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Frequently Asked Questions About Grant OpportunitiesOn this page:
Index to All Frequently Asked Questions Pages
General Questions (questions may not apply to all Funding Opportunity Announcements)How do I submit an application? Prior to preparing an application, it is suggested that the principal
investigator first contact an authorized representative to determine if
the organization is prepared to submit electronic applications. To submit
grant application packages you will need to register
your organization at grants.gov.
How many Letters of Intent can a principal investigator or university submit? Institutions may submit more than one letter of intent per funding opportunity and principal investigators may serve as CO-principal investigators or key personnel on more than one application.
If I don't submit a Letter of Intent can I still submit an application? No, Letters of Intent are a prerequisite to submitting a full application.
What if grants.gov or my Internet connection is unavailable at the submission deadline? Please avoid this problem by submitting early. If you choose not to submit until the last minute, you may do so at your own risk.
What if there is a force majore (earthquake, a fire, or some other disaster) that prevents on-time submission of an application? Please contact us as soon as possible. We will make determinations whether or not to accept affected applications on a case-by-case basis.
The required forms and application elements listed in the Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) are not consistent with what is listed in the mandatory and optional documents sections in the grant application package of grants.gov. Which list do I follow? A complete application includes all of the elements and forms listed in the Full Finding Opportunity Notice regardless of what is shown in grants.gov. You can upload forms and documents into grants.gov even if they are not listed as mandatory or optional documents of an application. If this is a collaborative project with separate applications being submitted from the collaborators, you should provide budget information for your institution only. In the optional documents box, the attachments should include: letters of commitment, any other supporting materials relevant to application.
I do not have any current or pending support to report or any references. Do I still need to include these required elements of the application? Yes, you should still include these headings but state none under each.
On SF-424, I do not know what is meant by Applicant Identifier and State Identifier (items 2 and 3). Where do I find this information? These items on the SF-424 do not apply to proposals for this opportunity notice, so please leave them blank.
What is the minimum amount of funding for which I can apply? There is no minimum funding request amount.
Can application budgets include equipment? Yes. Equipment that is necessary to carry out the proposed project may be requested and should be justified in the budget justification.
Yes, and collaborations and sharing are encouraged.
Should I provide documentation for my institution’s negotiated indirect cost agreement? Yes, if your institution is submitting for negotiated indirect costs, you must attach a copy of your negotiated indirect cost rate agreement with your application.
What categories should be included in the budget narrative? Categories should match those in the SF-424A.
Can I change the amount we're requesting in the full application from the one stated in the Letter of Intent? Yes.
What is the approximate split of the $15M between faculty development grants, fellowships and scholarships and trade school scholarships so that I can focus my efforts on those areas which offer the greatest likelihood of success. A division of the funding among the three grants (4 categories) has not been made. You should apply to those that you desire regardless of the amount eventually allocated to each one.
Nuclear Education Grant ProgramCan I submit a Letter of Intent and/or full proposal by email, hard copy or fax? Letters of Intent will only be accepted by email. Letters of Intent submitted by hard copy or fax will not be accepted. Full proposals will only be accepted through grants.gov. Full proposals submitted by email, fax or hard copy will not be accepted.
Are graduate students or unaffiliated principal investigators eligible to apply to these Federal Funding Opportunities as principal investigators or co-principal investigators? Graduate students may be included on applications. Graduate students should not be listed as principal investigators, CO-principal investigators, or senior personnel. Unaffiliated principal investigators need to be formally affiliated with an accredited institution of higher education to be involved in this competition.
What is the total amount of funding for which I can apply? There is no limit; however the intent typically precludes grants significantly over $200K a year.
Undergraduate Scholarships and Graduate FellowshipsThe solicitation states that the scholarship program is for students enrolled in nuclear science and engineering. Would students enrolled in radiochemistry courses or with a minor in nuclear engineering but enrolled in other engineering or science disciplines qualify for a scholarship award? The intent of the solicitation was to focus on nuclear science and engineering. Radiochemistry certainly fits that definition and students with a nuclear minor but majoring in another engineering or science discipline would also be eligible.
How is the $400,000 per institution for fellowships distributed? Is it for 1 year or does it cover multiple years? For fiscal year 2008, up to $400,000 will be awarded per institution. This level was arrived at by calculating the cost of two fellows at up to $50,000 per fellow times a maximum of 4 years. Therefore, two fellows times $50,000 times 4 years equals $400,000. All awards for fellows in fiscal year 2008 will be fully funded in the first year for up to 4 years. A maximum of $50,000 per fellow per year will be awarded as long as the $50,000 represents the cost of attendance as outlined in the Funding Opportunity Announcement.
If the cost of the fellows is below the threshold of $50,000 each, can an institution submit more than two as long as the total of $400,000 per institution is not exceeded? Yes, the determining factor is the $400,000 per institution per year and not the number of fellowship applicants within that amount.
Can the scholarships be requested by an institution pursuing nuclear engineering and science education and used to sponsor a student from a minority or other educational institution not engaged in the disciplines enabling those students to take courses in nuclear engineering and science from the proposing institution? This would be permitted as long as the sponsored students not enrolled at the proposing institution pursued coursework of 15 credits or more in nuclear science and engineering.
What happens if a scholarship student goes on to graduate school? Is this a violation of the conditions of the grant, or is the service requirement postponed to the end of his/her graduate degree or is "employment" as a graduate research or teaching assistant recognized as placement in industry? If a scholarship student goes on to graduate school, the service requirement is postponed until after graduate studies cease. The "employment" requirement is not satisfied by serving as a graduate research or teaching assistant even if in a nuclear field of study. Six months of service for every year or partial year of support from the NRC will still be required once undergraduate and/or graduate studies end.
Does this funding opportunity (scholarships and fellowships) include consideration of a proposal that includes a nuclear energy policy component as part of the support of education in nuclear science and engineering? This question is difficult to answer given the limited information provided but eligibility is restricted to students pursuing an education in nuclear science and engineering. A policy component can be part of that process but a nuclear course of study must be pursued.
Please confirm that we are to request in this proposal the full amount for all 4 years of a fellowship. That means that if we are going to give $50,000 per year for 4 years, we request $200,000 in this proposal. NRC will support up to $400,000 per institution per year for fellowships. No single fellowship can exceed $50,000 per year and all years of the fellowship, up to four, should be requested in the proposal.
Can we request funds for fellowships for both MS and Ph.D students? Yes, funds can be requested for candidates seeking either degree.
In the proposal, are we required to name the students who will receive the fellowships or simply give the criteria we will use to select the fellows? It is not necessary to identify the recipients of the fellowships. However, institutions who receive an award must agree to provide the NRC with a list of recipients that meet the criteria outlined in the Funding Opportunity Announcement.
Must the recipients of the fellowships be enrolled in our graduate program at the time the fellowship is offered? If that is the case, we will not be able to use the fellowships to recruit students for our program. While the Funding Opportunity Announcement states that applicants for fellowships must “be matriculated in a graduate degree program in a nuclear-related area, preferably, in the fields of nuclear engineering, health physics, and radiochemistry,” NRC realizes that for students applying to graduate programs while completing their undergraduate education, they will not have matriculated in a graduate program. These undergraduate applicants (rising graduate students) are eligible as long as they meet the other criteria, including course of study.
If we are allowed to offer fellowships to students who are planning to enter our graduate program in the fall but are currently undergraduates (at our school or elsewhere), do we use their undergraduate GPA to determine whether they meet the 3.6 criterion? The 3.6 GPA applies when the fellowship recipient is a graduate student. Undergraduates applying for the program should be evaluated on the criteria established by the university for graduate school applicants with the knowledge that these students, if awarded a fellowship, must be capable of achieving at least a 3.6 GPA during their graduate program.
If a student who is on a fellowship fails to maintain a 3.6 GPA, is his or her fellowship taken away immediately or does the student have one semester to bring the cumulative GPA back to 3.6? The fellowship recipient must have achieved at least a 3.6 GPA at the conclusion of each academic year. If the GPA falls below a 3.6 during the academic year, the recipient has until the conclusion of the academic year to achieve the required minimum GPA.
May co-principal investigators be listed on the proposal? Yes, two principal investigators or co-PI’s may be listed.
May a fellowship be award to a Ph.D student in public policy emphasizing nuclear energy policy? No, the intent is to develop a nuclear science and engineering trained workforce.
What are the “NRC-developed guidelines” for the student selection process? The guidelines immediately follow the phrase “NRC-developed guidelines” in Section III.A.2.b.
For the scholarships and fellowships programs can staff be charged for their participation in recruiting new students? No. The funding is to be used for “…tuition, books, fees, and lab expenses.”
How do we ensure that the student’s employer will be accepted by the NRC? Do they need to request NRC approval before accepting employment? The employment obligation can be achieved through service with many entities including academia, NRC, other Federal agencies, state agencies, or nuclear-related industry in the recipient’s field of study and can be waived under the appropriate circumstances. There is no need to request NRC approval before accepting employment.
Faculty Development GrantsCan there be more than two (2) funded principal investigators for the one proposal from each institution? There can be up to two principal investigator recipients funded from each institution. The base amount funded by the NRC will be $100,000 per year with up to an additional $50,000 per year of NRC funding if matched by university funding. It will be at the discretion of the individual institutions whether they have additional junior faculty participate but funding from this grant is intended to adequately support two junior faculty PI’s.
Is the solicitation intended for only new hires or existing faculty members? The solicitation is intended to support new faculty in nuclear engineering, health physics, and radiochemistry. These grants target probationary tenure-track faculty in these academic areas during the first 6 years of their careers. Therefore, both new and existing faculty members in the first 6 years of their careers are eligible.
The maximum per institution per year is listed as $900,000. How is this calculated with regard to the number of junior faculty that can be supported? The $900,000 is the maximum amount NRC will contribute to support up to two junior faculty over a 3-year period. Each of up to two faculty will be supported at a maximum NRC contribution of up to $150,000 per year times 3 years – all awarded in the first year (in this case fiscal year 2008). Therefore, $150,000 times 3 years equals $450,000 and if a second faculty member is also supported, this would equal $900,000 per institution in the first year covering 3 years for two faculty members. The $150,000 would only become available if the university matched the NRC amount with $50,000 per year per faculty member. Otherwise, the NRC base amount is $100,000 per year per applicant with additional matches up to the $50,000 on a dollar for dollar match with the contribution of the university.
The solicitation states that the faculty development grants are for the fields of nuclear engineering, health physics, and radiochemistry. If faculty in these subject areas were to develop curriculum for students not enrolled in these subject fields, would that be permissible? Since the grant is directed at faculty in the three subject fields and not the students being instructed at any particular point, and the solicitation specifically addresses and allows course (curriculum) development, this would be permissible.
Can I as principal investigator apply for the grant? No, your institution must apply and designate the individual faculty members who they are supporting for this award.
Can more than two (2) principal investigators be listed on the proposal? Up to two principal investigators can be listed on the proposal. This number was arrived at to ensure that adequate funds were available to properly support the individual PI’s.
If an individual at a qualified institution has an existing faculty development grant from another source, is this individual eligible for this solicitation? There is no provision in the solicitation that would prevent that individual from being included in the faculty development grant.
Am I as a tenured-track assistant professor in nuclear physics, not nuclear engineering, health physics, nor radiochemistry, eligible for a faculty development grant? No. The faculty development grant is specifically intended to support nuclear engineering, health physics and radiochemistry.
In the Faculty Development Funding Opportunity Announcement, is it expected or required that the proposal contain the actual names of the junior faculty member(s) that are proposed for support? It is not required that the proposal contain the names of the junior
faculty member(s) to be supported but that level of detail would be welcomed
by the NRC.
The announcement states: Grants could include support for developing proposals for research and small amounts for initiating or continuing research projects in their areas of expertise. Other areas might include course development equipment stipends, participation in professional society meetings, preparation of papers, travel, and associated expenses." Specifically not mentioned is course delivery (i.e. classroom instruction), and university service. Is it intended that these latter two classes of activity are not to be included in the proposal? The "other areas" listed were meant to be illustrative, not exhaustive. Those activities that add to the attraction and retention of junior faculty, which may include classroom instruction (what is meant by university service would have to be further defined), could be included in the proposal.
The announcement states that "awards are for $100,000 per year plus up to an additional $50,000 per year that is awarded to the extent matched by the institution…" Are there restrictions on the source of the institution's matching funds? Specifically, is it permissible to use funds from grants and contracts from non-NRC sources, for example from the Department of Energy or its contractors, to meet the matching requirement? It is not permissible to use Department of Energy, its contractors or other Federal grants as the institutional match.
Curriculum Vitae are mentioned under III.A.2.b on page 5 of the announcement, but there is no other indication about which individuals should submit Vitae. Please clarify. The Principal investigator, not the junior faculty being proposed for support, must have a Vitae.
In the project description, would you like to see current research interests and activities of junior faculty that would be funded through this faculty development program (in addition to a description of the faculty development program itself)? While a discussion of the current research interests and activities of junior faculty funded by this program is not required, to the extent that it will help describe the faculty development program itself, it may prove useful.
To improve the success of receiving an award, would you like to see the proposal come (or be entirely endorsed) at the institution level, college level, or department level? Same question in regard to administering and evaluating the program. The Funding Opportunity Announcement speaks to the institution submitting proposals and being responsible for monitoring and reporting the effectiveness of the individual development plan. To the extent that the college or department speaks for the institution (and has the authority to submit the proposal on behalf of the institution) then it does not matter which level in the institution submits the proposal.
To improve the success of receiving an award, would multiple programs or departments fair better than single units? In the case of our institution, we have both health physics and nuclear engineering programs, in separate departments and colleges. There would be no advantage to having multiple departments submit a single proposal versus one department.
Please comment on the use of this award for faculty recruitment. The purpose of the award is to attract and retain highly qualified junior faculty in tenured-track positions during the first 6 years of their careers. This award can be used to recruit faculty to the university or used to support faculty already at the university. According to the RFP, funding from the grant can be used for “….course development, equipment stipends, participation in professional society meetings…” What are “equipment stipends”? Is there suppose to be a comma between those two words, and if so, does that mean the faculty member can use funds from the grant to pay the stipend for a graduate student? An equipment stipend is funding that may be required to support equipment purchases for the new junior faculty position.
If a junior faculty member is already at a university and has a startup package (funding from the university for support of graduate students, purchase of equipment, travel to conferences, etc.), can that startup package be used as matching money for the NRC grant? No, the matching funds must be funds triggered specifically by the NRC junior faculty Funding Opportunity Announcement.
May the funds for faculty development be used for any faculty member who has been in his or her position for fewer than 6 years? Yes, if the grant is for probationary tenured-track faculty in the academic areas described in the Funding Opportunity Announcement during their first 6 years of their career.
Since graduate students may be included on applications, may we budget for graduate student research assistants on the Faculty Development Grant Program to fund their participation? The research assistant is distinguished from a fellowship recipient. There is no mention in the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that speaks to funding or including graduate students or research assistants. The FOA does state that “small amounts (could be used) for initiating or continuing research projects in their areas of expertise.” It also states that “the program intends to provide support to enable new faculty to enhance their careers as professors and researchers in the university department where employed.” Therefore, budgeting for graduate student research assistants was not envisioned by the FOA unless perhaps it can be demonstrated that it helps the “new faculty to enhance their careers as professors and researchers….”
Can any funding be included for administration of the program? One of the areas permitted is “associated expenses” that would allow reasonable administration costs.
Is an itemized budget reflecting different activities needed? Yes, to the extent that the detail requested in the SF 424A is met.
If two faculty members are proposed for support and the institutional maximum match of $100,000 per year is made ($50,000 X 2), can the institutional match be weighted more heavily toward one faculty member than another given that an experimental junior faculty member entails more costs than a computational junior faculty member? No, the funding cannot be weighted toward one versus the other faculty member, since if two are requested and only one is found meritorious by the peer review panel, only up to $50,000 could be awarded even if more than $50,000 was requested for that particular faculty member.
Does the term of the award begin with the recruitment period or start with the faculty member’s first term? The term of the award begins when funds are made available to the institution regardless of whether the funds are being used for recruitment of junior faculty or existing junior faculty.
May the NRC funding include graduate student support (tuition and salary) and summer salary of the PI recipients for both course development and some research activities? While the NRC funding can be used by the junior faculty recipient for course development, summer salary, and small amounts for initiating or continuing research, the funds are not intended to support graduate student tuition and salary unless this funding enables the junior faculty recipient to enhance his/her career as a professor and researcher in the department where employed.
Is it permissible for the institutional match to be in the form of support for a graduate(s) student ($50,000+)? Yes. as long as that graduate student is in direct support of the junior faculty member receiving the award.
Would the NRC like one proposal for each faculty member being nominated or one proposal per institution for both nominations? If an institution decides to nominate two candidates, one proposal for the two nominations should be submitted with justification, as outlined in the Funding Opportunity Announcement, for each junior faculty candidate nominated.
The announcement states that “grants could include support for developing proposals for research and small amounts for initiating or continuing research projects in their areas of expertise…Can this mean use of the NRC funding to support a graduate assistant?
The Funding Opportunity Notice is intended to support junior faculty in enhancing their careers as professors and researchers. To the extent that a graduate student promotes that objective, some funding for that purpose would be permitted. However, the primary purpose is junior faculty development, not graduate assistant support, and the applications will be evaluated on how well that is addressed in the proposal.
May a small amount of funding be allocated for management of the project (junior faculty grants)? One of the areas permitted is “associated expenses” that would allow reasonable administration of management costs.
Are pre-award negotiations conducted after the selection of the recommended applications? Can the pre-award negotiations influence the selection process for awards? Yes, pre-award negotiations are conducted after selection and, based on those negotiations, the awards may be affected.
Exactly what is meant by “institutional capacity”? It is in the interest of the NRC to know how these faculty development grants will assist the institution in furthering the growth of the specific educational area with regard to attracting and retaining highly qualified junior faculty.
Who are considered the individuals “administering the project”?” Does this refer to the department head submitting the proposal? It can refer to the department head or anyone else responsible for project administration.
To whom does “current and pending Federal support” refer (III.A.2.c?) It applies to both the applying department and the junior faculty candidates under consideration for an award.
Do “faculty development plans refer” to the applying department as a whole or specifically to the development plans of the identified/selected faculty candidates? It refers to the institutions/departments faculty development plans and not the individual identified/selected candidates.
Are the 3 year awards applicable exclusively to the 2 specific faculty members identified at the start of the grant, or are they applicable to the department as a whole? In other words, can the department shift support to other faculty in the course of the 3 year award period? Yes, they are specific to the identified faculty members. Support can be shifted if some unanticipated event occurs, but only after consultation with and approval by NRC.
Is there a bias against the department based on the other funded NRC (or other Federal agencies) projects in the department? What is considered “duplication” in the context of enumerated selection factors (V.G?) No, each application will be considered on its individual merits. Duplication refers to whether NRC is already funding work in this area or plans to do so outside of this grant.
Are the grants multi-year and do recipient institutions re-apply every year to have a grant continue for multiple years? These are multi-year grants and there is not a requirement to re-apply each year.
If a grant is received in the first year, may the receiving institution apply for a new grant form the same program in subsequent years? Yes. Receiving a grant one year does not preclude an institution applying for the same grant in subsequent years.
If a faculty member has less than 2 years experience at the current faculty position in an appropriate field, but has previous experience at a different institution, does the previous experience count toward the 6 years? “The grants specifically target probationary tenure-track faculty ….during the first 6 years of their career.” If “career” were interpreted to refer to any aspect of a professional career, the junior faculty applicant would be ineligible if he was a professor elsewhere or worked at another profession related to nuclear. However, for purposes of this Funding Opportunity Notice, career refers to the current position.
Trade School ScholarshipsIf we are in a partnership with another trade school or community college, and the coursework is predominantly in one institution but many of the credit hours occur at the other institution which grants the degree, which institution is eligible to apply for the scholarship. The degree granting institution must apply for the scholarship(s).
What is the funding history of community colleges? Community colleges have participated and received funding from prior NRC solicitations.
Is there a required matching amount? There is no cost share required for any of the grants but the grants in the junior faculty program encourage cost sharing.
Is a letter of intent required for these grants? No.
Can a private state corporation which publishes a Nuclear Publication (newspaper/journal) and offers an internet-based course on nuclear-related topics apply for awards? No, the scholarships and fellowships are intended for educational institutions that offer a curriculum in nuclear-related subjects and recipients must “be matriculated in a baccalaureate degree program….”.
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