Frequently Asked Questions

As stated in the Grants.gov description, the full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is posted on the EERE Exchange website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov.  Please visit EERE Exchange to download the FOA.

The purpose of the SEEDS Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to fund studies on technology evolution or diffusion, in order to develop practicable business or policy recommendations for the solar industry.  This FOA will not fund research on specific solar canopy designs.  To find a FOA more suited to your specific ideas, please visit www.grants.gov and click on “Find Funding Opportunities”.

Access to and manipulation of datasets will be a key determinant of the success of studies in solar technology evolution and diffusion. The researchers involved in such a data-driven exercise should be versed in social, behavioral, and economic sciences.  As such, DOE is encouraging interdisciplinary efforts, including both traditional and computational social scientists, to propose projects under SEEDS.  Namely, Team Structure 2 calls to include "for example, physical scientists, computer scientists, social scientists, and policy experts."  Team Structure 3 calls for "advancements in applications of complexity science and behavioral economics."  Applicants are to select appropriate methods, drawn from the interface of the social sciences and natural sciences, that precisely reflect the questions at hand.

Thank you for your interest in the requirements of the SEEDS Funding Opportunity Announcement.  The FOA posted at the EERE eXCHANGE website is comprehensive and designed to allow prospective applicants to assess their proposed projects versus the requirements and criteria of the FOA.  The SEEDS FOA is a competitive announcement and private discussions with DOE regarding prospective applications, while the announcement is open, are prohibited.  DOE cannot predetermine the suitability or viability of a proposal in advance of the merit review process.  It is up to prospective applicants to review the requirements of the FOA and assess the merits of their proposed project to determine whether to submit an application. 

Applicants and sub-recipients under the SEEDS FOA that are Institutions of Higher Education, non-profit organizations, national laboratories, or DOE Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) may waive the 20% cost share requirement.   In this case, total funding needs should be reflected in the Federal funding column of the SF-424A budget.    

 Utilizing the cost share waiver will not negatively impact applicants that are eligible for the waiver.  Applications will be reviewed using the Full Application Merit Review Criteria set forth in Section V.A.3 of the FOA, as well as the program policy factors in Section V.A.4.

DOE will use data and other information contained in applications strictly for evaluation purposes. Applicants should not include confidential, proprietary, or privileged information in their applications unless such information is necessary to convey an understanding of the proposed project.   Applications containing confidential, proprietary, or privileged information must be marked as described in Section VIII.D of the FOA.

The workshop was announced on the SunShot homepage and via the DOE solar program's email newsletter.  All documents relating to the workshop can be found on the SunShot webpage, at www.solar.energy.gov/sunshot/past_workshops.html#adlucem. The key determinations from the workshop are described within the FOA document, in Section I.C. 

The slide referenced in your question was prepared by the SunShot leadership when describing the workshop; it was not used in any of the workshop material, the RFI, or the FOA.  This was a direct recommendation by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST): http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-energy-tech-report.pdf.

In order to apply the cost share waiver, you must check the box “I certify that I have reviewed the Funding Opportunity Announcement, and this application is compliant with the cost share requirements”.  This box is located on the Funds and Costs tab of the Exchange application.

The SEEDS FOA is sufficiently broad to include any solar technology, however, as stated in Q&A #2, the purpose of the FOA is to fund studies on technology evolution or diffusion, in order to develop practicable business or policy recommendations for the solar industry.  Funding for research or commercialization of specific technologies is not within the scope of this FOA.  Rather, this FOA seeks to fund research on the social, behavioral, or economic patterns that spur more rapid commercialization or faster market adoption of solar technologies.

Yes, non-profit domestic entities are eligible to apply as prime recipients and sub-recipients for this announcement.  See Section III.A for other types of entities that are eligible to apply to this FOA.

The main motivations for SEEDS research is on solar energy technology market dynamics and solar technological progress.  Proposals which emphasize results with clear and practicable business or policy implications for accelerating diffusion or accelerating reductions in technology costs will be considered.

A1: 

Applicants are responsible for forming their own partnerships / affiliations prior to applying to the FOA.  For Team Structure 1, the researcher and host entity must be identified prior to submitting a full application.  The Full Application deadline is 9/17/2012 at 5:00PM Eastern, however, applicants must submit a Concept Paper by 7/13/2012 at 5:00PM Eastern in order to be eligible to submit a Full Application.  If you are not able to identify a researcher prior to the Concept Paper deadline, you may still submit a Concept Paper, however, your submission risks scoring lower on the “Ability of applicant(s) to accomplish proposed project activities” criterion (see Section V.A. of the FOA for Review Criteria).

Although the FOA does not expressly prohibit for-profit companies from applying as the prime applicant under Team Structure 1, the intent of that team structure was for DOE to support a researcher as the prime applicant, with the for-profit company, non-profit organization, electricity provider, or governmental entity serving as a host to the project by providing access to data sets.  As stated in the Team Structure 1 description, “the scholar may act as an informal advisor to the host but will maintain an independent status”.  The reason for this is that Team Structure 1’s key objective is to perform research on solar technology evolution and diffusion that will be openly published rather than remaining proprietary.  The merit review criteria (see Section V.A.3) include “Likelihood that the proposed approach can be expected to scale and impact the broader solar industry” and “Extent to which proposed methods and results provide generalizable lessons on technology evolution and diffusion that can be applied as new technologies are developed and deployed”, so for-profit companies applying as the prime recipient under Team Structure 1 will need to demonstrate that the scholar-in-residence’s insights /recommendations will be disseminated in a way that is beneficial to the solar industry as a whole.

A2: 

Per 10 CFR 600.318, grants and cooperative agreements may not provide for the payment of fee or profit to recipients or sub recipients during the award project period.  After the award has ended, there is no restriction against fee or profit. 

For guidance on tools or information developed during the project, please refer to Section VIII.F of the FOA, which states that data first-produced under the award that would be trade secret, or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential will be protected from public disclosure for a period of up to 5 years from the date of its development.   This means that the government will not disclose the data for up to 5 years, but the same restriction does not apply to the researcher(s) who produced the data during the award.  Recipient teams are responsible for negotiating and executing their own non-disclosure agreements.

Only Institutions of Higher Education, non-profit organizations, national laboratories, or DOE Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) are eligible for the cost share waiver.   If the prime recipient is eligible for the waiver, but a sub-recipient is not, the sub-recipient is responsible for providing 20% cost share on their portion of the project.

The required components of the Concept Paper are:

·         Project Concept (3 page maximum)

·         Qualifications and Resources (2 page maximum)

·         Letter(s) of support (1 page maximum per letter)

Please review  Section IV.C of the FOA for further information.  

The cumulative total of cost share contributions should be reflected in Section A-Budget Summary of the SF-424a.  The total should be in  Non-Federal column (d).  The listing of individual cost share contributions should be reflected on the cost share tab of the PMC 123.1 Budget Justification form.  Cost share may be composed of cash, in-kind contributions, or a combination of both.

Please review the following sections of 10 CFR 600 and the applicable cost principles for information on what types of contributions are allowable as cost share:

·         For Universities / Non-profits: 10 CFR 600.123 & 2 CFR 220 Cost Principles for Educational Institutions / 2 CFR 230 Cost Principles for Nonprofit Organizations

·         For States / Local Governments: 10 CFR 600.224 & PART 225—Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments (OMB Circular A–87)

·         For Commercial Entities: 10 CFR 600.313 & FAR Subpart 31.2—Contracts with Commercial Organizations

For applicants subject to the 20% cost share requirement, divide the requested DOE share by 80% to calculate the Total Project Cost.  For applicants eligible for a cost share waiver, the Total Project Cost is the sum of the requested DOE share and any cost share provided.  Please refer to Section III.B and Appendix C of the FOA for further details.

The estimated maximum award size is $2.5 million. There is no minimum award size.  Please refer to Section II.C of the FOA.

DOE does not set limitations on the number of Concept Papers that can be submitted by an entity, however each concept paper must be submitted as an separate application.

A DUNS number is necessary for all entities seeking an award with the Department of Energy.  DOE cannot make an award to an entity without a DUNS number.  DUNS numbers are available to all entities, not just for-profit businesses.  If you are having trouble requesting a DUNS number, please email govt@dnb.com for assistance.

Yes, the Project Summary/Abstract File is a required document for the full application content, so you may make edits up until the full application deadline of 9/17/2012 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.

Recipients and sub-recipients that are Institutions of Higher Education, non-profit organizations, national laboratories, or DOE Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC) funded under this FOA are eligible for a waiver of the 20% cost share requirement.   Cost share for the portion of budget associated with the non-profit organizations, national laboratories, or FFRDC can be waived.

Recipients and sub-recipients not eligible for the cost share waiver as defined above must provide at least 20% of that recipient or sub-recipient’s allowable project costs (i.e., the sum of the Government share and the recipient share of allowable costs equals the allowable cost of the project) which must come from non-Federal sources unless otherwise allowed by law (see also Appendix C titled “Cost Share Information”).

Unfortunately, the date for Concept Paper submission for this funding opportunity has passed.   There is no opportunity to submit a concept paper after the 07/13/2012 due date.

Unfortunately, the concept paper deadline for the SEEDS funding opportunity announcement (FOA) has now passed, and only applicants that submitted a concept paper are eligible to submit a full application. 

To search for similar FOAs, please check the Grants.gov website at  www.grants.gov periodically.  As DOE cannot release information about upcoming FOAs until they are publically posted, the best way to learn about new FOAs that meet your organization’s needs is to sign up for automatic notifications through www.grants.gov.  Simply visit the “For Applicants” section, then click “Find Grant Opportunities” and “Email Subscription”.

Concept Paper feedback was posted on August 6, 2012.  After logging in to Exchange, please scroll to the bottom of your application record to view the strengths and weaknesses identified in your concept paper submission.

The SEEDS FOA is a competitive announcement and private discussions with DOE regarding prospective applications, while the announcement is open, are prohibited.

The cost share requirement applies to both recipients and subrecipients of the award.  Vendors are not required to provide cost share.  If an award recipient desires at some point to subcontract a small piece of work, the recipient must obtain prior approval from the Contracting Officer, as stated in 10 CFR 600.125(c)(8); 10 CFR 600.230(d)(4); and 10 CFR 600.315(c)(6).

Please follow the guidance provided in Section II.F of the FOA, which states that all budget periods, regardless of project period length, should be approximately 1-year in duration.

Applicants must designate a single lead organization and one individual to serve as the Principal Investigator (PI) for the SEEDS proposal.  Co-PIs from the lead organization can be listed within the proposal, and included as personnel in the SF-424a and PMC 123.1 detailed budget justification.  Costs for Co-PIs from other organizations must be included as sub-recipients in the Contractual section of the SF-424a and PMC 123.1 detailed budget justification.  DOE funding will be dispersed to the prime recipient, who is then responsible for dispersing funds to sub-recipients.

 For multi-organizational or multi-investigator projects, the project narrative must include a description of:

·         the roles and the work to be performed by each participant/investigator,

·         business agreements between the applicant and participants, and

·         how the various efforts will be integrated and managed. 

1)      If the subawardee is expected to perform work estimated to be less than $100,000 or less than 50 percent of the total work effort, a separate budget for the subawardee will not be required  with the application for the Solar Energy Evolution and Diffusion (SEEDS) FOA.  However, if the application is selected for negotiations leading to an award, the applicant may be asked to provide additional clarification on the subawardee’s proposed costs and role in the project.

      2)      No, if a subawardee does not meet the criteria for submitting a separate       budget (expected to perform work estimated to be more than $100,000 or 50 percent of the total work effort), then a separate budget justification is not required. 

In order to submit a full application for the Solar Energy Evolution and Diffusion Studies (SEEDS) FOA, potential applicants were required to submit a concept paper by July 13, 2012.  Unfortunately, if a concept paper was not submitted by the deadline, you are ineligible to apply for this FOA.

Only one Full Application may be submitted per Concept Paper, however, you may expand the scope of your application beyond what was originally covered in the concept paper. 

Per 10 CFR 600.318, grants and cooperative agreements may not provide for the payment of fee or profit to recipients or subrecipients under the SEEDS FOA.  A recipient or subrecipient under the SEEDS FOA may pay a fee or profit to a contractor providing goods or services under a contract.

As stated in Q&A #38, you may expand the scope of your application beyond what was originally covered in the concept paper, however, only one full application may be submitted per concept paper.

Each application must designate one prime recipient.  All other organizations involved in the application, whether as subawardees or vendors, must be designated on the Contractual section of the budget submitted with the application.  The prime recipient is required to submit a separate budget (SF-424A) and budget justification (PMC 123.1) for any subawardee that is expected to perform work estimated to be more than $100,000 or 50 percent of the total work effort (whichever is less).

1) Please contact the laboratory to obtain the budget and reporting code. 

2) The Program Manager is Minh Le.

Applications selected under Team Structure 2 should be performed in tandem with industry practitioners to ensure that results can be applied, tested, and modified in real time. In particular, each Research Team should involve public or private sector solar energy practitioners during all stages of the project who can implement and sponsor applied research activities. If a team does not incorporate an entity or entities that can design, execute, and assess a pilot program, then the team may consider applying under Team Structure 3: SunShot SEEDS Researcher.

No, a company may receive multiple grants, however, the cost share funds provided to each grant must be different, and the DOE share of funds cannot pay for the same work (i.e., the company cannot be paid twice for the same work).

Indirect costs are allowable as cost share as long as the recipient has a Federally approved Indirect Rate Agreement.  If a proposal is selected for negotiation and the recipient does not have a cognizant agency, DOE will work with the recipient to establish reasonable indirect costs for the award.  For more information on indirect costs, please visit www.dcaa.mil, click on “Information for Contractors”, and review Chapter 6.

Click on the “Upload Optional Files” button to upload multiple sub-awardee budgets.

1. Yes, foreign institutions of higher education are allowed to request indirect costs for sub-recipient work they perform under the SEEDS FOA.  Prime recipients are responsible for monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award, however, the Contracting Officer reserves the right to require additional information and/or conduct in depth review of any project budget, cost, or fringe/indirect rate.
2. The Recipient Lighting Efficiency Certification (April 2012) applies to recipients who receive a grant in excess of one million dollars ($1M).  DOE may use grants and/or cooperative agreements as the award instrument for recipients under the SEEDS FOA (see Section II.A), so if your organization receives a grant over $1M, the certification would apply.

Applications to the SEEDS FOA are still under review. DOE expects to announce awards at the end of December or early January 2013. *This date has changed please refer to answer 49*

DOE expects to announce awards under the SEEDS FOA in late January or early February 2013.