[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 3, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71957-71958]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-30559]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Office of Science Financial Assistance Program Notice 03-10; 
Experimental Program To Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR); 
Building EPSCoR-State/National Laboratory Partnerships

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice inviting grant applications.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) of the Office of 
Science (SC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in keeping with its 
energy-related mission to assist in strengthening the Nation's 
scientific research enterprise through the support of basic science, 
engineering, and mathematics, announces its interest in receiving grant 
applications for collaborative partnerships between academic or 
industrial researchers from states eligible for the DOE/EPSCoR program 
and researchers at DOE's National Laboratories, facilities, and 
centers. The purpose of the DOE/EPSCoR program is to enhance the 
capability of designated states to conduct nationally competitive 
energy-related research, and to develop science and engineering 
manpower in energy-related areas to meet current and future needs. The 
purpose of this program notice is to initiate and promote partnering 
and collaborative relationships that build beneficial energy-related 
research programs with strong participation by students, postdoctoral 
fellows, and young faculty from EPSCoR states.

DATES: Potential applicants are required to submit a brief 
preapplication. All preapplications, referencing Program Notice 03-10, 
must be received by April 16, 2003, (preapplications received after 
this date will not be considered). Due to special review process for 
this program no FAX or e-mail submission will be accepted. A response 
to the preapplications encouraging or discouraging a formal application 
will be communicated to the applicant within approximately thirty days 
of receipt. To permit timely consideration for award in Fiscal Year 
2004, formal applications submitted in response to this notice must be 
received by July 9, 2003, (formal applications received after this date 
will not be considered).

ADDRESSES: All preapplications, referencing Program Notice 03-10, 
should be sent to Dr. Matesh N. Varma, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, 
Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering, SC-132/Germantown 
Building, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-1290.
    After receiving notification from DOE concerning successful 
preapplications, applicants may prepare formal applications. No other 
formal applications will be considered.
    Formal applications in response to this solicitation are to be 
electronically submitted by an authorized institutional business 
official through DOE's Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) 
at: http://e-center.doe.gov/. IIPS provides for the posting of 
solicitations and receipt of applications in a paperless environment 
via the Internet. In order to submit applications through IIPS your 
business official will need to register at the IIPS Web site. The 
Office of Science will include attachments as part of this notice that 
provide the appropriate forms in PDF fillable format that are to be 
submitted through IIPS. Color images should be submitted in IIPS as a 
separate file in PDF format and identified as such. These images should 
be kept to a minimum due to the limitations of reproducing them. They 
should be numbered and referred to in the body of the technical 
scientific proposal as Color image 1, Color image 2, etc. Questions 
regarding the operation of IIPS may be e-mailed to the IIPS Help Desk 
at: center.doe.gov">HelpDesk@e-center.doe.gov or you may call the help desk at: (800) 
683-0751. Further information on the use of IIPS by the Office of 
Science is available at: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html.
    If you are unable to submit an application through IIPS, please 
contact the Office of the Director, Grants and Contracts Division, 
Office of Science, DOE, at: (301) 903-5212 in order to gain assistance 
for submission through IIPS, or to receive special approval and 
instructions on how to submit printed applications.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Matesh N. Varma, DOE/EPSCoR 
Program Manager, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering, SC-
132/Germantown Building, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy, 
1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-1290. Telephone: 
(301) 903-3209; Fax: (301) 903-9513; E-Mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTRY INFORMATION: To continue to enhance the competitiveness of 
states and territories identified for participation in the Experimental 
Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), DOE encourages the 
formation of partnerships between academic and industrial researchers 
in EPSCoR states and the researchers at DOE's National Laboratories, 
facilities and centers in scientific areas supported by DOE's Office of 
Science. These collaborations should address areas of research of 
current interest to the Department. Undergraduate and graduate 
students, postdoctoral fellows, and young faculty must be active 
members of the research team, and it is encouraged that these 
investigators spend a summer or significant time during the academic 
year at a National Laboratory, facility, or center. It is also 
encouraged that collaborating scientists from the National Laboratories 
visit collaborating EPSCoR state faculty for exchange of scientific 
ideas and fostering active collaboration. Subcontracting arrangements 
with DOE National Laboratories will not be permitted. DOE eligible 
states and territories for the EPSCoR program are: Alaska, Alabama, 
Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, 
Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, 
Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, 
Wyoming, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Program Funding

    It is anticipated that approximately $1,200,000 will be available 
in Fiscal Year 2004, for research that encourages and facilitates 
collaborative efforts between researchers from EPSCoR states and 
researchers at DOE's National Laboratories, facilities, and centers. 
Multiple-year funding of grant awards is expected subject to 
satisfactory progress of the research, the availability of funds, and 
evidence of substantial interactions between the EPSCoR researchers and 
the National Laboratory partner. Awards are expected to range up to a 
maximum of $150,000 annually with terms up to three years. The number 
of awards and range of funding will depend on the number of 
applications received and selected for award. Cost sharing of exactly 
10% of the total budget is required from non-federal sources. All DOE/
EPSCoR award funds will be provided to the recipient organization 
within the EPSCoR state for the purpose of supporting activities in the 
EPSCoR state and may include travel and lodging, faculty or student 
stipends, materials, services, and equipment.

Applications

    To minimize undue effort on the part of applicants and reviewers, 
interested parties must submit preapplications. Only one application 
per individual is permitted, and individuals currently receiving DOE 
EPSCoR funds are not eligible to apply. The preapplications

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will be evaluated relative to the scope and research needs of the 
Department of Energy. The brief preapplication must consist of (1) one 
to two pages of narrative describing the research objectives and 
methods of accomplishment, (2) a letter from the appropriate state 
EPSCoR coordinator endorsing the preapplication, and (3) a letter of 
intent from the DOE National Laboratory researcher confirming 
willingness to collaborate on the project. The preapplications will be 
grouped according to programmatic areas of interest to the DOE and will 
be reviewed by DOE laboratory management to determine the priority of 
the proposed research. The preapplications will also be reviewed by the 
relevant programmatic research area program manager. DOE program 
managers will be asked to rank EPSCoR preapplications by program 
priority. They will also be asked for their willingness to provide co-
funding if a project is selected for approval. Based on this review, 
DOE/EPSCoR management will recommend formal submission of applications 
to the Department. A telephone number, facsimile number, and e-mail 
address are required parts of the preapplication. Instructions 
regarding the contents of a preapplication and other preapplication 
guidelines can be found on the SC Grants and Contracts web site at: 
http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/preapp.html. DOE is under no 
obligation to pay for any costs associated with the preparation or 
submission of applications if an award is not made. In addition to the 
project description, all preapplications and formal applications must 
include the following information:
    (1) Applications should explain the relevance of the proposed 
research to the agency's programmatic needs. On the cover page, 
applicants should specify the relevant DOE technical program office, 
and if known, the name of the program manager, and telephone number. 
DOE program descriptions and the contact person information may be 
accessed via the web at: http://www.doe.gov.
    (2) Applications must demonstrate clear evidence of collaborative 
intent, including a delineation of each partner's role and contribution 
to the research effort as well as a ``Letter-of-Intent'' from the 
participating DOE National Laboratory, facility, or center.
    (3) Applications must explain the individual value to both the 
EPSCoR and the National Laboratory partners. There should be clear 
objectives, not necessarily the same, for each partner.

Merit Review

    Applications will be subjected to scientific merit review (peer 
review) and will be evaluated against the following evaluation 
criteria, listed in descending order of importance as codified at 10 
CFR part 605.10(d).
    1. Scientific and/or Technical Merit of the Project;
    2. Appropriateness of the Proposed Method or Approach;
    3. Competency of Applicant's Personnel and Adequacy of Proposed 
Resources;
    4. Reasonableness and Appropriateness of the Proposed Budget.
    The evaluation will include program policy factors such as the 
relevance of the proposed research to the terms of the announcement and 
an agency's programmatic needs and priority. External peer reviewers 
are selected with regard to both their scientific expertise and the 
absence of conflict-of-interest issues. Non-federal reviewers will 
often be used, and submission of an application constitutes agreement 
that this is acceptable to the investigator(s) and the submitting 
institution.
    Applications received by SC under its current competitive 
application mechanisms that meet the criteria outlined in this notice 
may also be deemed appropriate for consideration under this 
announcement and may be funded under this program.
    General information about the development and submission of 
preapplications, applications, eligibility, limitations, evaluation and 
selection processes, and other policies and procedures are contained in 
the Application Guide for the Office of Science Financial Assistance 
Program and 10 CFR part 605. Electronic access to the latest version of 
SC's Application Guide is possible via the Internet at the following 
web address: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html.
    Additional information regarding format, preparation and specific 
requirements for this program may be found at the following web 
address: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/bes/EPSCoR/APPLI1.HTM and 
takes precedence.

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for this 
program is 81.049, and the solicitation control number is ERFAP 10 
CFR part 605.

    Issued in Washington, DC on November 25, 2002.
John Rodney Clark,
Associate Director of Science for Resource Management.
[FR Doc. 02-30559 Filed 12-2-02; 8:45 am]
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