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["INSTRUCTIONS"]
[1,"All questions pertaining to this funding opportunity announcement should be emailed to Subsurface@EE.Doe.Gov "]
[2,"All questions pertaining to EERE Exchange should be emailed to EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov. Include FOA name and number in subject line."]
[3,"All questions and answers pertaining to this FOA will be posted on EERE Exchange within this spreadsheet."]
[4,"DOE will attempt to respond to a question within 3 business days, unless a similar question and answer has already been posted in this spreadsheet. "]
[5,"All questions should be submitted not later than 3 business days prior to the application due date. Questions submitted after this date will not be answered."]
[6,"Questions are assigned a number in accordance with when they are reviewed by DOE.  "]
[7,"Questions are assigned a topic area by DOE when reviewed."]
[]
["TIPS"]
[1,"Applicants may sort questions and answers in the question tabs of this spreadhseet by selecting the drop-down box arrow on the column headers and selecting any of the listed attributes."]
[2,"Applicants may search for questions and/or keywords by holding CTRL+F on the keyboard and typing in a phrase or keyword."]

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["ADMINISTRATIVE QUESTION AND ANSWER LOG"]
["DE-FOA0002083 - Subsurface Stress and Lost Circulation in Geothermal Drilling"]
["Question #","Date Submitted","Topic","Question","Answer"]
[1,"2019-04-05","Cost Sharing","Is a cost-share waiver for FFRDC’s possible?","Please refer to Section III. B. Cost Sharing on page 15 of the FOA:\n\n\"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, including FFRDC costs if applicable, 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 2 CFR 200.306 and 2 CFR 910.130 for the applicable cost sharing requirements.)\n\nPLEASE NOTE: Section 108, “Short-Term Cost-Share Pilot Program” of the recently enacted Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act (RIA), Pub. L. 115-246 removes the minimum statutory cost share requirement for Institutions of Higher Education and Non-Profit Organizations for research and development for a two year pilot period. Nevertheless, RIA does not automatically change the cost share requirements as set forth in 2 CFR 910.130 of DOE’s financial assistance regulation without first amending the regulation. Therefore, until the regulation is updated and aligned with RIA or a cost share waiver is issued, DOE programs and Contracting Officers must adhere to the cost share requirements as set forth in 2 CFR 910.130 and the FOA.\"\nAlso see paragraph iv. Cost Share Contributions by FFRDCs in the same section."]
[2,"2019-04-05","Eligibility","I am interested in submitting a proposal for “Subsurface Stress and Lost Circulation in Geothermal Drilling” and I found that U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are eligible to apply for funding as a prime recipient or subrecipient. I am working for a domestic educational institutions, but I am wondering if I am eligible since I am not a U.S. citizen nor a permanent resident.","As stated in Section III.G., Questions Regarding Eligibility (page 32) of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), “EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential Applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision of whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the Applicant.” \n\nHowever, for your purposes in making that decision, we offer the following:\nPer Section III.A. Eligible Applicants (page 13), if applying as an individual to be the prime recipient, you would have to be a US Citizen or lawful permanent resident.  If applying in the name of your organization, see the rest of this section for eligibility. "]
[3,"2019-04-09","Technical Topics","Is the acquisition/collection of new geological/geothermal data allowed in this FOA, in order to conduct a geothermal resource assessment? For example: seismic data collection, Well tests like DFITs etc.?\n\n","As stated in Section III.G. Questions Regarding Eligibility (page 32) of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), “DOE will not make eligibility determinations for potential Applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision of whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the Applicant.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               We would suggest a thorough review of Section I.C., Applications Specifically Not of Interest, on pages 9 of the funding opportunity announcement. A full copy of the FOA is available online."]
[4,"2019-04-10","Eligibility","I was wondering if a foreign company can be the main contractor and we as an American company be the subcontractor! If yes, can (w)e submit the concept letter and application on their behalf since they are not registered with SAM?","As stated in Section III.G., Questions Regarding Eligibility (page 32) of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), “EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential Applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision of whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the Applicant.”  \n\nHowever, for your purposes in making that decision, we suggest a review of Section III.A. Eligible Applicants (page 13), iii. Foreign Entities. A full copy of the FOA is available online.\n"]
[5,"2019-04-12","Eligibility","The FOA mentions DOE accepting limited submissions from each individual institution. Does this mean accepting only one full proposal for each sub-topic?  Can an organization send more than one concept paper and DOE select/encourage the one which best fits the FOA? The reason is in big organizations such as universities there is no mechanism in preventing people from sending concept papers unless DOE helps in encouraging one concept paper from that organization and that organization to proceed with one full proposal for each sub-topic.","See Section III.F. Limitation on Number of Concept Papers and Full Applications Eligible for Review on page 20 of th FOA document, \"...If an entity submits more than one Concept Paper and one Full Application to the same topic area, EERE will request a determination from the applicant’s authorizing representative as to which application should be reviewed. Any other submissions received listing the same entity as the applicant for the same topic area will not be eligible for further consideration\"."]
[6,"2019-04-12","Eligibility","If Institute A is the Prime, and  Institutes B and C are partners (sub recipients) is there a minimum percentage of funding that must go to \nInstitute A?\n","The “Lead Organization Percent Effort (1-100)” question on the General tab in EERE Exchange is required to be an integer between 1 and 100. So, for purposes of completing the general application page in EERE Exchange, the percentage must be at least 1.\n\nThe Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) does not prescribe a specific percentage of work that must, as a minimum, be performed by the Applicant. However, if the application is selected for negotiation of an award, it will be the Applicant who is responsible for many aspects of the award.  More specifically, the individuals designated as the Applicant’s Business Point of Contact and the Technical Point of Contact in EERE Exchange will be the individuals DOE will correspond with regarding the application. Additionally, if the application is selected for and receives an award, the Applicant will, as a minimum, ultimately be responsible for the cost share, negotiating with DOE regarding the scope and budget for an award, complying with the Terms and Conditions of an award, including quarterly and final reporting, presenting at the annual Program Review, requesting reimbursement, complying with any required annual audit requirements, and being the point of contact for DOE regarding the financial assistance agreement.\n"]
[7,"2019-04-15","Eligibility","If a faculty member from an academic institution submits a concept paper, is the applicant considered the individual member or the institution? Is it allowable for two different faculty members from the same institution to submit intellectually distinct proposals to the same topic area?"," As stated in Section III.G., Questions Regarding Eligibility (page 32) of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), “EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential Applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision of whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the Applicant.”\n\nHowever in regards to your questions, you should verify with your institution, but usually the institution is listed as the applicant.\n\nPer Section III. F. Limitation on Number of Concept Papers and Full Applications Eligible for Review, “An entity may only submit one Concept Paper and one Full Application for each topic area of this FOA”.\n"]
[8,"2019-04-24","Eligibility","I am writing to ask if I would be allowed to collaborate with TNO, Holland as I am preparing concept paper for the DE-FOA-0002083_Subsurface_Stress_and_Lost_Circulation_in_Geothermal_Drilling.\n\nTNO just inherited field scale laboratory, previously owned by Shell E&P, and I believe verification experiments at such laboratory would be unmatched by any facilities we currently have in the US. In addition, during my visit last month, when I attended SPE P&A Forum in Hague as I was a member of the organizing committee, I was able to see the lab and talk to the managing director. There is lots of interest in Geothermal energy and projects in Holland and I believe this collaboration would increase the readiness of the novel technology that we can produce together.\n\nI would appreciate if you could let me know. My dilemma is that under eligibility it says foreign entities can apply under this FOA, and TNO is Ok to be subcontracted, but later on in the FOA it says all work must be done in the US. If we can be granted permission to work together, and my other collaborators are LBNL, Holcim cement and potentially SINTEF, Norway, I am sure we would make substantial progress in solving Lost circulation issues.\n","As stated in Section III.G., Questions Regarding Eligibility (page 32) of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), “EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential Applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision of whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the Applicant.”  \n\nHowever, to assist in your decision, we would suggest reviewing Section III. A. iii. Foreign Entities.  Also see Section IV. J. iii. Performance of Work in the United States.  Item 3 on page 41 states. “There may be limited circumstances where it is in the interest of the Project to perform a portion of the work outside the United States. To seek a waiver of the Performance of Work in the United States requirement, the applicant must submit a written waiver request to EERE.  Appendix C lists the necessary information that must be included in a request to waive the Performance of Work in the United States requirement.”\n"]
[9,"2019-04-30","Eligibility","1.  Do we have the option of changing the lead entity on the concept papers to one of the collaborators on the proposal?   2.  Do we have the option of moving a concept paper to a different topic area? \n","1.  Yes, prime applicants can be switched up until the submission of the full application.  As long the submission keeps the same proposal and control number.   2.  Per Section III. F. Limitation on Number of Concept Papers and Full Applications Eligible for Review,  \"An entity may only submit one Concept Paper and one Full Application for each topic area of this FOA\".  The concept paper would need to be specific for topic area and; therefore, not be interchangeable to another topic."]
[10,"2019-05-09","Due Dates","In FOA it is mentioned that \"Applicants will have approximately 30 days from receipt of the Concept Paper Encourage/Discourage notification on EERE Exchange to prepare and submit a Full Application.\"\nSo will the deadline be moved to provide 30 days time for full proposal preparation? \n","There are no plans at this time to extend the due date of the applications."]
[11,"2019-05-10","Application Content/Format","We got a notification that our concept paper for FOA DE-FOA-0002083 was discouraged. Thanks for reviewing our concept paper. Can we get a review comments/feedbacks on what were the weaknesses? This will help us in case we want to submit the full application to this FOA or other future opportunities. ","EERE does not provide de-briefings to explain why a Concept Paper was discouraged.  However, per Section IV. C. i. on page 24, \" EERE intends to convey its lack of programmatic interest in the proposed project in an effort to save the applicant the time and expense of preparing an application that is unlikely to be selected for award negotiations\".  "]
[12,"2019-05-15","Cost Sharing","Question 1:\nCan you please provide guidance with regards to allowable cost share, specifically related to valuation of data provided by a partner?\n\nQuestion 2:\nIs there a financial limit on funds spent to collect or purchase new data that is directly related to the proposed project?\n","Question 1:  Data as cost share is typically unallowable.  Cost share funds must meet the requirements set out in 2CFR200.306.  Sometimes, subscription fees for the use of data can be used as cost share, but that will be further negotiated, if selected for award negotiations.                                                                                                                                                      Question 2:  There is no dollar limit; however, the data purchased would need to meet all the conditions of an allowable expense in order to be reimbursable. The expense would need to be reasonable, allocable and benefit the project.                                                                                                                         "]
[13,"2019-05-15","Foreign Entities/Work","A Researcher employed by a US Institution may be living abroad the next two years, but will remain an employee and work out of their home office to continue their regular work.  Would a Foreign Work Waiver be necessary? ","Based on the limited information provided in your questions, as long as the researcher remains an employee of your institution and the Institution is the prime recipient, a Foreign Work Waiver would not be required."]
[14,"2019-05-22","Application Content/Format","I am interested in adding an additional partner (an FFRDC, if that distinction is relevant) to the project who was not originally included in the project team at the time of the Concept Paper. Is this allowable?","It is acceptable to add a partner in your application; however, be sure to review Section IV. Application and Submission Information to be sure all the required documents for an FFRDC are included. Section IV. D. ix and x pertain to FFRDC information needed."]
[15,"2019-05-28","Cost Sharing","Are data that are required for our analysis eligible for cost share? The data are both for the analysis and the verification of our process.","See question and answer #12 above."]
[16,"2019-05-29","Application Content/Format","I am now working on the full application proposal of DOE FOA DE-FOA-0002083 (Due on June 7, 2019). However, in the first page of DOE SOPO template they asked for Award Number and Mod Number? Please let me know where I can find these numbers.","Please use the Control Number that was assigned when the Concept Paper was submitted."]
[17,"2019-05-29","Application Content/Format","Are we allowed to change the title of the project in the full submission from how it appears in the concept paper?","The project title may be revised before submission of the full application; however, be sure to use the Control Number origianlly assigned to the Concept Paper. "]
[18,"2019-05-30","Cost Sharing","If a collaborator is contributing in-kind cost share upwards of $250K and 25% of the total work effort, but not receiving any federal funds, does the collaborator need to complete a budget justification workbook? OR can the cost share simply be accounted for in the prime applicant’s budget justification workbook? ","Based on the information provided, the thrid party contributor would need to submit a budget justification to show the costs being used to make up the cost share contribution."]
[19,"2019-06-06","Application Content/Format","We have a question about the Subsurface Stress and Lost Circulation in Geothermal Drilling Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number: DE-FOA-0002083 with regard to letters of commitment from subrecipients and partners (reference on p. 30 of the call).  We are including a DOE authorization letter, but we were not sure whether as a subrecipient we needed to supply a letter of commitment to the lead applicant.  We look forward to your response.","An FFRDC Authorization letter and a Field Work Proposal are all that is required by DOE."]
[20,"2019-06-06","Cost Sharing","We are trying to submit a proposal in response to DE-FOA-0002083.  \nIn the “Funds and Costs” tab, it states that\nDOE eXCHANGE requires applicants to contribute at least 20% of the total project cost. Certain applicants may be eligible for a reduced cost share obligation. Please refer to the Funding Opportunity for more information on DOE’s cost share policy.\nIn the corresponding FOA, it was stated that:\nTherefore, until the regulation is updated and aligned with RIA or a cost share waiver is issued, DOE programs and Contracting Officers must adhere to the cost share requirements as set forth in 2 CFR 910.130 and the FOA \n\nWe interpret this as that a cost share waiver is at least possible.  However, the EERE-Exchange system won’t let us submit the proposal unless the numbers put in the “Funds and Costs” tab satisfies the 20% requirement.  This seems to contradict the two statements above.  Is there a way for us to submit with a cost share ratio lower than 20%?\n","Please see Question 1 above."]
[21,"2019-07-11",null,"I am not sure how to access the reviewer comments.","Reviewer comments can be found by following the instructions starting on page 8 of the EERE Exchange User Guide for Applicants.  The guide can be found at:   https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx "]
[22,"2019-07-16",null,"We’ve just missed the 5 p.m. Eastern time cut-off to upload our reply to the reviewer comments for the above proposal in EERE Exchange.  Can you re-open our proposal to attach them electronically?","The deadline for replies to reviewer comments was posted in the Funding Opportunity Announcement document and the Exchange system automatically disables the “submit” button at the defined deadline.  Late submissions will not be accepted."]

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["Pick List"]
[]
["Registration Requirements"]
["Webinar"]
["Eligibility"]
["Labs/FFRDCs"]
["Foreign Entities/Work"]
["Cost Sharing"]
["Due Dates"]
["Application Content/Format"]
["Intellectual Property"]
["Data Management"]
["U.S. Manufacturing Plan"]
["Application Reviews"]
["Technical Topics"]