EERE eXCHANGE: FAQs

Question 1: In Section II Paragraph D, is the anticipated award amount for 1 year or is it for all 3 years?
Answer 1: Regarding Section II.D of the FOA, the anticipated award amount is for all 3 years. As shown in Section II.E of the FOA, DOE anticipates making an award with a duration of three (3) years.

Question 2: Would individuals who participated in the preparation of this FOA be able to perform on the project once the application process is complete?
Answer 2: No. Individuals who participated in the preparation of the FOA will NOT be able to perform on the project once the application process is complete. Once a notice of award is issued and AFTER receiving DOE’s prior approval, a successful awardee may seek to engage building controls experts at the National Laboratories who participated in this FOA as technical advisors during the course of the project. Such interaction with these technical advisors is forbidden without the DOE’s prior approval. If input from FFRDC technical advisors is required for an award, DOE will work with the successful applicant during the award phase to implement a collaboration agreement with the relevant parties.

Question 3: Part 1: If a non-profit entity generates Patentable IP in the course of the research then our understanding is that IP ownership will reside with the non-profit (and the government will have use rights). If the IP is embodied in the Open Source software, are commercial IP use rights required to be provided with the software as part of the Open Source agreement? Part II: Can an entity that wants to leverage existing software that is covered by a pre-existing patent license meet the program requirements from Appendix D in its submission if it makes the open source software available in only the field of energy management for buildings?
Answer 3:

Part I: A recipient’s rights to copyrightable materials, such as software, are set forth in 10 CFR 600.325 Appendix A, Rights in Data – General, paragraph (c). A discussion of open-source software, along with examples of open-source licenses, is provided in Appendix D to the funding opportunity announcement.

Part II: Applicants should address how they plan to distribute software produced under the award as open source in their response to the questions in Appendix D. Those responses will be considered during the merit review process.

Question 4: Is the submission of a full application only possible upon receipt of an “encouragement” notice by the DOE? By when can we expect feedback on the concept paper / receipt of a discouragement / encouragement notice?
Answer 4: A “discouraged” notification does not bar an applicant from filing a Full Application. DOE will still review the Full Application so long as it is compliant and fits the FOA objectives. The actual feedback date depends on the number of concept papers submitted, but notification is planned to be during the week of May 13th.

Question 5: In the FOA it talks about the size of the facility that the testing would be done on, but the actual type of building is not as well specified. In some cases it refers to commercial, but in others it refers to residential. Does this mean that both types of buildings are eligible candidates or is only one actually usable?
Answer 5:

As indicated in Section I. A., page 7, of the FOA the successful applicant will develop an open source architecture software solution/platform that addresses key requirements for a small- and medium-sized commercial Building Automation System (BAS).

Question 6: This question pertains to funding opportunity announcement DE-FOA-0000822 “Turn Key” Open Source Software Solutions for Energy Management of Small to Medium Sized Buildings. We understand that the software platform, software tools, user interface and software required to operate the plug and play hardware devices developed under this FOA must all be open source software. Is it expected that future software tools that might use the software platform must also be open source software?
Answer 6:

No. Only the software platform developed specifically under this FOA must be open source. Any future add-on software tools developed outside of the FOA but using the available open source software does not need to be open source.

Question 7: On page 7, Section of FOA successful applicant description, Bullet 3 indicates that the three software tools should provide control system point auto-mapping. Our question: What level of the point auto-mapping is required? Usually, small commercial buildings are cooled by DX units. In addition to thermostats, those DX units for commercial uses usually have their own controllers for outside air damper and compressor staging control. Are proposed software tools required to auto-map the points at the level of the thermostat or to the level of the controller for DX compressor staging controls? In another word, are proposed software tools required to have the communication protocol that typically used by the DX controller manufacturers?
Answer 7:

The auto-mapping needs to be at least functional enough that ANY point exposed by the device is identified and mapped back to the head end, wherever that resides (in the building, in the cloud). At a minimum, the object identity, classification and functions will be mapped. As the specification requires 'plug and play' there will be some requirement by the device to 'tell' the system its characteristics.

Question 8: On page 12, line 6, “The application must outline of the requisite hardware configurations” - Our question: Does the hardware mean the three apps or the test facilities/buildings?
Answer 8:

The hardware configuration as referenced in year three is comprised of, at a minimum, the software developed in the first two years, functionally coupled to an actual commercial building and providing BAS control. Interaction with existing building systems as a demonstration of software capability is a requirement and the building systems being controlled and tested by the software constitutes the “requisite hardware configuration.”

Question 9: I have a cost share question. For the cost share bullets below from the call, are we to interpret that 20% in total cost share must be met from some source or if only Universities are involved, then 0% cost share would be required. For example, we are a University but we are anticipating one subaward that is a business, would the business need to meet the 20% cost share requirement for the total project or just the business’ portion of the funding? If the latter, I assume it is then okay to show a lower than 20% total cost share commitment on the concept paper slide as only the sub’s portion would include a 20% cost share? • The cost share must be at least 20% of the total allowable costs for research and development projects (i.e., the sum of the Government share and the recipient share of allowable costs equals the total allowable cost of the project) and must come from non-Federal sources unless otherwise allowed by law. (See 10 CFR Part 600 for the applicable cost sharing requirements.) • Cost share for university, National Laboratories, FFRDCs, and non-profit entities, whether participating as a prime recipient or sub-recipient, is 0% of total project costs.
Answer 9:

The required cost share from the prime recipient (University) would be 0%. However, the industry partner, if it is a for profit entity, would be required to contribute the 20% cost share for its portion of the project. Given the circumstance described, your assumption was correct. It was okay to show a lower than 20% total cost share commitment on the concept paper slide.

Question 10: We just saw this funding opportunity and believe we would make a great candidate. The Closing Date for Applications in Jun 24, 2013. But it asks for a concept paper due yesterday. Could we have an extension to the 25th to have you the concept paper?
Answer 10:

Unfortunately, we are not able to accept late concept paper submissions.

Question 11: How strict are the sizing requirements of 5,000 to 50,000 square feet. Some deviation from these limits is most likely not a problem, but how far outside this range is still allowable.
Answer 11: The allowable range is 5,000 to 50,000 square feet.

Question 12: How do I track the status of a concept or full application I've made? I submitted a paper and got a Control Number 0822-1505. The FAQ said a response would be expected the week of April 22, but nothing has been received.
Answer 12: As indicated in the response to Question #4, the actual feedback date depends on the number of concept papers submitted, but notification is planned to be during the week of May 13th.

Question 13: May we add partners in the full application phase that we had not identified in the concept paper phase?
Answer 13: Yes.

Question 14: Do applications in support of this FOA that are led by National Laboratories require the 20% cost share even if the laboratory has no industry partner? In other words, we had no partner at the concept paper stage, but under item “B” on p. 16 the first bullet implies that all successful applications under this FOA have cost share. Do we at this stage, need to bring on an industry partner that is willing to provide at least 20% cost share? Another question, if for some other reason, we elect to bring on an industry partner at this stage, must they supply 20% cost share?
Answer 14:

Cost share is not required for National Laboratories, FFRDCs, institutions of higher education and non-profit organizations. To specifically answer your questions, applications that are led by National Laboratories do not require cost share. If you elect to bring on an industry partner that is a for profit entity, the entity would be required to contribute the 20% cost share for its portion of the project.

Question 15: Is there a way to obtain a more detailed review of our concept paper?
Answer 15:

DOE will not provide a more detailed review of concept papers.

Question 16: Our company has technology and platform which are very relevant to this call, but has unfortunately missed the deadline for submission of the concept paper. Can you please let us know if we can still submit a concept paper?
Answer 16:

Unfortunately, we are not able to accept late concept paper submissions.

Question 17: We’re not finding any directions for the cover page in the FOA instructions. Other FOA calls have provided instructions for the cover page content. Please clarify what you want on the cover page, format, etc.
Answer 17:

A cover page should provide the project title, team members, and any statements regarding confidentiality.

Question 18: Which, if any, NEPA review form is a required attachment to full applications submitted in response to FOA 822?
Answer 18: You must complete the environmental questionnaire on-line at https://www.eere-pmc.energy.gov/NEPA.asp. Save the questionnaire in a single file titled “ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Env.”

Question 19: With regards to DE-FOA-0000822, would a national laboratory be required to submit written authorization from its cognizant Contracting Officer? In DE-FOA-0000823, this was a requirement found under ‘Other Eligibility Requirements.’ I cannot find this same requirement as part of DE-FOA-0000822. Also, there is no mention of receiving awarded funds directly from DOE, does that imply that a field work proposal is not required from an FFRDC (national laboratory) in this FOA process? Please confirm.
Answer 19:

Although FOA DE-FOA-0000822 is not requiring that FFRDCs/National Laboratories submit an Authorization Letter and/or Field Work Proposal (FWP) as a part of the proposal package, FFRDCs/National Labs are still able to submit both with their applications. If a FFRDC/National Laboratory is selected, the Authorization Letter and FWP will be required to be submitted immediately at the beginning of the negotiations. It would be in the best interests of the Laboratories to start working on/obtaining these additional documents.

Question 20: The link provided in the solicitation leads to a registration on the website. There is not direct link to the environmental questionnaire form. Detailed instruction is needed.
Answer 20:

Please use the following link: https://www.eere-pmc.energy.gov/Forms.aspx#APPForms. Applicants should fill out the PMC 111.1, R&D Environmental Questionnaire.

Question 21: Regarding the Answer posted for Question 19, is it acceptable to upload the Field Work Proposal (FWP) and Authorization Letter as Additional Files area included in the Appendices?
Answer 21: Although not required at the proposal phase, the capability to upload the FWP and Authorization Letter as separate attachments in EERE Exchange is now available. The FWP can be uploaded and named “{{ControlNumber}}_{{LeadOrganization}}_FFRDC_FWP.” The Authorization Letter can be uploaded and named “{{ControlNumber}}_{{LeadOrganization}}__FFRDC_Auth.”

Question 22: The online form Step 1 asks for DOE Award # (CID), FOA, and Subcontract # - none are required fields. If I pick at DOE Award Number (CID) is automatically populates the other fields with data. What is our DOE Award #? Required fields include Project Officer (pick list) – how do we know who to pick?
Answer 22:

Applicants should only fill out the PMC 111.1 Environmental Questionnaire. Please use the following link: https://www.eere-pmc.energy.gov/Forms.aspx#APPForms. Your question appears to be referencing the Environmental Checklist (PMC-EF1), which is not required at the proposal phase. This form would only be required if selected.

Question 23: Does each industrial partner need to submit a separate NEPA form under this FOA, or is one form to be used for all the work under this proposal regardless of the performer?
Answer 23:

The Prime applicant should submit only one Environmental Questionnaire (PMC 111.1) covering the entire project.

Question 24: Are Letters of Support acceptable for submission of the application for FOA822? I don't see any mention of them in the application--will we be penalized if we include Letters of Support? Can we put them in the Appendix File?
Answer 24: Letters of Support may be included as part of the Appendix to the Narrative.

Question 25: Would you be able to provide DOE Project Officer’s Name for DE-FOA-0000822?
Answer 25:

There is no specific DOE Project Officer assigned to this FOA, as the role of a Project Officer does not exist at the FOA stage. Project Officers are assigned to Awards once selections have been made.

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