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["INSTRUCTIONS"]
[1,"All questions pertaining to this funding opportunity announcement should be emailed to IACProgram@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-FOA0002866 - Industrial Assessment Centers - Centers of Excellence"]
["Question #","Date Submitted","Topic","Question","Answer"]
[1,"2023-01-09","Application Content/Format","I have a question regarding the SOPO. On Page 24 Section D.i. in the table, it states that the Technical Volume is 30 pages and then further down it states that the SOPO is 5 pages. On page 26 in the Technical Volume Content Requirements table under Project Management Approach, it states that the SOPO should be included in this portion of the 30 page technical volume. Can you please verify that we do not need to include the SOPO in the technical draft since it is a separate 5 page attachment or does it need to be included in 2 places?","In accordance with Section IV.D.i., the Technical Volume is limited to 30 pages and the SOPO is limited to 5 pages.  The subsequent reference to the SOPO on page 26 is an error and does not count towards the 30-page limit. The SOPO should be a separate document submitted as part of the full application."]
[2,"2023-01-19","Cost Sharing","We have a two major utility providers and they would like to set aside some rebate funding to be used for IAC COE as a cost-share. Are we allowed to use Rebate budget of Utility providers as a part of cost-share?","It should be noted that cost share is not a requirement of this FOA. That being said, in accordance with § 200.406, to the extent that rebates or other such credits accruing to or received by the non-Federal entity relate to allowable costs, they must be credited to the Federal award either as a cost reduction or cash refund, as appropriate. Therefore, rebates may NOT be used as cost share because the government needs to be the beneficiary of the rebate."]
[3,"2023-01-16","Eligibility","1.  Can we both be part of the Lead Organization on this FOA (50%-50%)? In other words, can two entities jointly apply without one being a subcontract? \n \n2.  If so, should both organizations submit the LOA and full applications? ","There is no prohibition on multiple IACs submitting a joint application; however, there must be a single eligible entity responsible for submitting the full application on behalf of all proposed team members, and act as the prime recipient of the award receiving the DOE funds throughout the project. Once an award is made, the prime is responsible for distributing funds to its partners as subrecipients or contractors (vendors) of the award and should be detailed within the application and accompanying cost proposal. Co-PIs can be designated in the project to show joint responsibility, however DOE can only award one entity. "]
[4,"2023-01-26","Application Content/Format","We are working on the Budget Justification for our DE-FOA-0002866 application. The Budget Justification Workbook provided has only three budget periods. Is there a Workbook available that has five budget periods?","As the period of performance can be up to 60 months, a 5 year budget justification workbook is now available under the Documents section of this FOA posting."]
[null,"2023-01-31","Application Content/Format","We plan to submit a Center of Excellence proposal. Please excuse any redundancy with other Q&A, but how much flexibility is there for the lead organization to change **project partners** and/or their respective funding levels at the time of proposal, from what is initially estimated in the letter of intent? ","Submission of a letter of intent under this FOA is entirely voluntary and is in no way binding with respect to the project partners or their proposed funding levels, which should be submitted as part of the full application."]
[null,"2023-01-31","Application Content/Format","Given the large range of eligible award sizes, if a proposal is competitive for selection and within *solicited* award sizes --- yet the proposal is considered to need an adjustment in costs, would negotiations occur or would the proposal simply be rejected?","If selected for award negotiations, DOE may dictate the amount it is willing to fund for the selected project. If this scenario occurs, the specific amount of the award size can be determined through the negotiation process subject to available appropriations. However, please try to stay within the federal award minimum and maximum boundaries as described in Section II.A. Per Section III.B Cost share is not required and not factored into the award minimum and maximum amounts in Section II.A. Cost share is encouraged as it may amplify the overall impact of the regional Centers of Excellence and IAC Program."]
[null,"2023-01-31","Application Content/Format","Is it appropriate to state that there will be some focus/special attention upon wastewater plants engagement as a part of the Center of Excellence scope?","Section I.B – Topic Area of the FOA discusses a range of activities to be performed by the Centers of Excellence to support, coordinate, improve and or expand upon the operations of existing IACs.  The operations of current IACs includes assessments of wastewater treatment facilities."]
[null,"2023-01-31","Other","Can you please clarify if funds from this FOA can be used for items #5 and #6 on page 3 of the FOA, or will there be a separate application process for those?\n\n5.  Federal support (at 50% cost share) for students to work as interns or apprentices with or for industries, manufacturers, and energy service providers to implement the recommendations of IACs.\n6. Federal support (at 50% cost share) for employees of facilities that have received IAC assessments to work with or for IACs to gain knowledge on engineering practices and processes to improve productivity and energy savings.","The items (#5 & #6) refer to separate provisions within the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and are not directly related to any funds provided as a part of this FOA. The list on page three of the FOA are overall goals for the DOE IAC program. "]
[null,"2023-02-05","Application Content/Format","If the proposal has partner IACs, should we upload a separate SOPO for each partner receiving a subaward and a SOPO for the Lead IAC?","Only the primary applicant must submit a SOPO; however, the SOPO should include any distinct roles/tasks that are to be performed by sub-recipients.  In addition, applicants must provide a separate budget justification for each subrecipient that is expected to perform work estimated to be more than $250,000 or 25 percent of the total work effort (whichever is less). "]
[null,"2023-02-09","Application Content/Format","The page limit of the SOPO is set to be 5 pages. We are planning to include a Milestone summary table that -alone- exceeds the 5-page rule. We were wondering if this Milestone summary table is excluded from the 5-page rule.","Per Section IV.D.vi of the FOA document, the 5-page limit for the SOPO applies to the entire SOPO, including the milestone summary table."]
[null,"2023-02-14","Application Content/Format","The Technical Volume requires that we include a section detailing our Statement of Project Objectives. What is meant by “detailed”? Are we expected to include the entire SOPO in this section?  That would span five pages.  Or, do we just include the Project Objectives and/or Technical Scope Summary?  ","In accordance with Section IV.D.i., the Technical Volume is limited to 30 pages and the SOPO is limited to 5 pages.  The SOPO should be a separate document submitted as part of the full application. The length of any section within the Technical Volume that describes or “details” the SOPO is entirely up to the applicant – subject to the aforementioned page limits."]

{"sheet":"Admin Pick List","index":2,"n_rows":17,"n_cols":1,"rows_kept":17,"cut":false,"hidden":true,"merged":[]}
["Pick List"]
[]
["Registration Requirements"]
["Webinar"]
["Concept Paper"]
["Eligibility"]
["Labs/FFRDCs"]
["Foreign Entities/Work"]
["Cost Sharing"]
["Due Dates"]
["Application Content/Format"]
["Intellectual Property"]
["Data Management"]
["Other"]
["U.S. Manufacturing Plan"]
["Application Reviews"]
["Technical Topics"]