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["INSTRUCTIONS"]
[1,"All questions pertaining to this funding opportunity announcement should be emailed to Building_America_FOA@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-FOA0001117 - BUILDING AMERICA INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE HOUSING INNOVATIONS"]
["Question #","Date Submitted","Topic","Question","Answer"]
[1,"2014-11-14","Application Content/Format","If awards can support several projects by the same team, should separate concept papers be submitted for each project?  And then a single proposal would include all concepts/projects deemed appropriate?","As listed in the FOA section III.F., \"Applicants may submit more than one Full Application to this FOA, provided that each application describes a unique, scientifically distinct project.\""]
[2,"2014-11-14","Eligibility","Does this funding opportunity apply to our invention? ","As listed in the FOA section III.G., \"EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant.\""]
[3,"2014-11-16","Eligibility","Does DE-FOA-0001117, Building America Industry Partnerships for High Performance Housing Innovations apply to multifamily buildings or just single family homes?","As listed in the FOA Section I.B: “This is a single topic FOA, addressing three integrated technology gaps focused on achieving high performance residential buildings … ” and does not limit proposals beyond the general description of “Residential Buildings”."]
[4,"2014-11-17","Webinar","My employer is interested in your High Performance Housing Innovation Funding Opportunity Webinar but is not able to make the webinar today at 3:00.  Is there an opportunity to view the webinar at a later time?  ","Webinar slides will be posted to the Exchange following the webinar."]
[5,"2014-11-17","Eligibility","Can a new home builder be eligible for DE-FOA-0001117? I understand construction costs would not be covered. ","As stated in the FOA, section III.A.2.: \"For-profit entities, educational institutions, and nonprofits that are incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a particular State or territory of the United States are eligible to apply for funding as a Prime Recipient or Subrecipient.\""]
[6,"2014-11-19","Cost Sharing","I was in the webinar and I am very interested in hearing the answer to a question posed by a participant. Can the 20% which an organization is expected to pay cover the construction costs?","As stated in the FOA, section III.B.3.: \"Every cost share contribution must be allowable under the applicable Federal cost principles, as described in Section IV.I.1 of the FOA. In addition, cost share must be verifiable upon submission of the Full Application.\"  In that FOA section IV.I.4 specifically disallows construction costs, such costs cannot be used as cost share."]
[7,"2014-11-17","Application Content/Format","The FOA states it is seeking to fund 1 -4 teams, but Concept Papers and first round scoring is exclusively about technical approach. Is the encouragement intended to be towards Teams or Technical approach to solutions?  ","As Stated in the FOA, section IV.B. “…by discouraging the submission of a Full Application, EERE intends to convey its lack of programmatic interest in the proposed project” .  The criteria for the Concept paper is listed in the FOA, section V.A.1.  Please also see sections IV.C and V.A.2 - Criterion 3"]
[8,"2014-11-17","Application Content/Format","The Concept Papers are limited to one approach (solve one tech area, or all three at once), however some solutions may deal with only 2 areas that are interrelated (e.g. envelope impact on ducts inside conditioned space, or integrated space conditioning and ventilation). Does DOE want these as two separate Concept Papers with related single area solutions, with a cross link referenced? If the two areas are inextricably linked (e.g. performance of humidity control related strictly to ventilation strategies) how should a proposer respond?","As described in section 1.B of the FOA, EERE recognizes that the three technology gaps addressed in the FOA are integrated challenges. Therefore, a solution that deals primarily with 2 challenges (but not all 3) should be proposed as the first approach and identify which of the two challenges is the primary focus in terms of impact.   Additionally, each Concept paper represents a single application and as listed in the ‘Executive Summary’:  “Applicants may submit more than one application to this FOA, provided that each application describes a unique, scientifically distinct project.” "]
[9,"2014-11-17","Technical Topics","Am I correct that the term “codes and standards” goes beyond DOE’s typical boundaries of energy codes and minimum equipment efficiency standards, and includes standards (or standard reference materials) that are developed by others such as ACCA, ASHRAE, BPI or RESNET?","Industry consensus standards are included in the scope of this FOA"]
[10,"2014-11-17","Application Content/Format","If a PI /Team Lead submits multiple concept papers with different industry partners for each concept paper, and receives encouragement to submit full applications for all of them, does DOE expect the lead to develop a full submission for each concept paper, or group the ideas into a single full application for the team as a whole? ","Encouraged concept papers may be addressed in a single full application, provided that the full application meets all FOA requirements."]
[11,"2014-11-17",null,"Can a team group encouraged concept papers to meet the Cost Share requirements? ","Please clarify your question."]
[12,"2014-11-17","Technical Topics","The work is stated to be in real world houses. Does this mean DOE will not be accepting proposed activities related to large scale modeling efforts, if linked to previous or proposed measured data in houses, and is a part of the solution to the problem? ","EERE's intent is not to limit modeling activities if they are the most compelling way to address the challenges, but the solutions must be relevant to real world houses - e.g., models should be validated or calibrated with performance data from real houses."]
[13,"2014-11-17","Application Content/Format","Is EERE looking for distinctly different concept papers for each individual idea within each technical challenge area, or one that describes all related ideas in a topic area? E.g. five concept papers related to individual components (roof assemblies, wall assemblies, penetrations, insulation, and air sealing) vs. one concept paper (research ideas related to HP enclosures). ","In cases where the approach is similar and the individual project ideas are in the same technical challenge area, EERE encourages a single concept paper."]
[14,"2014-11-17","Application Content/Format","A team’s overall cost will not be directly scalable as a percentage of the individual project proposed in a Full Application. For example, a team that submits and is awarded 6 projects based on 6 concepts may be able to perform the “Additional Requirements”  at a lower cost as a percentage of the total award than if only one project is selected. How should a team estimate the costs associated with “other requirements” in the Full Application, assuming a single team is submitting multiple Full Applications? ","Applicants may submit more than one application to this FOA, provided that each application describes a unique, scientifically distinct project.”   As such each award is funded independently and costs are reimbursed based on actual allowable and allocable costs associated with that project (Full Application). "]
[15,"2014-11-19","Application Content/Format","For budgeting purposes, what should we assume as the start date of the period of performance?","The \"Expected Timeframe for Award Negotiations\" as listed in the FOA"]
[16,"2014-11-19","Technical Topics","Can you provide references for the evidential studies mentioned in section B Topic Areas / Technical Areas of Interest?","Please see the file 'List of References FOA 0001117' listed under 'FOA Documents '."]
[17,"2014-11-20","Due Dates","On the cover page “Expected Date for EERE Selection Notification” is 4/22/2015.  “Expected Timeframe for Award Negotiations” is 6/23/2015.\n\nOn page 41, the FOA states “EERE anticipates notifying the applicants selected for negotiation of award no later than July 2015 and making awards no later than September 2015.”\n\nDuring the November 17 webinar, the presenter stated he expects projects will start October 2015, or sooner.\n\nFor budgeting purposes, what should we assume as the start date for the period of performance?\n","This question is a revision for clarity to question 15.  \n\nAs listed on the FOA Cover Page, the anticipated date for awards is 23 June 2015.  This is only an estimate as some negotiations take longer that the planned 60 days from selection (22 April 2015).  Awards must be made by 01 October 2015.\n\nThe start of the period of performance is dependent on several factors including the applicants responsiveness in negotiations."]
[18,"2014-11-18","Application Content/Format","In Section IV.D.12, there is discussion about applicants being required to submit a U.S. Manufacturing Plan.  It goes on to say applicants should review Section V.A.2 of the FOA to determine the weight given to U.S. Manufacturing Plans under this FOA.  I don’t see any reference to or requirement of partnering with U.S. manufacturers under Section V.A.2. I just want to confirm that there is no requirement to only work with US manufacturers as industry partners for our proposed research efforts.","The U.S. Manufacturing Plan represents the applicant’s measureable commitment to support U.S. Manufacturing from the results of its award. The Applicant is free to propose a very robust manufacturing plan, or note in the manufacturing plan that it does not intend to manufacture in the United States should the results of its award lead to a product that is manufactured and commercialized in the future. Section V.A.2 of the FOA provides the criteria against which the applicant’s submission will be evaluated, so reading that section thoroughly will provide you with an idea of how the various parts of your application will be evaluated. If the Manufacturing Plan is part of the evaluation criteria, then a robust manufacturing plan will likely be more beneficial to an application than one which makes no commitments to manufacture in the United States. However, keep in mind that any commitments in the U.S. Manufacturing Plan are binding and DOE will seek to enforce those commitments should the results of your award reach the point of manufacture and commercialization.  \n\nIn short, the U.S. Manufacturing plan does NOT require an applicant to “only work with US manufacturers as industry partners for…proposed research efforts,” because the U.S. Manufacturing plan is typically not relevant until after the award has concluded."]
[19,"2014-11-20","Application Content/Format","If a private company is part of a team that submits for a funding opportunity and an award is granted, what information would they have to publically disclose? Since they are a private company, they typically do not release financials and breakdowns on costing. Is there a guideline or is there someone I can ask to get an answer to this question?","As a primary applicant, private companies must provide enough information for EERE to review and confirm that all costs are 1) Allowable according the Cost Principals set in  the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 48 CFR Part 31.  2) Allocable to the project (Award).  3)  Reasonable with respect to fair market rates and costs. And 4) Necessary to the completion of the project.  All costs are validated during the negotiation process.  Failure to provide information on costs to EERE for review may result in the application not selected for award. All applications and final award documents for selected applicants are private and not available to the public"]
[20,"2014-11-26","Cost Sharing","For the concept papers, does DOE need to see formally signed letters from project / cost share partners (“Industry partners the Applicant plans to work with and whether third party cost share commitments have been made;”) or is a statement that partners have agreed to participate in the project adequate. I understand that letters will be required in the Full application.","As listed in the FOA sections III.B.5 and IV.E : \"Upon selection for award negotiations, Applicants are required to provide additional information and documentation regarding their cost share contributions.\"  For the selection process, identification of proposed amounts and types of Cost Sharing is sufficient.  Prior to formal acceptance of third party cost share, \"...Commitment Letters from Third Parties Contributing to Cost Share...\" will be required."]
[21,"2014-12-01","Application Content/Format","Would product manufacturing costs be asked to be disclosed?","This response is posted as a clarification response to question #19.  If any part of the project scope requires production of a “widget” for manufacturing purposes or otherwise, full disclosure of costs associated are required as part of the application to the FOA.  The information provided in the application and throughout the life of the project if chosen for award are not publicly disclosed until the final report for the project is due to EERE.  If necessary patent and Intellectual property protection is available to organizations if applicable.   "]
[22,"2014-12-02","Eligibility","I have a 501c6 non profit organization. Do my organization qualify for the \"High Performance Housing Grant\"? ","The DOE Financial Assistance Regulations define “nonprofit organization” as “any corporation, trust, foundation, or institution which is entitled to exemption under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or which is not organized for profit and no part of the net earnings of which inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual (except that the definition of “nonprofit organization” at 48 CFR 27.301 shall apply for patent matters set forth at §§600.136 and 600.325).” If your organization meets this definition, you are likely eligible to apply, as the Building America FOA allows for submission of applications from most nonprofit organizations (501(c)(4) organizations are excluded). However, please note that if your organization engages in political lobbying activities, you will be required to disclose that information, and it may impact your organization’s eligibility for award. \n\nAlso, please note that as of December 26, 2014, the Department of Energy will be transitioning from its current Financial Assistance Regulations at 10 CFR 600 to the new, government-wide Financial Assistance Regulations at 2 CFR 200. The new regulations define “nonprofit organization” as: \n\nNonprofit organization means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization, not including IHEs, that: (a) Is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest; (b) Is not organized primarily for profit; and c) Uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operations of the organization.  \n\nThe Department of Energy does not make eligibility determinations on behalf of potential applicants. It is an applicant’s responsibility to determine whether it is eligible under the definitions provided above.\n"]
[23,"2014-12-02","Application Content/Format","Can DOE clarify  and provide a specific example of the difference between “technology and practice proposed…” and “relevant fields, applications, and market segments…”?  with respect to the two statements in the required content for the concept papers:\n“Proposed target level of performance or other key success metrics for each technology and practice proposed (Applicants should provide technical data or other support to show how the proposed targets could be met);”\nand\n“The potential quantifiable impacts that the proposed project would have on the relevant fields, applications or market segments and how to measure them; “\n","The following answers relate to specific Concept Paper Content Requirements described in the FOA section IV.C.1.  \n\n“Proposed target level of performance or other key success metrics for each technology and practice proposed” refers to the performance level appropriate for the proposed application in proposed houses, such as the measured energy efficiency for a new HVAC application or the overall U-value (Uo) and air leakage of the thermal envelope (or assembly).  Non-energy performance measures are also appropriate, such as improved comfort (T & RH) and measured pollutant source reduction. Business metrics are also appropriate, such as reduced callback costs, reduced failure rates, and other QA/QC metrics measured at the project scale.  \n\n“The potential quantifiable impacts that the proposed project would have on the relevant fields, applications or market segments and how to measure them” refers to the estimated impact on the market or market segment if the proposed technology or practice leads to market adoption at scale.  Impact is calculated by multiplying the estimated savings (or other benefit) per home times the number of homes in the market for the application.  The majority of technologies and practices apply to a fraction of the total market, therefore applicants should describe and quantify the market segments to which the proposed application applies.\n"]
[24,"2014-12-03","Application Content/Format","Specifically, what are the eligible expenses?  Purchase of energy efficient equipment/systems, installation of equipment/systems, and monitoring outcomes/performance of those pieces of equipment and/or systems?  We understand construction is not eligible, but are any “hard costs” OK?  Or is this designed only to support soft costs, research, documentation, and reporting?\n\n• Can we use grant funds to purchase equipment to transfer lessons learned from new construction to weatherizing existing housing stock? \n• Can we use grant funds to support ongoing monitoring, documentation and reporting of  Phase I results?  (Multiple funding sources, including LIHTCs were employed to finance Phase I.)\n• Could grant funds be used to educate local building code officials about these higher standards?\n• Could grant funds be used to educate local contractors about energy efficient systems? To teach subcontractors how different systems work together?  There is a domino effect, and it would be helpful to educate different trades about cross-over impacts.  Can this grant pay for the various subcontractors to meet prior to construction, so that each understands the others’ roles?  Do we approach this on a project-by-project basis, mandatory as part of the project?  Lunch-n-learn/voluntary basis? Is this equally relevant to architects, designers, engineers?\n• Could grant funds be used to pay for my colleague’s employer to effectively become a consultant to anyone who wants to learn more about installing similar whole-house systems? Or retro-fitting existing housing stock with more energy efficient equipment/systems?\n• Could grant funds be used to pay for my colleague’s employer to work with City and/or County officials so that energy efficiency standards, such as they implemented in Phase I, could become part of the building code?\n","As listed in the FOA, Section IV.H.1 \"All expenditures must be allowable, allocable, and reasonable in accordance with the applicable Federal cost principles.\"  Please refer to the applicable reference in that section for specifics on allowable costs."]
[25,"2014-12-04","Application Content/Format","If an entity is encouraged to submit a full application,  will it be possible for that entity to partner with another entity not named in the Concept Paper?","As listed in Section IV.C.1 of the FOA:  “Applicants are required to describe succinctly the qualifications, experience, and capabilities of the proposed Project Team, including:  … Industry partners the Applicant plans to work with and whether third party cost share commitments have been made … “  Additionally in that section, it is stated \"An applicant who receives a “discouraged” notification may still submit a Full Application.\"\n"]
[26,"2014-12-11","Application Content/Format","Can we use the FOA number and the CFDA number of the FOA as a control number for our proposal?","As listed in the FOA, section IV.A:  \" … A control number will be issued when an Applicant begins the Exchange application process.\""]
[27,"2014-12-15","Application Reviews","How many concept papers were submitted and how many were encouraged to submit a full application?","Concept papers are being reviewed for compliance at this time."]
[28,"2014-12-17","Application Content/Format","We were unable to get the system to accept our submission however all the documents in the system are correct and ready for review. We are unsure of how to proceed given the situation. Can you advise us on how to proceed?","Please review section IV of the FOA."]
[29,"2014-12-22","Due Dates","I experienced difficulty submitting a concept paper and sent the concept paper to the FOA mailbox, but haven't heard anything.  Can you provide a status of my concept paper?","As listed in the FOA, section IV.A, \"EERE will not review or consider submissions submitted through means other than EERE Exchange, submissions submitted after the applicable deadline, and incomplete submissions. EERE will not extend deadlines for Applicants who fail to submit required information and documents due to server/connection congestion."]
[30,"2015-01-08","Application Content/Format","Does the 20-page limit for the Technical Volume apply to each individual concept paper within the full proposal, or all concept papers combined cannot exceed 20 pages?","An applicant may submit a full application to encouraged concept papers.  If the applicant submitted several concept papers and these were encouraged, the applicant has the option of only submitting one full application or a full application for each concept, whichever approach the applicant believes is best aligned with the goal of the Funding Opportunity Announcement.  Each full application may not exceed a 20 page technical volume. If an applicant decides to combine concept papers into one full application, the 20 page limit will need to cover all concepts. "]
[31,"2015-01-08","Application Content/Format","If more than one full application is submitted by the same team, will each awarded full application result in a separate contract, or will all full applications chosen for award by the same team be covered by a single contract? ","Each full application will be reviewed.  If two full applications from the same organization are chosen for award the organization would be awarded with 2 cooperative agreements under this FOA.  There have been cases in the past where full applications have been combined into one project.    "]
[32,"2015-01-06","Application Content/Format","Can you provide another example that shows how to arrange and number Milestones, Go/no-go decision points, and deliverables?  Maybe an example Milestone Summary Table?","Please clarify what is causing the confusion."]
[33,"2015-01-08","Application Content/Format","We have missed that deadline, and I was curious if you are still accepting Full Applications for February 4, 2015?","As listed on the cover page for the FOA: \"Applicants must submit a Concept Paper by 05:00pm ET by the due date listed above to be eligible to submit a Full Application.\"  Further, as listed in section III.C. of the FOA:  \"Concept Papers and Full Applications must meet all Compliance criteria listed below or they will be considered noncompliant. EERE will not review or consider noncompliant submissions.\""]
[34,"2015-01-09","Cost Sharing","Provided that all the costs associated with the meeting accrued after the “Selection Notification” but before the Federal Award Date (2 CFR 200.39) meet the allowable cost rules (2 CFR 200.400), then am I correct in interpreting that per 2 CFR 200.458 “Pre-award costs” we can apply the in-kind value of the meeting to our award as cost share (assuming we do eventually negotiate an award) provided that a) “such costs are necessary for efficient and timely performance of the scope of work”; and b) we have “written approval from the federal awarding agency” (in this case DOE)?","As listed in the FOA, section IV.I.2: \"Selectees may charge pre-award costs incurred on R&D awards within the 90-day period immediately preceding the effective date of the award. If the Selectee is a for-profit, non-profit, or University, prior approval by the CO to incur pre-award costs is not required unless the costs are more than $25,000. If the Selectee is a governmental entity, it must request prior approval from the CO to incur pre-award costs, regardless of the amount.\nPre-award costs cannot be incurred prior to the Selection Official signing the Selection Statement and Analysis. Pre-award costs can only be incurred if such costs would be reimbursable under the agreement if incurred after award.\nPre-Award expenditures are made at the Selectee’s risk; EERE is not obligated to reimburse costs: (1) in the absence of appropriations; (2) if an award is not made; or (3) if an award is made for a lesser amount than the Selectee anticipated.\""]
[35,"2015-01-12","Application Reviews","How many concept papers were submitted and how many were encouraged to submit a full application?","(Addendum to Question #27 above).  Of the 53 concept papers submitted, 17 were 'Encouraged'  Please review #25 above and section IV.C.1 of the FOA.\n"]
[36,"2015-01-12","Application Content/Format","Must the format of Appendices, team resumes/CVs, and support letters from industry partners conform to the requirements of section IV. A. (Application and Submission Information, Application Process) of the FOA (DE-FOA-0001117)? Specifically, the margins, font size, font, and control number placement?","While the format 3rd party resumes and Letters of Support are not within the control of the applicant, best efforts to meet the requirements of  Section IV.A of the FOA not only ensures full compliance, but maximizes proper identification and readability."]
[37,"2015-01-13","Application Content/Format","A concept paper was submitted per the requirements of the FOA.  Since that time, we are considering some changes in our concept/approach based on new opportunities and feedback.  Are there any limitations on the topic of the full application versus the concept paper?  ","While it possible to change the scope from the original Concept Paper, doing so may make the project of less interest to DOE."]
[38,"2015-01-14","Application Content/Format","Our proposed period of performance is 36 months. In EERE 159 Budget Justification, can we assume one budget period of 36 months, or should we assume three budget periods of 12 months each?","As listed in the FOA, section IV.D.2 (Workplan section), \" Unless otherwise specified in the FOA, the minimum requirement is that each project must have at least one project-wide go/no-go decision point for each year (12-month period) of the project.\"  Go No-Go are typically coexistent with budget periods."]
[39,"2015-01-16","Application Content/Format","Must the Data management Plan (DMT) be submitted with the full application(s) in response to the recent FOA (DE-FOA-0001117) by February 04, 2015?"," As listed in the FOA, section IV.D.13, \"... Applicants whose Full Applications are selected for award negotiations will be required to submit a Data Management Plan during the award negotiations phase.\""]

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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"]