Department of Energy (DOE)

What's New 

Research Security Training: On October 7, 2024 Department of Energy released FAL 2025-02 which requires that each Covered Individual* listed on an application certify that they have completed research security training within the 12 months immediately preceding the application date.  DOE has already started implementing this requirement in some solicitations, and the requirement will become mandatory for all applications in May 2025.  To register for MSU’s Research Security Training, please contact ORI.Security@msu.edu.  For more information, please visit the MSU Research Security Training page.

Research, Technology, & Economic Security Framework: To meet the requirements of NSPM-33 as well as the research security requirements of the CHIPs and Science Act, DOE has implemented the Research, Technology & Economic Security (RTES) framework.  This framework focuses on identifying and mitigating potential security risks related to the Department’s research and technology activities.  DOE has created a dedicated RTES webpage to increase transparency and inform the research community about their phased approach to changes to proposal requirements.

* At a minimum, DOE designates as covered individuals any principal investigator (PI); project director (PD); co-principal investigator (Co-PI); co-project director (Co-PD); project manager; and any individual regardless of title that is functionally performing as a PI, PD, Co-PI, Co-PD. Individual NOFOs may expand this list of designated roles to include other roles, such as consultants, graduate students, or postdoctoral associates.

Proposal Guidance

DOE supports research in a broad range of basic and applied sciences with an overarching mission to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States; promote scientific and technological innovation in support of that mission; and ensure the environmental cleanup of the national nuclear weapons complex. They are organized in the following programs: Advanced Scientific Computing, Basic Energy Services, Biological and Environmental Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, and Nuclear Physics. More information related to each of these programs can be found here: https://science.energy.gov/programs/.

In addition to the Office of Science, DOE offers funding through other branches, including:

• Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)
• Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E)

Submission System

DOE uses various systems based on the office involved and type of submission. Submission of grants is typically through KR to grants.gov, with FedConnect used for contracts.  In addition, EERE proposal submissions are typically through the EERE Exchange. It is therefore very important to read the solicitation to find submission requirements, both for the system to use and what is required in the proposal submission. If you have questions on registering in a DOE system, or if you need to register, please contact your OSP Proposal Team. 

Proposal Tips

Please watch out for participation of foreign national restrictions in your solicitations.  Specifically, the DOE clause 142.3  titled “UNCLASSIFIED FOREIGN NATIONAL ACCESS PROGRAM” can be found in NNSA requests for proposals and is included in some DOE agreements except the basic grant.   At the proposal stage, OSP will ask faculty if they would like to send a “right to negotiate” letter to the sponsor, and to discuss the PI’s willingness to have to conduct their research in the MSU University Research Organization.  The “right to negotiate letter” would include a statement such as, “this constitutes Fundamental Research therefore 142.3 is not applicable.”  We recommend the PI inquire with OSP or the MSU URO early to help determine the best approach for success. It’s important to know the options since the PI may feel that including the letter will make their proposal less competitive.

For Renewal Proposals: PAMS always puts the “Incomplete” watermark on the proposal PDF file that is retrieved from PAMS before the PI submitted his/her Renewal Proposal Products.  This can be disconcerting, however, once the RPP is submitted and incorporated into the proposal, the watermark will disappear, indicating that the proposal is complete and can be sent out for review.

When submitting a “Change/Corrected” proposal, mark your KR proposal “Change/Corrected” from the S2S suboption and resubmit.  The updated proposal does not automatically replace the original proposal in the PAMS system, rather the original proposal will be marked “Duplicate Proposal.“  We recommend contacting the Program Officer once the Agency Tracking ID is assigned to the Change Corrected proposal to let them know about the proposal update, and to direct them to the proposal you wish for them to consider. 

DOE allows each division to determine submission deadlines. Some accept proposals throughout the year and recommend that a full application be submitted between June 1st and September 30th in order for a funding decision to be made by June of the following year. DOE usually funds projects for three years. However, some solicitations will request budgets for four or five years.

Most divisions at DOE suggest that you contact the respective program officer prior to proposal submission to discuss your areas of research, posted Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA’s) and the nature of the work currently funded by DOE. Contact information is usually provided in the division organization chart, staff directories and core research activities (CRA) descriptions. The program officer may encourage you to submit a pre-application (usually a 2-3 page summary with no budget) to confirm that your research fits a specific funding opportunity.

Current and Pending Support Forms: For information on completing Current and Pending Support forms, see the Current and Pending/Other Support Requirements by Sponsor webpage.

Budget Guidelines

Compliance

Export Control

All DOE grant and contract proposals require an Export Control & Open Research Review Worksheet (ECORRW) to be completed prior to execution of the award. For some contract solicitations, OSP may require the ECORRW to be completed prior to proposal submission. Information about Export Control policies can be found on the Export Control & Trade Sanctions website. 

Human Subjects

If the project includes human subject’s research, IRB approval will be required prior to account set-up.

Animal Subjects

If the project includes animal subjects, IACUC approval will be required prior to account set-up.

Award Guidance

As with any federal Agency, FAR based contracts may be awarded, as well as grants subject to the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, at 2 CFR 200. There is always a possibility that E-verify requirements may apply, and the award should be reviewed for publication or participation restrictions. Federal agencies can also issue an ‘award without discussion’. Therefore, careful review and approval of solicitation terms may be necessary, prior to proposal submission. 

Subawards

DOE is not an FDP participating agency, and therefore subawards are drafted by OSP. Before proposal submission, gather the budget, justification, scope of work, and signed subrecipient commitment form, from each subrecipient. Once the award from DOE is signed, OSP will begin drafting the subaward. In addition to the documents from proposal submission, OSP needs copies of the subrecipient’s indirect cost agreement and financial audit. 

Prior Approvals

DOE follows Standard Terms and Conditions, 2 CFR 200:

• 2 CFR 200, Uniform GuidanceResearch Terms and Conditions

Notify the sponsor in writing at least 10 calendar days before the end of the period of performance for an initial No Cost Extension (NCE) for up to 12 months. Prior approval is required for an additional NCE beyond the first. All NCE requests MUST be submitted in PAMS.

Agency prior approval is required for the following:

• Pre-award costs
• Administrative/clerical staff not budgeted
• Subaward not budgeted
• Change in the scope of work
• Reduction in PI effort (25% or more)
• No-cost extension (after first 12 months)
• Re-budgeting participant support costs to other categories

Please see the Prior Approval Matrix for a full list of prior approvals: https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/fedrtc/appendix_a.pdf

Reporting

Progress/Technical Report

• A quarterly progress report is due 30 days after the end of the reporting period. See federal financial reporting checklist for proper filing instructions.
• Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPR) are due 90 days prior to the anticipated continuation funding date.

• Final is due 90 days after award end date.

Financial Reports

• A quarterly Federal Financial Report (SF425) is due 30 days after the end of the reporting period. See federal financial reporting checklist for proper filing instructions.
• Although not common, a SF425 may be due on an annual basis within 90 days following the end of the anniversary date (see specific award reporting terms).

• The final SF425 is due within 90 days after the expiration of the award.

Other Reports

• The final SF-428 Property Report is due within 90 days after the expiration of the award.
• Where DOE loans equipment to MSU, annual SF-428 property reports are required to be submitted by October 31^st of each year.
• The final DOE 2050.11 Patent Certification (be sure to use Microsoft word version that doesn’t cut off text) is due within 90 days after the expiration of the award.
  • Disclosure of new intellectual property to the Sponsor is due within 2 months; University has 2 years to elect in writing to Sponsor whether it will retain title.
• Special Status Reports are required within 5 calendar days after an event  (any significant change in PI effort; significant environmental permit violation, fatality or injuries requiring hospitalization of 5 or more individuals, incident causing significant process or hazard control system failure, damage to Government-Owned equipment in excess of $50,000; any notice of violation of any Environmental, Safety and Health statute, event anticipated to cause a significant schedule slippage or cost increase, any other incident that has the potential for high visibility in the media).
• Accepted Manuscripts of Journal Articles should be submitted using DOE’s Scientific and Technical Information System, E-Link: http://www.osti.gov/elink-2413.
• Scientific/Technical Conference Paper/Presentation or Proceedings due 90 days after the end of the award.

Effort Reporting / Cost Share

Effort Reporting

MSU effort reporting overview and FAQ’s can be found on the Sponsored Program Administration website at the following link: https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Effort/EffortReportingTools.aspx

Effort reporting instructions can also be located on the Sponsored Program Administration website: https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/231/EffortReportingInstructionsEffortAdministrators

For additional questions and information, please contact the CGA Effort Reporting inbox at effortreporting@cga.msu.edu

Cost Share

Information on cost share can be found on the Sponsored Program Administration website at the following link: https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/249/CostSharePolicy

In cases where salaried cost share has been committed, MSU uses the effort reporting system for tracking and documentation.  Non-salary cost share is documented through PI certified operating statements.

Record Retention

3 years from submission of the final expenditure report 

Sponsor Resources

Deadlines are found at https://www.energy.gov/science/office-science-funding/office-science-funding-opportunities.

Q&A information for proposal preparation is found at https://science.osti.gov/grants/Applicant-and-Awardee-Resources/Applicant-FAQs.  

Information on the electronic submission process is available at the DOE Office of Science Grants and Contracts.

Forms and Templates

None at this time