DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY For more information about the Office of Science, go to Office of Science |
To DOE National Laboratories LAB 09-06 Climate Change Modeling
Changes have been made to this Program Announcement; changes are notated in RED within the document. Please take careful note of these changes as they effect the Preproposal and Proposal due dates as well as Program Funding.
SUMMARY: The Office of Science (SC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), hereby announces
its interest in receiving peer-reviewable Field Work Proposals (FWPs) for several topics in
climate change modeling.
During the past decade, considerable advances have been made in the understanding, detection
and attribution of past climate change, and in projecting future changes in climate using state-of-
the-art climate models. However, uncertainties due to climate forcings and feedbacks have not
yet been resolved, e.g., current coupled atmosphere-ocean-land-sea ice models that simulate
climate variability and change over decadal to centennial time scales still have systematic
precipitation biases in the equatorial regions. Improvements are needed before models can
simulate regional climate variability and change with greater fidelity.
In FY 2009 BER will address several topics in climate change modeling. It is anticipated that
successful PIs will garner computing resources at various national laboratories to achieve the
proposed scientific objectives, e.g. through proposals to the National Energy Research
Scientific Computing (NERSC), and Leadership Computing Facility.
PREPROPOSALS: Potential applicants are required to submit a brief preproposal, referencing
Program Announcement LAB 09-06 for receipt by DOE by 4:30 p.m., Eastern Time, December
8, 2008.
THE DEADLINE FOR PREPROPOSALS HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO DECEMBER 22, 2008.
[Added November 18, 2008]
Preproposals will be reviewed for conformance with the guidelines presented in this
Announcement and suitability in the technical areas specified in this Announcement. A response
to the preproposals encouraging or discouraging formal proposals will be communicated to the
applicants by December 15, 2008.
THE RESPONSE TO PREPROPOSALS HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO DECEMBER 29, 2008.
[Added November 18, 2008]
Applicants 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.
Preproposals referencing Program Announcement LAB 09-06 should be sent as PDF file
attachments via e-mail to: Anjuli.Bamzai@science.doe.gov with "Preproposal
09-06 Climate Change Modeling" as the subject. No FAX or mail submission of preproposals
will be accepted.
Potential applicants 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 proposal 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 or organization,
principal investigator name, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address. No budget
information or biographical data need be included, nor is an institutional endorsement necessary.
DATES: Full proposals submitted in response to this Announcement must be received no later
than January 26, 2009, 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time, to be accepted for merit review and to permit
timely consideration for award in Fiscal Year 2009.
THE DEADLINE FOR FORMAL PROPOSALS HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO FEBRUARY 9, 2009.
[Added November 18, 2008]
Please see the "Addresses" section below for further instructions on the method of submission
for the proposal.
ADDRESSES:
Please submit, via federal express, a single PDF file of the entire LAB proposal and FWP on a
CD along with two hard copies to the address below. This will assist in expediting the review
process.
Please send the CD and 2 hard copies via Federal Express to:
Tel: (301) 903 0294
http://www.sc.doe.gov/grants/LAB09_06.html
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In FY 2009 BER will address the following topics in climate change modeling:
The focus of this Announcement is on the following research areas: (1) Incorporation of
various state-of-the art stratus and convection schemes in community coupled models
suitable for climate projections and a rigorous systematic evaluation of climate change
simulations. Usage of DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate
Research Facility (ACRF) and other special measurements to identify/evaluate the
appropriateness of various assumptions, global constants, and approximations used
in current parameterizations is encouraged; (2) Systematic model-observation
intercomparison of candidate aerosol schemes for representing aerosol populations, direct
radiative effects, and aerosol indirect effects e.g., cloud nucleation, droplet growth,
aerosol scavenging.
For both the above science areas, the use of observations from either the fixed and mobile
ACRF and/or Atmospheric Science Program (ASP) field campaigns, that represent
critical atmospheric, land and other processes, is particularly encouraged. In order to
make these cloud and aerosol formulations viable for use in global coupled climate
models, it may be necessary to develop advanced data analysis and software tools for
testing the formulations as well as incorporate improved/new time-integration techniques
that preserve solution accuracy and overcome the bottleneck to desired throughput of
climate simulations.
It is anticipated that up to $12 million will be available for approximately 3 large multi-institutional
awards in Fiscal Year 2009, contingent on the availability of appropriated funds.
DOE places a cap of $6 million on the total annual funding that can be requested in a single proposal.
In addition, any proposal requesting more than $4 million per year needs to include a substantive Management
Plan outlining how the work will be coordinated among the various participating labs, the overall chain of
command, the communication plan, the leads for each area, the overall allocation of resources among the various partners, etc.'
Approximate funding level of specific areas is indicated below.
Long Term Measure
All proposals submitted in response to this Announcement must explicitly state how the
proposed project will support accomplishment of the BER Climate Change Research
Program's Long Term Measure which is to "Deliver improved scientific data and
models about the potential response of the Earth's climate and terrestrial biosphere to
increased greenhouse gas levels for policy makers to determine safe levels of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere."
Eligibility: This is a DOE LAB-Only Announcement. FFRDCs from other agencies are not
eligible to submit in response to this Announcement. Partnerships between DOE LABs and with
university researchers are encouraged, as appropriate. Proposals with all collaborating parts
should be submitted by the lead LAB. No individual submissions through grants.gov should be
sent at this stage.
Submission Information
The instructions and format described below must be followed. You must reference Program
Announcement LAB 09-06 on all submissions and inquiries about this Program Announcement.
Formal Proposals
The research project description must be 20 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 following is a list of essential items that a proposal must contain:
1. Field Work Proposal (FWP) Format - Complete and signed by appropriate officials.
2. Proposal Cover Page
3. Table of Contents
4. Budget Page(s) (Form DOE F 4620.1) - Complete a separate Budget Page for the entire
multi-year period for each separate participating institution. If more than one theme is being
addressed in the proposal, a budget breakdown in terms of the themes, is also required.
5. Other Project Information
b. Project Narrative: (limit 20 pages)
c. Biographical Sketches: Detailed information about the background and experience of
the principal investigator and co-principal investigator (if any). Biographical sketches are
limited to two pages for the principal investigator, and two pages for the co-principal
investigator (if any).
d. Long Term Measure: BER Climate Change Research Program's Long
Term Measure detailed above.
e. Facilities and Resources: Include information on the experience of the proposer's
organization, its facilities, and resources that would be relevant to successful operation of
the project.
f. Statement of all current and pending support for the principal investigator and co-
principal investigator (if any), including the time devoted to each project by the principal
investigator and co-principal investigator (if any).
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 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. Included with each criteria are the detailed questions that will be asked of the reviewers.
Appropriateness of the Proposed Method or Approach Competency of Applicant's Personnel and Adequacy of Proposed Resources Reasonableness and Appropriateness of the Proposed Budget Other Appropriate Factors 2. Summary of Proposal Contents
Please submit, via federal express, a single PDF file of the entire LAB proposal and FWP on a CD along with two hard copies to the address below. This will assist in expediting the review process. 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. Please send the CD and 2 hard copies via Federal Express to:
Climate and Environmental Sciences Division, SC-23.1 Office of Biological and Environmental Research Office of Science 19901 Germantown Road Germantown, MD 20874-1290 ATTN: Program Announcement LAB 09-06 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.
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* 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 Summarize the proposal in no more than two pages. 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 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(s) 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." Collaborative research projects with institutions that receive grants, such as universities, industry, and non-profit organizations, are allowed under this Announcement. See the section on Collaboration. Further information on collaboration may be accessed at http://www.science.doe.gov/grants/Colab.html. 3.7 Literature Cited Give full bibliographic entries for each publication cited in the narrative. Each reference must include the names of all authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the publication), the article and journal title, book title, volume number, page numbers, and year of publication. Include only bibliographic citations. Principal investigators should be especially careful to follow scholarly practices in providing citations for source materials relied upon when preparing any section of the proposal. 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 and must include: Education and Training. Undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral training, provide institution, major/area, degree and year. Research and Professional Experience. Beginning with the current position list, in chronological order, professional/academic positions with a brief description. Publications. Provide a list of up to 10 publications most closely related to the proposed project. For each publication, identify the names of all authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the publication), the article title, book or journal title, volume number, page numbers, year of publication, and website address if available electronically. Patents, copyrights and software systems developed may be provided in addition to or substituted for publications. Synergistic Activities. List no more than 5 professional and scholarly activities related to the effort proposed. To assist in the identification of potential conflicts of interest or bias in the selection of reviewers, the following information must also 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 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 $50,000 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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