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["INSTRUCTIONS"]
[1,"All questions pertaining to this funding opportunity announcement should be emailed to step@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-FOA0001329 -  SOLAR TRAINING AND EDUCATION FOR PROFESSIONALS (STEP) "]
["Question #","Date Submitted","Topic","Question","Answer"]
[1,"2015-05-15","Cost Sharing","Section III.B.3 on \"Cost Share Types and Allowability\" provides several \nsources for guidance. However, 10 CFR 600.525-555 doesn't seem to exist. \nPlease provide the correct reference.\n","The reference should be 10 CFR 603.520-555, which refers to cost sharing for a Technology Investment Agreemnt (TIA)."]
[2,"2015-05-20","Technical Topics","Is the Solar Training Network the same as the Solar Instructor Training Network (SITN): http://energy.gov/eere/solarpoweringamerica/solar-instructor-training-network?","The Solar Training Network (STN) builds upon the current working model of the SITN.  The STN coordinator will assess the nation’s solar training needs, and determine whether, where and how to expand and strengthen the SITN to its new form, the STN."]
[3,"2015-05-22","Technical Topics","The STEP FOA says “Figure 1 illustrates the various types of people that are engaged in solar transactions” (p. 13) and later mentions some of the same groupings (“Individuals in finance, insurance, real estate, code enforcement, firefighting, building safety, and more” p. 14).  My question is whether we should be framing our proposal based on the DOE’s groupings, or whether it’s acceptable to add, subtract, or split. For instance, would it be acceptable to address, say, Fire Inspectors without addressing First Responders, even though Figure 1 groups them together? ","The professions listed in the FOA are illustrative examples, and applicants may choose to focus on any type or combination of stakeholders.  "]
[4,"2015-05-27","Eligibility","Is an investor-owned electric utilities are eligible to apply for a DE-FOA-0001329\nSOLAR TRAINING AND EDUCATION FOR PROFESSIONALS (STEP) FOA?","Please see section III.G of the FOA."]
[5,"2015-05-30","Cost Sharing","This inquiry is to find out if we need any other sponsors or developers initially to apply for the above grant; or can we just include the cost to contract the necessary entities in our initial proposal? Also, do we have to match the requested grant amount as a small business?","It is up to applicants to determine how their teams will be structured.  As Per Section V.A.1 team composition will be used as a criterion, therefore DOE is unable to advise how a team should be structured.  As noted in Section I.B Cost Share is not required, but 5% is recommended in Topic Areas 1 & 2.  As per Section V.C.1 the Selection Official may use cost share contributions selection factor when selecting applicants for potential awards.  "]
[6,"2015-06-04","Registration Requirements","Do all subcontractors need to register with DUNS, SAM, FedConnect etc. or just the principal (awardee) institution?","Yes all sub-recipients planning to participate as part of a potential award will need to have a DUNS number."]
[7,"2015-06-04","Webinar","Will there be a webinar attendees list available?","No.  The FOA is an competitive funding opportunity, therefore DOE can't post a list of other potential applicants."]
[8,"2015-06-04","Eligibility","If I'm starting a new business in solar and training new employees do I qualify?","Please see section III.G of the FOA."]
[9,"2015-06-04","Application Content/Format","Who are the reviewers of the concept paper; DOE officials or do they include non-DOE persons? ","See Section VIII.F of the FOA."]
[10,"2015-06-04","Application Content/Format","Can an applicant revise their final proposal in response to \"discouraged\" notification if changes are responsive reviewer comments?","See Section IV.V.1 of the FOA"]
[11,"2015-06-04","Cost Sharing","Are in-kind contributions counted in the cost share","See Appendix B of the FOA."]
[12,"2015-06-04","Technical Topics","For the administration of Solar Ready Vets, is the goal to reach all 10 bases by end of 2015 or 2016?","The Department of Energy is partnering with other Federal agencies (DoD, DOL, VA) and also working in close collaboration with individual military installations to secure robust, sustainable Solar Ready Vets programming at 10 military bases initially, in support of the Obama Administration’s pledge to establish this program. There is no specific timeline for securing working programming at 10 military bases. It is anticipated that the 10 initial pilot program bases will be up and running sometime during calendar year 2016.  "]
[13,"2015-06-04","Technical Topics","Is the funding for training development and then our organization sells the courses or does the DOE purchase the courses from us and then gives/sells them?","The funding is for training development and dissemination/delivery. During the award period, awardees are expected to deliver the training directly, or facilitate the delivery of the training through partners, sub-recipients, etc. at nominal cost to trainees. For STEP, Federal funding is expected to support all the initial program and curricula development costs, and also support a reasonable number of early training delivery events during the two-year award period. Revenue earned through charges for training or event fees during the award period may be counted as “Program Income” by Federal contract managers, and used to extend award activity. Such charges may be embedded in overall conference or event fees, for instance. Awardees should discuss questions concerning allowed and disallowed revenue generation with their Federal Contract officials if and when their proposals are selected. "]
[14,"2015-06-04","Technical Topics","For Topic 1: Does the employment coordinator have to be an existing SITN institution? Is preference given to any applicant affiliated with an existing SITN?","No, the employment coordinator does not have to be an existing SITN institution. \n\nEach application will be evaluated based on the criteria listed in section V. of the FOA."]
[15,"2015-06-04","Technical Topics","Page 6 of the FOA states: \"Topic 1 seeks to support 2-3 awards that will: 1) establish an employment coordinator for the STN; 2) establish a program to coordinate the training of veterans in solar jobs skills, and/or 3) identify and create new solar credentials.\" Question -- does a potential application have to address items 1 through 3 above? Or can a potential application consider just 2 of the 3 items above?","No, applications for Topic 1 do not need to address all three activities listed.  Applicants may address the first, second, or third activities individually, or propose activity for any combination of the activities. "]
[16,"2015-06-04","Technical Topics","If I am part of a large corporation which has recently developed a thorough O&M training program, which of the topics might be the best fit as we seek to become the O&M Training source for the industry?  ","DOE allows applicants to choose the most appropriate topic area(s) for proposals of activity in consideration of the given FOA’s goals and encouraged activities. "]
[17,"2015-06-04","Technical Topics","Can a proposer define a US geographic region of interest to be a subset of the US Department of Energy \"regions\" listed in association with the EERE programs?","The STEP FOA begins with a clean slate, i.e. there are no assumed pre-existing “regions” of service or activity for STEP activities. Applicants may suggest a specific geographic location for their activities based on solar market activity, optimal solar cost reductions, or other criteria that support a self-defined service region."]
[18,"2015-06-04","Technical Topics","Do you anticipate that education, training etc. will be carried out for specific geographic regions or are all awardees expected to conduct training nationally?\nIf regional training is supported, in making awards will DoE consider the geographic area supported and disperse awards geographically?","For Topic Area 1 – National coverage is necessary. DOE anticipates that applicants will emphasize activities and expend resources where most needed according to solar market analysis. \n\nFor Topic Area 2 – Nationwide and regional approaches may both be appropriate, and should be supported by the proposal’s rationale. Geographic reach and diversity will be considered in determining awards. Training proposals for professionals in fields related to solar are expected to target strategically valuable populations of professionals first during the two-year period of the award. \n\nFor Topic Area 3 – Regional approaches are encouraged, and geographic reach will be considered in determining awards."]
[19,"2015-06-04","Application Content/Format","In addition to PV, will proposals addressing training/education/certification related to small scale solar heat technologies be encouraged?","No."]
[20,"2015-06-04","Due Dates","With regards to the schedule, how soon after submission of concept papers (June 26) will DOE inform that you are interested in the concept and that a full application should be submitted?  In other words, what is the date when we would know one way or the other if we should submit a full application?","DOE will notify applicants of their status on concept paper once reivew are complete.  DOE does not post firm dates for notification on concept papers and applications due to the unknown number of potential applicants, which will determine the amount of time needed for reviews."]
[21,"2015-06-05","Technical Topics","We would like to include new target audiences as part of our expanded effort.  Can this extension be considered part of Topic 3? Or should we submit a new proposal under Topic 2?","DOE cannot make the determination as to  which topic areas an applicant should apply.  Regarding Topic Areas, please Section I.B for restrictions."]
[22,"2015-06-10","Due Dates","How do I submit a full application for this grant?  Do I have to wait until the concept paper gets approved?\nHow does the process work?  Will it be September before I find out my grant was approved?  ","Please see Section IV and the schduled listed on page 1 of the FOA."]
[23,"2015-06-09","Technical Topics","I am trying to understand the training capacity being sought from applicants under Topic 2. The FOA notes that awardees “will assess curriculum, material, and tool needs, and then develop and effectively disseminate those materials on a nationwide scale to support strong growth in the solar sector” (emphasis added). Does DOE seek applicants offering training nationally (available to a nationwide audience), or simply developing training models that could potentially be scaled nationally?","Applicants should plan to disseminate the training on a nationwide basis."]
[24,"2015-06-15","Application Content/Format","Would this funding opportunity be able to be used for developing a 1 MW solar training site?","Applicants are encouraged to review the FOA text in order to determine an application strategy. DOE cannot provide application advice."]
[25,"2015-06-15","Eligibility","If applying as an individual, do you need to have a company or LLC already established prior to submitting the concept paper or full application?","Please see section III. for eligibility information."]
[26,"2015-06-15","Application Content/Format","In addressing Topic 1: Identify and Create new solar credentials, would this be to compete with the current credentials? Or would this be a program to align the credentialing bodies, or create an independent industry wide set of credentials?","The FOA asks for awardee(s) to identify, create and manage 2-3 new credentials. Applicants may present their preferred approach and strategy to achieve that objective."]
[27,"2015-06-15","Application Content/Format","Is there anyway to see the terms and conditions that are specific with DE-FOA-0001329 before I submit the Concept Paper? I have read the FOA and don't see them in there. Please let me know if I missed them or if I am able to see them before submitting.","Please see: http://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/03/f20/Special%20Ts%20and%20Cs%20for%20use%20in%20Most%20Grants%20and%20Coops%20February%202015.pdf for a rough set of Terms and Conditions which are applicable to DOE awards.  Note that these will not be the final Terms and Conditions used.  Upon selection for negation of award an applicant may request applicable documents for a potential award."]
[28,"2015-06-17","Application Content/Format","Will applicants be locked into the budget number submitted with the concept paper?","No, information in the concept papers is not binding. Applicants may make changes to their proposals between the concept paper and full applications."]
[29,"2015-06-17","Registration Requirements","I am in the middle of putting my concept paper together for DE-FOA-0001329 and it is requiring a “Control Number” on the header but I am not sure what that number is.","Please see Section IV. A. of the FOA."]
[30,"2015-06-17","Application Content/Format","Aspects of STEP i.e., Energy (technical and educational) align with our current DOE consortium on Materials and Energy. I would very much like to plug into STEP through collaboration with larger institutions or companies. I can visualize a technical elective course in the topical area for engineering students or a focused short course to serve veterans’ centers that surround us. My biggest challenge is identifying companies or larger institutions to collaborate with. Kindly help to identify potential collaborator (s)","Please see Section V.A. of the FOA.  As team composition is used as a revivew criteria DOE ia unable to recommend or help structure teams."]
[31,"2015-06-21","Cost Sharing","On this webpage http://energy.gov/eere/sunshot/funding-opportunity-announcement-solar-training-and-education-professionals-step, it says \"It is anticipated that average award amounts will range from $200,000 to $2 million, with anywhere from six to 60 awards. For Topics 1 and 2, there is no cost share required, though cost sharing is encouraged. For Topic 3, a 20% cost share is required.\"  I couldn't find Topics 1 and 2.  Can you provide the webpage that contains these topics?","Please reference the FOA posted on EERE Exchange as it will supersede any information posted to SUNSHOT website."]
[32,"2015-06-21","Application Content/Format","Are the awards of 1-year or 3-year duration?","Award duration should be proposed by applicants, and will be negotiated once award selections have been made."]
[33,"2015-06-21","Application Content/Format","Does a draft budget need to included with the concept paper?","Requested funding plus any proposed costs share should be listed as part of the an applicants concept paper proposal in EERE Exchange.  A formal budget is not due until the application phase of the FOA."]
[34,"2015-06-23","Cost Sharing","Does the likelihood of award increase/decrease if our project can be done less expensively than the $200,000.","DOE will not make prior evaluation concept papers or applications.  Applicants should structure their concept paper and/or application based on their proposed project."]
[35,"2015-06-23","Cost Sharing","I did not see a place on the submission form where I can include two items;  my qualifications (technical) and that we have additional funding possibilities.","Please see Section IV.C. of the FOA."]
[36,"2015-06-24","Application Content/Format","Is it permissible to submit Copyrighted material as part of the Concept Paper? If so, do we need to provide any permission to DOE for the purposes of evaluating our Concept Paper?","See Section IV.D.13 regarding copyrighted materials and intellectual property.."]
[37,"2015-06-24","Registration Requirements","I am interested in submitting a Concept Paper and Full Application for DE-FOA-0001329.  I have registered on http://eere-exchange.energy.gov as directed by the instructions,  The instructions also indicate that we should obtain a “Control Number” 24 hours before the first submission deadline.  Please advise as to how we can obtain a “Control Number” or whether a “Control Number” is assigned once we make the first submission which is the Concept Paper.  Thank you.","Please see Section IV.A. of the FOA. Control numbers are issued once an applicant applies to the FOA within EERE Exchange."]
[38,"2015-07-06","Application Content/Format","After submitting our Concept Paper, we are in the process of planning for our Full Proposal deadline. In preparation for this next step, a question has come up as it regards the Subaward Budget Justification. As per page 31 of the announcement, it states the EERE 159 form should be utilized (if applicable). This is also included within the Table of Contents. However, page 40 of the FOA states the Subaward Budget Justification will be utilizing the EERE 335 (same as prime organization). \n\nWhen on the EERE website for this FOA, there is a listing of four (4) Required Application Documents. The EERE 335 form is included, while the EERE 159 is not. This leads me to believe we should use the EERE 335 for both prime and subaward applicants. Please confirm what is DoE requirement.","The EERE 335 budget justification document, is an updated version of the EERE 159, and should be used for submission for all prime and sub budget justification documents."]
[39,"2015-07-09","Due Dates","Please advise the anticipated date for the DOE to provide notice of whether the applicant is encouraged or discouraged to submit a full application for DE-FOA-0001329, S T E P.  How will notice be provided?  ","Concept Papers are still in review.  Applicants will be notified via email that their Encourage/Discourage score is available in EERE Exchange."]
[40,"2015-07-24","Application Content/Format","Is there any likelihood of winning the grant with a strong application in spite of the “discouraged” recommendation?","Please see Section IV.C.1 of the FOA."]
[41,"2015-07-24","Application Content/Format","Is the competition for this particular grant so enormous that the odds are very much against?","As the FOA is an competitive and open competition DOE is unable to share the number of applications to the FOA."]
[42,"2015-08-04","Cost Sharing","• When will the award for this grant be made?\n• If related costs are incurred pre-award, may they be included in the Grantees \"contribution\".  \n• Also, if the grantee would like to begin work prior to award dispursement, will the DOE reimburse expenses so long as they meet the plan requirements?","• As noted in the award schedule listed on pg.1 of the FOA award negotiations are planned of January of 2016.\n• Please see Section IV.I.2 of the FOA regarding Pre-award costs."]
[43,"2015-08-04","Application Content/Format","Are unrecovered F&A is allowable on these proposals?","Indirect (F&A) costs are allowable at per as part of a purposal as per 2 CFR 200.414."]
[44,"2015-08-06","Application Content/Format","Is there any way that DOE would consider these required charts as not counted toward the 15 page limit (similar to resumes, etc.)?","As note in Secion IV.D.2 the Technical Volume may not exceed 15 pages.  All pages in excess of the 15 page limit will not be considered during review."]
[45,"2015-08-12","Due Dates","As listed currently on the EERE Exchange website, it looks like the due date for full application has been expanded to August 18th from August 14th. Is this correct?","Please see the schedule of dates listed on page 1 of FOA for a list of applicable due dates."]

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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"]