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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY For more information about the Office of Science, go to Office of Science |
To DOE National Laboratories LAB 08-10
Research Opportunities at
SUMMARY: The Office of Nuclear Physics (NP), Office of Science (SC), U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE), hereby announces its interest in receiving preproposals for
developing outstanding scientific opportunities in nuclear structure and dynamics, nuclear
astrophysics, and tests of fundamental interactions and symmetries at leading rare isotope
beam (RIB) facilities around the world.
PREPROPOSAL DUE DATE: June 2, 2008, 8 PM Eastern Time (Required)
Preproposals are REQUIRED and must be received by June 2, 2008. Preproposals
referencing Program Announcement LAB 08-10 should be submitted via E-mail to the
following address: Chris.Izzo@science.doe.gov. Please include "Preproposal for LAB
08-10" in the subject line. Preproposals should include (1) the title of the proposal, (2)
the name(s) and institution(s) of the principal investigator(s) and U.S and international
collaborators,
Specifically, each preproposal should address these program policy factors:
As part of the required elements above, the preproposal should address briefly the
scientific and technical merit of the effort, the appropriateness of the proposed method or
approach, the competency of the applicant's personnel, the adequacy of the proposed
resources, the reasonableness and appropriateness of the proposed budget, and any other
factors relevant to the proposed project.
Preproposals will be screened and proposers will be notified if a formal proposal is
encouraged. Preproposals will be reviewed for conformity with the guidelines given in
this Announcement, suitability in the technical areas and program policy factors specified
in the Announcement. It is expected that a response to preproposals will be
communicated, by reply email, by July 1, 2008. Note that notification of a successful
preproposal is not a guarantee that an award will be made in response to a formal
proposal. Formal proposals will be accepted only from proposers encouraged to
submit a formal proposal.
DATES: Full proposals submitted in response to this Announcement must be submitted
using the Office of Science Field Work Proposal Instructions provided in the Notice to
Users section on the ePMA home page:
http://epma.energy.gov, and must be received no
later than November 10, 2008, 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time to be accepted for merit review
and to permit timely consideration for award. As stated above, formal proposals will be
accepted only from proposers encouraged to submit a formal proposal.
Please see the "Addresses" section below for further instructions on the method of
submission for the full proposal.
ADDRESSES: A complete formal FWP in a single Portable Document Format (PDF)
document that has 'formatted text and graphics' (also known as "native' PDF) must be
submitted using the Office of Science Field Work Proposal Instructions provided in
the Notice to Users section on the ePMA home page:
http://epma.energy.gov. (This submission process includes sending the FWP via CD using Federal Express).
Send CD via Federal Express to:
To identify that the FWP is responding to this program announcement, when sending
your CD please identify the Program Announcement Title and Program Announcement
number on the Federal Express package.
In addition to following the submission instructions on the
http://epma.energy.gov web site, please submit via email, a single PDF file of the entire
LAB proposal and FWP. This will assist in expediting the review process. Please send the email to:
Chris.Izzo@science.doe.gov. Please include "Formal Proposal for LAB 08-10" in the
subject line of the email.
DOE National Laboratories should submit as instructed above. Researchers from other
Federal agencies and Non-DOE Federally Funded Research and Development Centers
(FFRDCs) should follow the format at
http://www.science.doe.gov/grants/fed_prop.html and also submit via email as stated above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
PROGRAM MANAGER: Dr. Eugene Henry, Office of Nuclear Physics
Communications related to the formal proposal should use "Program Announcement
LAB 08-10" in the subject line.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Program Objective:
Program Funding:
It is anticipated that a total of up to $50,000,000 will be available for awards over a
period of up to ten years, starting as early as Fiscal Year 2010 with a total of up to
$1,000,000 in that year. The number and size of awards will depend on the number of
formal proposals selected for award, and the availability of appropriated funds. DOE is
under no obligation to pay for any costs associated with preparation or submission of
proposals. DOE reserves the right to fund, in whole or in part, any, all, or none of the
proposals submitted.
Formal Proposals
The research project description must be 25 pages or less, exclusive of attachments and
must contain an abstract or summary of the proposed research. All collaborators should
be listed with the abstract or summary. Attachments include curriculum vitae, a listing of
all current and pending federal support and letters of intent when collaborations are part
of the proposed research. Curriculum vitae should be limited to no more than two pages
per individual.
The instructions and format described below should be followed. You must reference
Program Announcement LAB 08-10 on all submissions and inquiries about this program.
Proposals from National Laboratories submitted to the Office of Science (SC) as a result
of this program announcement will follow the Department of Energy Field Work
Proposal process with additional information requested to allow for scientific/technical
merit review. The following guidelines for content and format are intended to facilitate
an understanding of the requirements necessary for SC to conduct a merit review of a
proposal. Please follow the guidelines carefully, as deviations could be cause for
declination of a proposal without merit review.
1. Evaluation Criteria
After an initial screening for eligibility and responsiveness to the solicitation, proposals
will be subjected to scientific merit review (peer review). The proposals will be evaluated
against the following criteria, which are listed in descending order of importance:
External peer reviewers are selected with regard to both their scientific expertise and the
absence of conflict-of-interest issues. Both Federal and non-Federal reviewers may be
used, and submission of an application constitutes agreement that this is acceptable to the
investigator(s) and the submitting institution.
2. Summary of Proposal Contents
A complete formal FWP in a single Portable Document Format (PDF) document that has
'formatted text and graphics' (also known as "native' PDF) must be submitted using the
Office of Science Field Work Proposal Instructions provided in the Notice to Users
section on the ePMA home page: http://epma.energy.gov. (This submission process
includes sending the FWP via CD using Federal Express).
Send CD via Federal Express to:
To identify that the FWP is responding to this program announcement, when sending
your CD please identify the Program Announcement Title and Program Announcement
number on the Federal Express package.
In addition to following the submission instructions on the http://epma.energy.gov
web site, please submit via email, a single PDF file of the entire LAB proposal and FWP. This
will assist in expediting the review process. Please send the email to:
Chris.Izzo@science.doe.gov. Please include "Formal Proposal for
3. Detailed Contents of the Proposal
Adherence to type size and line spacing requirements is necessary for several reasons.
No researcher should have the advantage, by using small type, of providing more text in
their proposals. Small type may also make it difficult for reviewers to read the proposal.
Proposals must have 1-inch margins at the top, bottom, and on each side. Type sizes
must be at least 11 point. Line spacing is at the discretion of the researcher, but there
must be no more than 6 lines per vertical inch of text. Pages should be standard 8 1/2" x
11" (or metric A4, i.e., 210 mm x 297 mm).
3.1 Field Work Proposal Format (Reference DOE Order 412.1A) (DOE ONLY)
The Field Work Proposal (FWP) is to be prepared and submitted consistent with policies
of the investigator's laboratory and the local DOE Operations Office. Additional
information is also requested to allow for scientific/technical merit review.
Laboratories may submit proposals directly to the SC Program office listed above. A
copy should also be provided to the appropriate DOE operations office.
3.2 Proposal Cover Page
The following proposal cover page information may be placed on plain paper. No form
is required.
3.3 Table of Contents
Provide the initial page number for each of the sections of the proposal. Number pages
consecutively at the bottom of each page throughout the proposal. Start each major
section at the top of a new page. Do not use unnumbered pages and do not use suffices,
such as 5a, 5b.
3.4 Budget and Budget Explanation
A detailed budget is required for the entire project period and for each fiscal year. It is
preferred that DOE's budget page, Form 4620.1 be used for providing budget
information*. Modifications of categories are permissible to comply with institutional
practices, for example with regard to overhead costs.
A written justification of each budget item is to follow the budget pages. For personnel
this should take the form of a one-sentence statement of the role of the person in the
project. Provide a detailed justification of the need for each item of permanent
equipment. Explain each of the other direct costs in sufficient detail for reviewers to be
able to judge the appropriateness of the amount requested.
Further instructions regarding the budget are given in section 4 of this guide.
* Form 4620.1 is available at web site:
http://www.science.doe.gov/grants/budgetform.pdf
3.5 Abstract
Provide an abstract of less than 400 words. Give the project objectives (in broad
scientific terms), the approach to be used, and what the research is intended to
accomplish. State the hypotheses to be tested (if any). At the top of the abstract give the
project title, names of all the investigators and their institutions, and contact information
for the principal investigator, including e-mail address.
3.6 Narrative (main technical portion of the proposal, including background/introduction,
proposed research and methods, timetable of activities, and responsibilities of key project
personnel).
The narrative comprises the research plan for the project and is limited to 25 pages
(maximum). It should contain enough background material in the Introduction, including
review of the relevant literature, to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the state of the
science. The major part of the narrative should be devoted to a description and
justification of the proposed project, including details of the methods to be used. It
should also include a timeline for the major activities of the proposed project, and should
indicate which project personnel will be responsible for which activities.
If any portion of the project is to be done in collaboration with another institution (or
institutions), provide information on the institution(s) and what part of the project it will
carry out. Further information on any such arrangements is to be given in the sections
"Budget and Budget Explanation," "Biographical Sketches," and "Description of
Facilities and Resources."
3.7 Literature Cited
Give full bibliographic entries for each publication cited in the narrative.
3.8 Biographical Sketches
This information is required for senior personnel at the institution submitting the proposal
and at all subcontracting institutions (if any). The biographical sketch is limited to a
maximum of two pages for each investigator.
To assist in the identification of potential conflicts of interest or bias in the selection of
reviewers, the following information must be provided in each biographical sketch.
Graduate and Postdoctoral Advisors and Advisees: A list of the names of the
individual's own graduate advisor(s) and principal postdoctoral sponsor(s), and
their current organizational affiliations. A list of the names of the individual's
graduate students and postdoctoral associates during the past five years, and their
current organizational affiliations.
Facilities to be used for the conduct of the proposed research should be briefly described.
Indicate the pertinent capabilities of the institution, including support facilities (such as
machine shops), that will be used during the project. List the most important equipment
items already available for the project and their pertinent capabilities. Include this
information for each subcontracting institution (if any).
3.10 Other Support of Investigators
Other support is defined as all financial resources, whether Federal, non-Federal,
commercial, or institutional, available in direct support of an individual's research
endeavors. Information on active and pending other support is required for all senior
personnel, including investigators at collaborating institutions to be funded by a
subcontract. For each item of other support, give the organization or agency, inclusive
dates of the project or proposed project, annual funding, and level of effort (months per
year or percentage of the year) devoted to the project.
3.11 Appendix
Information not easily accessible to a reviewer may be included in an appendix, but do
not use the appendix to circumvent the page limitations of the proposal. Reviewers are
not required to consider information in an appendix, and reviewers may not have time to
read extensive appendix materials with the same care they would use with the proposal
proper.
The appendix may contain the following items: up to five publications, manuscripts
accepted for publication, abstracts, patents, or other printed materials directly relevant to
this project, but not generally available to the scientific community; and letters from
investigators at other institutions stating their agreement to participate in the project (do
not include letters of endorsement of the project).
4. Detailed Instructions for the Budget
(DOE Form 4620.1 "Budget Page" may be used).
4.1 Salaries and Wages
List the names of the principal investigator and other key personnel and the estimated
number of person-months for which DOE funding is requested. Proposers should list the
number of postdoctoral associates and other professional positions included in the
proposal and indicate the number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) person-months and rate
of pay (hourly, monthly or annually). For graduate and undergraduate students and all
other personnel categories such as secretarial, clerical, technical, etc., show the total
number of people needed in each job title and total salaries needed. Salaries requested
must be consistent with the institution's regular practices. The budget explanation should
define concisely the role of each position in the overall project.
4.2 Equipment
DOE defines equipment as "an item of tangible personal property that has a useful life of
more than two years and an acquisition cost of $25,000 or more." Special purpose
equipment means equipment which is used only for research, scientific or other technical
activities. Items of needed equipment should be individually listed by description and
estimated cost, including tax, and adequately justified. Allowable items ordinarily will
be limited to scientific equipment that is not already available for the conduct of the
work. General purpose office equipment normally will not be considered eligible for
support.
4.3 Domestic Travel
The type and extent of travel and its relation to the research should be specified. Funds
may be requested for attendance at meetings and conferences, other travel associated with
the work and subsistence. In order to qualify for support, attendance at meetings or
conferences must enhance the investigator's capability to perform the research, plan
extensions of it, or disseminate its results. Consultant's travel costs also may be
requested.
4.4 Foreign Travel
Foreign travel is any travel outside Canada and the United States and its territories and
possessions. Foreign travel may be approved only if it is directly related to project
objectives.
4.5 Other Direct Costs
The budget should itemize other anticipated direct costs not included under the headings
above, including materials and supplies, publication costs, computer services, and
consultant services (which are discussed below). Other examples are: aircraft rental,
space rental at research establishments away from the institution, minor building
alterations, service charges, and fabrication of equipment or systems not available off-
the-shelf. Reference books and periodicals may be charged to the project only if they are
specifically related to the research.
a. Materials and Supplies
The budget should indicate in general terms the type of required expendable materials
and supplies with their estimated costs. The breakdown should be more detailed when
the cost is substantial.
b. Publication Costs/Page Charges
The budget may request funds for the costs of preparing and publishing the results of
research, including costs of reports, reprints page charges, or other journal costs (except
costs for prior or early publication), and necessary illustrations.
c. Consultant Services
Anticipated consultant services should be justified and information furnished on each
individual's expertise, primary organizational affiliation, daily compensation rate and
number of days expected service. Consultant's travel costs should be listed separately
under travel in the budget.
d. Computer Services
The cost of computer services, including computer-based retrieval of scientific and
technical information, may be requested. A justification based on the established
computer service rates should be included.
e. Subcontracts
Subcontracts should be listed so that they can be properly evaluated. There should be an
anticipated cost and an explanation of that cost for each subcontract. The total amount of
each subcontract should also appear as a budget item.
4.6 Indirect Costs
Explain the basis for each overhead and indirect cost. Include the current rates.
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