[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 78 (Wednesday, April 23, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19978-19979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-10019]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Office of Science Financial Assistance Program Notice DE-FG01-
03ER03-21; Department of Energy Experimental Program To Stimulate 
Competitive Research (DOE/EPSCoR) Implementation Awards

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice inviting research 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 science, 
engineering, and mathematics, announces its interest in receiving 
applications from eligible States for the support of the DOE/EPSCoR 
Program. The purpose of the DOE/EPSCoR Program is to enhance the 
capabilities of designated States to conduct nationally-competitive 
energy-related research and to develop science and engineering human 
resources in energy-related areas to meet current and future needs.

DATES: The deadline for receipt of formal applications is 4:30 p.m. 
E.S.T., September 23, 2003, in order to be accepted for merit review 
and to permit timely consideration for award in Fiscal Year 2004. No 
application will be accepted after this deadline.

ADDRESSES: Formal applications referencing Program Notice DE-FG01-
03ER03-21 must be sent electronically by an authorized institutional 
business official through DOE's Industry Interactive Procurement System 
(IIPS) at: http://e-center.doe.gov (see also http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html). 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. IIPS offers the option of using multiple 
files--please limit submissions to one volume and one file if possible, 
with a maximum of no more than four files. 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 application as Color image 1, Color 
image 2, etc. Questions regarding the operation of IIPS may be E-mailed 
to the IIPS Help Desk at: [email protected], 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 the application through IIPS, please 
contact the Grants and Contracts Division, Office of Science at: (301) 
903-5212, in order to gain assistance for submission through IIPS or to 
receive special approval and instruction 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].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To continue to enhance the competitiveness 
of states and territories identified for participation in the 
Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) by the 
National Science Foundation (NSF), DOE has decided to again restrict 
eligibility to the following states and territory: Alabama, Alaska, 
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. An appropriate fiscal 
agent, acting on behalf of a state's EPSCoR Committee, may submit only 
two applications in response to this program notice. Each application 
is restricted to one research ``cluster.'' A cluster is defined as a 
group of scientists working on a common scientific theme. It is the 
DOE/EPSCoR program policy to limit the Research Implementation Awards 
to one active award per state. Therefore, only those EPSCoR states that 
have: (1) Not received a previous DOE/EPSCoR Research Implementation 
Awards, (2) ``graduated'' their previously supported Research 
Implementation Awards research clusters or (3) received final funding 
for their Research Implementation Awards in Fiscal Year 2003, are 
eligible to apply for Fiscal Year 2004 funding. Thus, only the 
following states are eligible to apply under this notice: Alaska, 
Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota, 
Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Awards issued 
under this Notice will provide funding for basic research, its 
coordination, and development of human resources in the state. The DOE/
EPSCoR Research Implementation Awards should be used to improve the 
academic research infrastructure of key science and technology areas 
identified by the state's EPSCoR governing committee as critical to the 
development of state and institutional research and development 
capability. The state's strategy to develop and utilize the scientific 
and technological resources that reside in its research universities 
should be described in its DOE/EPSCoR Research Implementation Awards 
application. In preparation for submitting an application, the EPSCoR 
governing committee within each state is expected to have undertaken a 
comprehensive analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities 
for development of its research institutions in support of overall 
state research and development objectives. Successful infrastructure 
improvement plans are likely to be those which are focused on one 
energy-related research area and which candidly represent the 
opportunities for enhanced academic R&D competitiveness, including the 
acquisition of sustained non-EPSCoR support. Most important, the 
state's infrastructure improvement strategy must have a high 
probability of realizing stated goals and objectives as judged by 
members of a DOE merit review panel. In all instances, performance 
milestones and a timetable for achieving such milestones are 
prerequisites for EPSCoR support. Priority will be given to 
applications that propose to develop new competitive research areas 
rather than those that propose to enhance or continue research areas 
that are already competitive. The DOE/EPSCoR Research Implementation 
Awards are not appropriate mechanisms to provide support for individual 
faculty science and technology research projects.

Program Funding

    Subject to Congressional authorization and approval of funds in 
Fiscal Year 2004 DOE anticipates an estimated $1.0 million will be 
available for awards to fund collaborative research and human resource 
development in energy-related science

[[Page 19979]]

and engineering disciplines. Approximately one to two awards are 
anticipated in Fiscal Year 2004 at a maximum award level of $750,000 
per year for a period of three years. EPSCoR funding will not be 
provided to the national laboratories or non-designated EPSCoR states. 
Continuation funding for the awards will be contingent upon the 
availability of appropriated funds, progress of the research, and 
continuing program need. Renewal applications for implementation awards 
beyond the initial three-year period will be considered for an 
additional three years, subject to continuing meritorious performance 
and progress in the previous award periods, as well as the value added 
of the proposed effort and the availability of funds. As a tangible 
measure of an applicant's commitment to the objectives of the DOE/
EPSCoR Program, cost sharing on a minimum one-to-one ratio is a 
requirement for the implementation grants. Therefore, each application 
submitted requesting support from DOE under this Notice must provide, 
from non-Federal funds, an amount equal to or greater than the amount 
awarded by DOE; i.e., for every dollar provided by DOE, the recipient 
must provide a dollar or more from non-Federal sources for the project.

Applications

    The DOE/EPSCoR Research Implementation Awards are open to the 
entire range of energy-related disciplines supported by the Department 
of Energy. Additional information on the DOE Research Programs is 
available at the following Web site addresses:
    Department of Energy (General Information): http://www.energy.gov/.
    Office of Science: http://www.science.doe.gov/feature/BES.htm.
    Basic Energy Sciences: http://www.science.doe.gov/feature/BES.htm.
    Biological and Environmental Research: http://www.science.doe.gov/.
    Advanced Scientific Computing Research: http://www.science.doe.gov/feature/ASCR.htm.
    Fusion Energy Sciences: http://www.science.doe.gov/feature/fes.htm.
    High Energy and Nuclear Physics: http://www.science.doe.gov/feature/hep-hp.htm.
    Office of Defense Programs: http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/.
    Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: http://www.eren.doe.gov.
    Office of Fossil Energy: http://www.fe.doe.gov.
    Office of Environmental Management: http://www.em.doe.gov.
    Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management: http://www.rw.doe.gov.
    Office of Nuclear Energy: http://www.ne.doe.gov.

Merit Review

    Applications will be subjected to formal scientific merit review 
and will be evaluated against the following evaluation criteria listed 
in descending order of importance as codified at 10 CFR 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 
the agency's programmatic needs. Applications will also be reviewed by 
relevant program offices to determine the priority of research. Program 
offices will also be asked for their willingness to provide co-funding 
if a project is selected for approval. Note: 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. All projects will be evaluated using the same criteria, 
regardless of the submitting institution.
    Applicants are encouraged to collaborate with researchers in other 
institutions, such as universities, national laboratories, industry, 
and nonprofit organizations. General information about the development 
and submission of applications, eligibility, limitations, evaluation, 
and selection processes, and other policies and procedures may be found 
in 10 CFR part 605 and in the Application Guide for the Office of 
Science Financial Assistance Program. Electronic access to the Guide 
and required forms are available via the World Wide Web at: http://www.science.doe.gov/grants/.
    Specific guidance for the preparation of the DOE/EPSCoR Research 
Implementation applications may be found in the ``Supplemental 
Information Guidelines'' at Web site: http://www.er.doe.gov/production/bes/EPSCoR/APPLI.HTM. Because of program specific information required 
and the overall complexity of the applications, the format and guidance 
included in the ``Supplemental Information Guidelines'' supersedes that 
of the general instructions for the preparation of an application to 
the Office of Science.

    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 April 14, 2003.
Ralph H. De Lorenzo,
Acting Associate Director of Science for Resource Management.
[FR Doc. 03-10019 Filed 4-22-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-03-P