then Federal share is $1 million and the minimum required recipient cost share is $1 million.

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