EERE eXCHANGE: FAQs

Question 1: The FOA for the above-referenced program says: “Applicants may apply to more than one topic area; however, a separate Application must be submitted for each separate topic area.” Could you please clarify: Is there a limit to the number of applications that the University of Florida, as an institution, can submit to each topic area?
Answer 1: An institution may submit multiple applications to the same topic area. There are no limits on the number of applications that can be submitted by an institution; however, a separate application is required for each submission.

Question 1: Do you have any information that you can share about the status of this FOA? When will this work be awarded?
Answer 1:

We anticipate selections will be announced within the next two weeks.

Question 2: Are the $1M and $350K amounts based on the duration of 36 and 15 months respectively or will those amounts be available for a program with a shorter duration?
Answer 2: Per the FOA, Topic Area 1 has a duration up to 36 months and DOE funding up to $1M. Topic Area 2 has a duration up to 15 months and DOE funding up to $350K. A proposed project could be for less than the maximum amount of time stated in the FOA. Please see Section I - Funding Opportunity Description of the FOA for more detailed information on both topics and their program requirements for successful applicants.

Question 3: 1. The introductory paragraph for TOPIC AREA 2: WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FOR HYDROPOWER on page 5 asks for "an analysis of the U.S. Hydropower industry workforce and future needs of the workforce." Please help define the "hydropower industry." Is the focus of the study to be on conventional and pumped storage facilities or is it to include other, less prevalent types of hydropower like hydrokinetic, ocean tidal, ocean current, ocean wave and ocean thermal? 2. The last paragraph on page 7 describes the primary deliverable as a final technical report on the "existing domestic hydropower workforce and potential needs over the next 20 years." Does the 20 year projection apply to all bullet list "objectives" and "components" described on page 6?
Answer 3:

1. In the context of this FOA, the term "hydropower" does refer to conventional and pumped-storage hydropower (or any project that uses a dam, diversionary structure, or impoundment for electric power purposes). The term "hydropower" does not refer to any type of "marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy" as defined in Section 632 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). Please see page 4 in Section I - Funding Opportunity Description of the FOA.

2. Some items in the bulleted list of 'objectives' and 'components' on page 6 are very directly related to the 20 year projection of potential needs as identified on page 7. However, applicants should use their own expertise and judgment in determining what elements they would include in an evaluation of potential future hydropower workforce needs.

Question 4: I did not receive a confirmation that you received this second letter. Could you please confirm?
Answer 4:

Letter of Intents for this FOA are requested but not required by the deadline of July 16, 2013 4:59pm EST. DOE will not respond to submitted Letter of Intents. Please see section IV of the FOA for more information regarding applications and submissions.

Question 5: Hello, I would like the Full Solicitation for the following announcement; DE-FOA-0000832, Golden Field Office, University Research Awards and Workforce Development for Hydropower. When I click the link to Full Announcement on Grants.gov, it says “there are no attached files”.
Answer 5: The full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov as stated in the description on Grants.gov. Applications must be submitted through the EERE eXCHANGE website to be considered for award. The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE eXCHANGE website. A User Guide for the EERE eXCHANGE can be found on the EERE website https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx after logging in to the system. Information on where to submit questions regarding submission of letter of intents and applications is found in the full FOA posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website.

Question 6: In the PMC 123.1 Detailed Budget Justification file, there are worksheets for personnel costs, fringe benefits, indirect overhead and indirect G&A. However, there is no specified location for firm profit. Are we allowed to include a reasonable profit in the Detailed Budget Justification file? If so, where do we enter this information?
Answer 6: No. Per Title 10 CFR 600.318, 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.

Question 7: I have one question regarding this FOA. Are the dollars amounts of the fellowships/grad student research grants included in the $1M available under Topic area 1? Or that $1M is for administrating and managing the grants only, which means additional money will be sent from DOE to pay for those fellowships/grad student research grants?
Answer 7: Yes. As stated in the FOA, the maximum DOE share for Topic Area 1 is $1M. No additional DOE funds beyond the $1M ceiling will be given. Please note there is also a minimum 20% cost share requirement. (Funding for all awards is contingent upon the availability of funds appropriated by Congress for the purpose of this program.)

Question 8: I am working with the PI to fill out the budget documents for our proposal. We are responding to Part 2, which has no cost share requirements. However, we are offering cost share. We see that cost share is a separate category (tab) on the form, but does not add up in the total budget. However, the instructions say to include the cost share in the total. In order to do that, we would need to break it up into the other categories, and then the total budget will be more than $350,000. Can you advise me how you want the cost share to appear? Do you want the total budget to remain below the $350,000 maximum?
Answer 8: If an applicant is providing cost share to the project, the total project costs can exceed $350,000 for Topic Area 2. The total project costs would include the DOE share (maximum of $350,000) plus any cost share that is proposed. The proposed cost share should be integrated into each of the appropriate tabs (i.e. Personnel, Supplies, Contractual, etc.) of the PMC 123.1 Budget Justification. The Cost Share tab reflects the details of the proposed cost share, i.e. the type of cost share (cash or in-kind), the percentage of total project costs, etc., as many grants/cooperative agreements require cost share such as Topic Area 1.

Question 9: Are questions still being accepted for this FOA?
Answer 9: Per the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), questions regarding the content of this FOA must be submitted via email to: CHFOA832@go.doe.gov no later than 3 business days prior to the application due date. This 3 day period is to ensure we have adequate time to respond and the inquirer has adequate time to incorporate the results of their inquiry into their application before the due date. Therefore, no further questions regarding the content of the University Research Awards and Workforce Development for Hydropower FOA will be answered. Please note that we at the CHFOA832@go.doe.gov mailbox are unable to provide assistance on the Exchange system. Therefore, please contact the Exchange helpdesk (see below) for any questions about the Exchange system. EERE Exchange: EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov or see the Users’ Guide for Applying to the Department of Energy EERE Funding Opportunity Announcements found at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx.

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