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["INSTRUCTIONS"]
[1,"All questions pertaining to this funding opportunity announcement should be emailed to SmartManufacturing@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-FOA0001263 - Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Smart Manufacturing: Advanced Sensors, Controls, Platforms, and Modeling for Manufacturing"]
["Question #","Date Submitted","Question","Answer"]
[1,"2015-09-16","Our University may have several teams interested in applying for this FOA.  Could you define Applicant?  Would this mean that our organization could only submit one concept as a lead applicant or is it possible for multiple PI's to submit a concept?  Is it limited to one PI per submission?","An applicant is considered to be an individual or entity eligible to apply under this FOA. Please refer to Section III of the FOA to review eligibility information. If a university is the Applicant and is submitting a Concept Paper, then only one Concept Paper can be submitted by that university. If an Applicant submits more than one Concept Paper, EERE will only consider the last timely submission for evaluation. Any other submissions received listing the same Applicant as a Prime Recipient will be considered noncompliant and not eligible for further consideration. This limitation does not prohibit an Applicant from collaborating on other applications (e.g., as a potential Subrecipient or partner) so long as the entity is only listed as the prime Applicant on one Concept Paper submitted under this FOA. Please reference Section III.F of the FOA to review the limitation on the number of concept papers for review under this FOA. In addition it is possible for multiple PIs to be identified in a Concept Paper and Application, however one person needs to be assigned as the lead PI for overall management of the project and the applicant should clearly describe how the project will be managed."]
[2,"2015-09-17","Is a Federally-Owned, Federally-Operated laboratory (GOGO) eligible to be a subcrecipient on an application under this FOA? In Section I.A.2 of the FOA, does “(other than DOE)” apply to “instrumentalities” or does it apply to “Federal agencies and instrumentalities”?","A Government-Owned, Government-Operated (GO-GO) laboratory is eligible to receive funding as a subrecipient under this Funding Opportunity Announcement."]
[3,"2015-09-22","Section Q, Annual Compliance Audits, of the referenced FOA states the following:\nIf a for-profit entity is a Prime Recipient or Subrecipient and has expended $750,000 or more of DOE funds during the entity's fiscal year, an annual compliance audit performed by an independent auditor is required.  \n\nThe most recent DOE guidance on audit requirements includes the following “Policy Flash 2012-39”:\nhttp://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/Policy_Flash_2012-39.pdf\n\nThe Policy Flash states:  “Note that the guidance no longer includes the requirement for 10 CFR 600.316 audits of subrecipients.”\n\nTherefore, the DOE audit guidance appears to contradict the FOA statement indicating that for-profit Subrecipients must have an annual independent compliance audit performed (assuming the $750K annual expenditure threshold of DOE funds is met).  Please clarify so that potential Subrecipients understand if this significant expense item is applicable.\n","The Policy Flash link you included in your question references an update to the old Financial Assistance regulations (10 CFR 600.316). The new regulations (2 C.F.R. § 910.501 and Subpart F.) superseded the Policy Flash referencing the old regulations. Therefore, if a for-profit entity is a Prime Recipient or Subrecipient and has expended $750,000 or more of Federal award funds during the entity's fiscal year, an annual compliance audit performed by an independent auditor is required.  "]
[4,"2015-09-30","In Appendix G, the last sentence in the second paragraph of pg. 90 reads: “The included Table summaries key comparison factors between these Institutes.” Where is the table found?","The table can be found on the last page of Appendix G, pg. 93, titled: “Table: A Comparison of the digital and Smart Manufacturing Institutes.”"]
[5,"2015-09-30","According to the FAQs for the DE-FOA-0001263 Manufacturing Innovation Institute for SMART Manufacturing: Advanced Sensors, Controls, Platforms, and Modeling for Manufacturing funding opportunity, \"If a university is the Applicant and is submitting a Concept Paper, then only one Concept Paper can be submitted by that university.\" The FAQs also state that \"An applicant is considered to be an individual or entity eligible to apply under this FOA.\"\n\nTo confirm, an institution (university) can submit only one Concept Paper - correct? Put another way, you will not accept Concept Papers from different PIs from the same institution - correct?\n\nAlso, out of curiosity, could a PI submit a Concept Paper as an individual and also as part of the institution? \n","A university can only submit one Concept Paper and Full Application in response to this FOA. If multiple Concept Papers are submitted from a single university, only the last one submitted will be accepted and will be allowed to continue to submit a Full Application. A PI may prepare a Concept Paper and Full Application separate from their university, and submit them as an individual. Please refer to Section III.A of the FOA for additional information regarding eligibility. "]
[6,"2015-10-05","Would it be possible for this FOA to set up an “FOA Teaming List” similar to what is being offered for the DE-FOA-0001413 program (“Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) – 2016”)?","Please see Section I.B. Background for information on the Teaming Partner List specific to this FOA. Please note, this information was added in Modification 001 of this FOA. "]
[7,"2015-10-05","Please address how a small business with ultra precision energy saving technology inventions can participate/team with this application and advance its inventive technologies. e.g., where the inventive technologies push state of the art measurement while achieving > 30% energy savings.","EERE is compiling a Teaming Partner List to facilitate the formation of new project teams for this FOA. The Teaming Partner List provides a forum for small businesses and others to seek partnerships with other entities who may be forming teams to respond to the FOA. Please see the end of Section I.B. (bottom of page 8) of the FOA for more information.  "]
[8,"2015-10-05","Please address how the small business can retain and patent its intellectual property if participating in the program or if it must file provisional patent applications before hand.","As indicated in Article VIII(L) of the FOA, domestic small businesses, educational institutions, and nonprofits may elect to retain title to their subject inventions in accordance with the Bayh-Dole Act (35 U.S.C. § 200 et seq.). Please see the standard IP provisions for small businesses under a cooperative agreement at http://energy.gov/gc/standard-intellectual-property-ip-provisions-financial-assistance-awards for more details.  "]
[9,"2015-10-06","Will the PowerPoint to this webinar be available afterward?","Yes, the PowerPoint to this webinar will be available on EERE Exchange under “FOA DOCUMENTS.”"]
[10,"2015-10-06","Since the Addendum in the Concept Paper is limited to 5 pages, does this mean that Letters of Support are not expected to be submitted with the Concept Paper?","Letters of support are not required as part of the Concept Paper submission and should be included in your Full Application submission.  "]
[11,"2015-10-07","Is it acceptable to name an interim or start up executive director and then use a process to name the permanent executive director during Phase 0 if there were an award? As one would expect there is more impetus for an exceptionally good ex director to commit after award than before and it allows the opportunity for DOE to be included in a search and evaluation process.","It is acceptable to name an interim or start up executive director in the full application as long as the process to identify and recruit the permanent executive director is described in detail. DOE will evaluate the strength of the team as proposed as well as any process to recruit additional team members.  "]
[12,"2015-10-08","How can we get access to the Team Partnering list of contacts with all submittals listed?","The Teaming Partner List will be posted in the FOA Documents section in Exchange and updated periodically when new requests to be added to the list come in. EERE will process new requests and update the list within 3 business days of receipt.  "]
[13,"2015-10-08","Thank you for the seminar, but I’m still not sure if my company is a good candidate for this program.  Is there someone to talk to?","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. Please read the Eligibility section of the FOA carefully before making a decision on whether to submit a concept paper and subsequent full application in response to this FOA."]
[14,"2015-10-29","I'm very excited about this smart manufacturing FOA. My team has a wonderful concept we hope to propose. Although I'm concerned with this statement in the webinar:\n\n\"EERE expects to make approximately $70 million of Federal funding available for one new award under this FOA subject to the availability of appropriated funds.\"\n\nHow can there only be a single awardee for a $70 million FOA? That makes it nearly impossible for a smaller team to fund the cost share. Am I reading that correctly? \n","As described in Section II.A.1. of the FOA, individual awards may vary between $35,000,000 and $70,000,000 of federal funds. An application with a federal share of less than $70,000,000 will be evaluated using the review criteria in Section V of the FOA. Smaller teams may also consider teaming with larger groups.  DOE has provided the Teaming Partner List to facilitate this.  See the end of FOA Section I.B. for more information on the Teaming Partner List.   "]
[15,"2015-11-18","Are references and citations included in the page count or can they be included in the appendix?","References and citations are included in the page count. Per the FOA, “The Technical Volume to the Full Application may not be more than 60 pages, including the cover page, table of contents, and all citations, charts, graphs, maps, photos, or other graphics, and must include all of the information in the table below.”"]
[16,"2015-12-18","I had an opportunity to visit energy.gov website and came to know about DE-FOA-0001263 grant you are offering. I wanted to check the eligibility of our company for this grant. Please let me know if you need any information from my side. It would be great if you help me with procedure and documentation required for this grant.","Please refer to Section III.A of the FOA for information regarding eligibility. It should be noted that in order to apply as the Prime Applicant under this FOA, a concept paper must have been submitted by 11/4/2015 at 5:00PM ET. However, EERE is compiling a Teaming Partner List to facilitate the formation of new project teams for this FOA. The Teaming Partner List provides a forum for all eligible entities to seek partnerships with other entities who may be forming teams to respond to the FOA. Please see the end of Section I.B. (bottom of page 8) of the FOA for more information.  "]
[17,"2015-12-22","Is the COI statement from each team leader simply a list of relationships that constitute perceived, potential, or actual COIs OR are you looking for a specific format/wording/definitions, etc?  ","Yes, for all key institute Management and technical personnel, please provide a list of relationships (individual and organizational) that constitute a potential, apparent, or actual conflict of interest. In some cases, it may be necessary to provide additional information to explain the nature of the COI. It is understood that different organizations may vary in how they define what constitutes a COI and there is not a required list of definitions that must be applied for purposes of preparing the COI Statement. If DOE has questions or needs clarification, DOE may reach out the applicant to obtain such information. Also, please note, there is not a required format for the COI Statement."]
[18,"2016-01-04","I have a question regarding Subaward Budget Justification, Form EERE 335.1 - the guidelines state that an EERE 335.1 must be provided for each subawardee that is expected to perform work estimated to be more than $250k or 25% of the total work performed.  Does this extend to 3rd tier subawardees?  I.E. the lead institution would issue multiple subawards under this project and there is an expectation that at least some of those subawards would also issue subawards, very possibly for work estimated at more than $250k.  Will the Form EERE 335.1 be required of all subawards issued under the award, regardless of who issues it, or only for those issued by the lead institution?","Yes, a Budget Justification (EERE 335.1) is required for any 3rd tier subawardees that is expected to perform work estimated to be $250,000 or 25% of the total work performed. The EERE 335.1 is required of all subawards under this award, regardless of who issues it. "]
[19,"2016-01-07","I didn’t submit the mandatory Concept Paper.  Can I submit a full proposal by due date Jan. 29?","Per Section III.C.1.ii, a compliant Concept Paper is a requirement to be eligible to submit a Full Application to this FOA. Therefore, if you did not submit a compliant Concept Paper by the submission deadline, you are not eligible to submit a Full Application.  "]
[20,"2016-01-15","Is there a font-size limitation on the support letters and/or cost-share letters? \n\nFrom the FOA:\n• Each must be submitted in Adobe PDF format unless stated otherwise.\n• Each must be written in English.\n• All pages must be formatted to fit on 8.5 x 11 inch paper with margins not less than one inch on every side. Use Times New Roman typeface, a black font color, and a font size of 12 point or larger (except in figures or tables, which may be 10 point font). A symbol font may be used to insert Greek letters or special characters, but the font size requirement still applies. References must be included as footnotes or endnotes in a font size of 10 or larger. Footnotes and endnotes are counted toward the maximum page requirement.\n\nI would just like to confirm that the 12-point font size is the same.","As specified in your question, the font size can be 12 point or larger (except in figures or tables, which may be 10 point font) for all documents submitted as a part of the Full Application. "]
[21,"2016-01-19","If a cost-share/commitment letters is two pages, can it be submitted as a merged 8.5\" X 11\" one-page PDF (2 pages per sheet)?","All letters of support and cost share commitment letters have a 1 page maximum limitation per letter. Therefore, it would not be acceptable to merge a cost share commitment letter into a one-page PDF (2 pages per sheet). Please reference Section IV.D.2 of the FOA to review the specific requirements for these letters."]
[22,"2016-01-20","We are planning to include two FFRDC’s in our proposal and one is asking for the Budget and Reporting (B&R) code for this project as well as the name of the Headquarters Program Manager?  This information is needed for the FWP.\n \n","The B&R Code and Program Manager information is not needed in the FWP submitted as part of the application. If selected for negotiation for award, this information will be provided during award negotiations.  "]
[23,"2016-01-21","The following information is requested in the FOA to be included in the appendix:\n \nList of Appendix:\n1. Resumes for key participating team members\n2. Letters of support/Commitment Letters\n3. Draft IP Management Plan\n4. Detailed SOPO - “ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_SOPO”\n5. Draft IP Management Plan\n6. COI Statement\n7. Conflict of Interest Statement in a single PDF file using the following convention for the title “ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_COI”.\n\nThe detailed SOPO and the Conflict of Interest Statement references the title in which to name the PDF files. Are there similar requirements for the other documents such as Resumes, Draft IP Plan, etc.? How should these be uploaded? Are there other tables or information that can be included in the Appendix besides what is listed as a requirement by DOE?\n","Please see Section IV.D of the FOA for the naming convention to be used for files uploaded.  Section IV.D.1 contains a table that shows the naming convention to be used for required files to be uploaded, including some that are identified as an appendix to the technical volume. These should be uploaded as separate documents using the naming convention from the table in Section IV.D.1. Resumes, letters of support and cost share commitment letters are to be included as direct appendices to the Technical Volume. If adding these appendices causes the Technical Volume to exceed the 10MB file size limit for the EERE Exchange system, see the end of Section IV.D.1 of the FOA for instructions on how to break up and name files to be uploaded.  "]
[24,"2016-01-21","Is it possible to add anything additional besides what is required by DOE in the appendix section and if so, how can those new materials be uploaded (such as tables and graphics)?","Any additional information should be included within the DOE required documents. For example, you can add additional information (such as tables and graphs) to the Technical Volume. Please note, the Technical Volume to the Full Application may not be more than 60 pages, including the cover page, table of contents, and all citations, charts, graphs, maps, photos, or other graphics. "]
[25,"2016-01-25","In regards to the font and formatting, for the 10-pt fonts in figures/tables, can Arial or Arial Narrow font types be used? ","Per the FOA Section V.A., Times New Roman should be used. For figures, graphs, charts and tables imported as images, the source font may be used if clearly legible in the submitted document.  "]
[26,"2016-01-25","For the headings of various sections, can colored font be used (a color scheme to indicate different headings/sections)? ","Per the FOA Section V.A. black font should be used.  "]
[27,"2016-01-27","Can you confirm that the due date for the DE-FOA-0001263: “MANUFACTURING INNOVATION INSTITUTE FOR SMART MANUFACTURING: ADVANCED SENSORS, CONTROLS, PLATFORMS, AND MODELING FOR MANUFACTURING” is 1-29-16 at 5:00pm EST?","Yes, the submission deadline for full applications is 1/29/16 at 5:00pm ET."]

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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"]