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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 07-03
Plant Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy:
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, Office of Biological and
Environmental Research (OBER), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Cooperative
State Research, Education, and Extension Service, National Research Initiative (CSREES-NRI)
hereby announce their interest in receiving proposals for genomics-based research that will lead
to the improved use of biomass and plant feedstocks for the production of fuels such as ethanol
or renewable chemical feedstocks. Specifically, proposals are sought for fundamental research
on plants that will improve biomass characteristics, biomass yield, or that will facilitate
lignocellulosic degradation. Systems biology approaches to identify genetic indicators enabling
plants to be efficiently bred or manipulated, or research that yields fundamental knowledge of
the structure, function and organization of plant genomes leading to improved feedstock
characterization and sustainability are also encouraged.
DATES: Potential researchers are required to submit a brief preproposal and are strongly
encouraged to coordinate with laboratory management to avoid redundancy in multiple
submissions. Preproposals referencing Program Announcement LAB 07-03 must be
received by DOE by 4:30 p.m., Eastern Time, November 13, 2006. Preproposals will be
reviewed for conformance with the guidelines presented in this Notice and suitability in the
technical areas specified in this Notice. A response to the preproposals encouraging or
discouraging formal proposals will be communicated to the researchers by December 7, 2006.
Researchers who have not received a response regarding the status of their preproposal by this
date are responsible for contacting the program to confirm this status.
Only those preproposals that receive notification from DOE encouraging a formal proposal may
submit full proposals. No other formal proposals will be considered. Formal proposals in
response to this Notice should be submitted via ePMA and must be received by 8:00 pm Eastern
Time, January 30, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Preproposals referencing Program Announcement LAB 07-03
should be sent as PDF file attachments via e-mail to: SCbiomass.genomics@science.doe.gov
with "Lab Notice 07-03" as the subject. No FAX or mail submission of preproposals will be
accepted.
DOE Eligibility Criteria: Researchers from FFRDCs (Federally Funded Research and
Development Centers) or DOE National Laboratories. Applicants from U.S. Colleges and
Universities, non-profit organizations, for-profit commercial organizations, state and local
governments, and unaffiliated individuals should respond to Program Notice DE-PS02-07ER07-
03. Researchers from other Federal Agencies are encouraged to submit a preapplication
referencing this Program Notice DE-PS02-07ER07-03; if a formal proposal is encouraged,
additional submission information will be provided.
USDA-CSREES Eligibility Criteria: The source of USDA-CSREES funds for the
FY 2007 Plant Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy is the National Research Initiative
Competitive Grants Program (NRI). Except where otherwise prohibited by law, State
agricultural experiment stations, all colleges and universities, other research institutions and
organizations, Federal Agencies, national laboratories, private organizations or corporations, and
individuals are eligible to apply for and to receive a competitive grant. Faculty at small and mid-
sized academic institutions with limited institutional success and faculty at institutions in USDA
Experimental Program for Stimulating Competitive Research (EPSCoR) entities are encouraged
to apply (for definitions of small and mid-sized institutions and for EPSCoR eligibility see Part
II, C., 2.(c) of the FY 2007 NRI Request for Applications at
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/rfas/nri_rfa.html. Applications from scientists at non-U.S.
organizations will not be accepted. Award recipients may subcontract to organizations not
eligible to apply, provided such organizations are necessary for the conduct of the project. This
program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance under 10.206, Grants for
Agricultural Research Competitive Research Grants.
NOTE: DOE and USDA-CSREES reserve the right to encourage, in whole or in part, any, all,
or none of the preproposals submitted, and may issue further guidance on the scope of the full
proposal submissions of those encouraged.
This section pertains only to those proposers that have been encouraged to submit a full
proposal. A complete formal FWP in a single Portable Document Format (PDF) file must be
submitted through the DOE ePMA system (
https://epma.doe.gov) as an attachment. To identify
that the FWP is responding to this program announcement, please fill in the following fields in
the "ePMA Create Proposal Admin Information" screen as shown:
* Please use the wording shown when filling in these fields to identify that the FWP is
responding to this Program Announcement.
In order to expedite the review process, please submit a CD and three copies of the
proposal using the following, by U.S. Postal Service Express Mail, any commercial mail
delivery service, or when hand-carried to:
Dr. Sharlene C. Weatherwax
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharlene C. Weatherwax, Office of
Biological and Environmental Research, Life and Medical Sciences Division, SC-23.2,
telephone: (301)903-6165, E-mail: sharlene.weatherwax@science.doe.gov
GENERAL INQUIRIES ABOUT THIS PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT
SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO:
SCbiomass.genomics@science.doe.gov
Agency Contacts:
Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young
Dr. Ed Kaleikau
The full text of Program Announcement LAB 07-03 is available via the Internet using the
following web site address: http://www.science.doe.gov/grants/grants.html.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Renewable energy from biomass has the
potential to reduce or remove dependency on fossil fuels as well as reduce negative
environmental impacts from emissions of greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants. Realizing this
potential will require the simultaneous development of high yielding biomass production systems
and bioconversion technologies that efficiently convert biomass energy into the forms of energy
usable by industry. Most agricultural research to date has focused on enhancing the production
of seeds, roots and tubers that are used for food and feed production. However, these
improvements in food crops have frequently been directed towards increases in starch content
with a corresponding reduction of lignocellulose accumulation. Research that seeks to increase
starch content for improved nutrient qualities or to facilitate the digestion and fermentation of
starch to produce sugars and other bio-based products or biofuels is not the focus of this topic.
Research proposals are solicited in the area of improved fundamental understanding of
lignocellulosic accumulation and regulation that will lead to improved utilization of plant
biomass for the production of fuels such as ethanol or renewable chemical feedstocks.
This notice continues a commitment, initiated in 2006, to conduct a fundamental research
program in biomass genomics, to provide the scientific foundation to facilitate the use of
lignocellulosic materials, either primary material or agricultural residues, for bioenergy and
biofuels. The rationale for developing lignocellulosic crops for energy is that less intensive
production techniques and poorer quality land can be used for these crops, thereby avoiding
competition with food production on better quality land.
Significant advances in breeding, molecular genetics, and genomic technologies provide an
opportunity to build upon the existing knowledgebase of plant biology to be able to confidently
predict and manipulate their biological function for bioenergy resources.
Specific areas of interest include:
Projects that would involve field demonstrations or testing or empirical screening for biomass
quality characteristics will not be considered for funding. Projects should not request support
for sequencing; such requests should be submitted separately to the DOE Joint Genome
Institute's Community Sequencing Program (see information at
http://www.jgi.doe.gov/CSP/index.html).
This announcement strongly encourages individual investigators as well as interdisciplinary
teams that assemble a range of expertise into a coordinated approach; for the latter situation,
applicants must include a clear plan describing the individual contributions of each participant,
as well as the overall management scheme.
Preproposals
Potential researchers must submit a brief preproposal that consists of two to three pages of
narrative describing the research objectives, the technical approach(s), and the proposed team
members and their expertise. The intent in requesting a preproposal is to save the time and effort
of applicants in preparing and submitting a formal project application that may be inappropriate
for the program. Preproposals will be reviewed relative to the scope and research needs as
outlined in the summary paragraph and in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. The
preproposal should identify, on the cover sheet, the title of the project, the institution, principal
investigator name, telephone, fax, and e-mail address. No budget information or biographical
data need be included, nor is an institutional endorsement necessary.
Program Funding
It is anticipated that up to $3 million total will be available for multiple awards to be made in
Fiscal Year 2007 for the Plant Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy: A Joint Research
Solicitation-USDA, DOE. The number of awards will be contingent on satisfactory peer review,
the availability of appropriated funds, and the size of the awards. Proposals may request project
support for up to three years, with out-year support contingent on the availability of funds,
progress of the research, and programmatic needs. Annual budgets are expected to range from
$100,000 to $500,000 total costs. Neither DOE nor USDA-CSREES are under any obligation to
pay for any costs associated with the preparation or submission of a proposal. DOE and USDA-
CSREES reserve the right to fund, in whole or in part, any, all, or none of the proposals
submitted in response to this Notice.
FY 2007 USDA-CSREES support for this Plant Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy solicitation
is authorized under the National Research Initiative (NRI), 7 U.S.C. 450i. The NRI Competitive
Grants Program supports research grants addressing key problems of national and regional
importance to agriculture, forestry, and related sciences. The biomass and plant feedstock is a
key component to the sustainability of U.S. agriculture, forestry, and environmental health.
If a project is funded, beginning in the first year of funding, at least one member of the project
team will be required to attend annual investigator meetings; these meetings may be held in
conjunction with internationally attended genomics meetings (e.g. Plant and Animal Genome) or
jointly with other DOE or USDA program meetings (e.g. the Genomics:GTL program meeting)
as specified by the USDA and DOE program managers. Reasonable travel expenses may be
submitted as part of the project budget.
Information on awards from the first year of this program may be viewed at:
http://genomicsgtl.energy.gov/research/DOEUSDA/.
Submission Information
The Department of Energy will accept Full Proposals by invitation only, based upon the
evaluation of the preproposals. After receiving notification from DOE concerning successful
preproposals, researchers may prepare formal proposals. The Project Description must not
exceed 15 pages, including tables and figures, but exclusive of attachments. The proposal must
contain an abstract or project summary, short vitae, and letters of intent from collaborators if
appropriate.
Full proposals adhering to DOE Field Work Proposal format (Reference DOE Order 412.1) are
to be prepared and submitted consistent with policies of the investigator's laboratory and the
local DOE Operations Office. Laboratories may submit proposals directly to the SC Program
Office listed above. A copy should also be provided to the appropriate DOE Operations Office.
The instructions and format described below should be followed. You must reference Program
Announcement LAB 07-03 on all submissions and inquiries about this program.
GUIDE FOR PREPARATION OF SCIENTIFIC/TECHNICAL PROPOSALS TO BE SUBMITTED BY NATIONAL LABORATORIES 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 Proposals will be subjected to formal merit review (peer review) and will be evaluated against the following criteria which are listed in descending order of importance:
Appropriateness of the proposed method or approach Competency of the personnel and adequacy of the proposed resources Reasonableness and appropriateness of the proposed budget The evaluation will include program policy factors such as the relevance of the proposed research to the terms of the announcement and the Department's programmatic needs. External peer reviewers are selected with regard to both their scientific expertise and the absence of conflict-of-interest issues. Non-federal reviewers may be used, and submission of a proposal constitutes agreement that this is acceptable to the investigator(s) and the submitting institution. DOE and USDA will make final funding decisions based on the results of the peer review and internal programmatic review. USDA agrees to abide by DOE's application review procedures. Applicants selected for funding may be required to provide additional information. The application will then be forwarded to the appropriate offices for funding in accordance with each agency's procedures. Awards may be given as cooperative agreements, or grants, at each agency's discretion. Proposals that USDA has agreed to be fund will be sent to the agency for final negotiations and implementation of awards. Applicants selected for funding by USDA will be requested to resubmit their proposal to USDA through grants.gov to ensure compliance and inclusion of all necessary USDA forms. These Application Forms may be downloaded from the USDA website at http://www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/forms.html 2. Summary of Proposal Contents
2.1 Number of Copies to Submit A complete formal FWP in a single Portable Document Format (PDF) file must be submitted through the DOE ePMA system ( https://epma.doe.gov) as an attachment. To identify that the FWP is responding to this program announcement, please fill in the following fields in the "ePMA Create Proposal Admin Information" screen as shown:
Fiscal Year: Proposal Reason: Program Announcement Number: Lab 07-03 * Program announcement Title: Plant Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy: A Joint USDA, DOE Research Program Announcement To DOE National Laboratories * Proposal Purpose: Estimated Proposal Begin Date: HQ Program Manager Organization: * Please use the wording shown when filling in these fields to identify that the FWP is responding to this Program Announcement. In order to expedite the review process, please submit a CD and three copies of the proposal using the following, by U.S. Postal Service Express Mail, any commercial mail delivery service, or when hand-carried to:
Dr. Sharlene C. Weatherwax 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, or 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 10 point or larger. 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 O 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 ePMA. 3.2 Proposal Cover Page The following proposal cover page information may be placed on plain paper. No form is required.
SC Program announcement title Name of laboratory Name of principal investigator (PI) Position title of PI Mailing address of PI Telephone of PI Fax number of PI Electronic mail address of PI Name of official signing for laboratory* Title of official Fax number of official Telephone of official Electronic mail address of official Requested funding for each year; total request Use of human subjects in proposed project:
Signature of official, date of signature* *The signature certifies that personnel and facilities are available as stated in the proposal, if the project is funded.
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 20 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 5 years, and their current organizational affiliations. If a proposal is funded by USDA-CSREES, the applicant must submit the following on Form CSREES-2007 Conflict of Interest: (a) All co-authors on publications within the past four years, including pending publications and submissions; (b) all collaborators on projects within the past four years, including current and planned collaborations; (c) all thesis or postdoctoral advisees/advisors within the past four years; and (d) all persons in your field with whom you have had a consulting or financial arrangement within the past four years, who stand to gain by seeing the project funded. 3.9 Description of Facilities and Resources 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 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. USDA-CSREES: If consulting, collaborative arrangements, or subcontractual arrangements are included in the application, these arrangements should be fully explained and justified. The rate of pay for any consultant must be included, if known at the time of application. Letters of intent or other evidence should be provided to show that collaborators have agreed to participate. For each arrangement involving the transfer of substantive programmatic work or the provision of financial assistance to a third party, a proposed statement of work, vita, and a budget must be supplied. In multi-state/territory applications, a budget and budget narrative must be included for each state/territory involved. The lead state/territory and each participating state/territory must be identified. 4.6 Indirect Costs Explain the basis for each overhead and indirect cost. Include the current rates. As prescribed by section 1462 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3310), USDA-CSREES limits indirect cost rates to 20% of total Federal funding for applicable direct costs. Awards by CSREES through this solicitation for Plant Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy are subject to this 20% limit on indirect costs. This limitation also applies to the recovery of indirect costs through any sub-award or subcontract, and sub-recipient budgets should reflect this limitation. If USDA-CSREES funds a project through this solicitation, the indirect cost rate will be adjusted to a maximum of 20%, and the award level will be adjusted accordingly. To accommodate the USDA-CSREES limit on indirect costs, applicants may be required at the time of award to submit a revised budget.
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