Randy Manion: Good morning or good afternoon, wherever you may be, and welcome to the webinar for DOE's funding opportunity for the establishment of intertribal technical assistance energy providers' network. I'm Randy Manion, manager of Western Area Power Administration's Renewable Resource Program, and I will be assisting today with the webinar. Let's go over a few event details first. Today's webinar is being recorded, and all phones have been muted for this purpose. A recording and PowerPoints will be made available in a few days, and you'll be notified by email in 24 hours of where that recording and PowerPoint will be posted.
We'll try to keep the webinar to no more than two hours. We have one speaker today, Lizana Pierce, who will be briefing you on the funding opportunity announcement. Ms. Pierce is a project engineer with the US Department of Energy, and the program manager for the DOE Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, working at the DOE Golden Field office located in Golden, Colorado. She implements this national deployment program, open to all federally recognized tribes, including Alaska native villages, village corporations, and Alaskan regional corporations.
Lizana's primary responsibilities include soliciting applications for tribal renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, administering and overseeing the resulting grants, disseminating tribal energy related information, and developing and maintaining the tribal energy program website. A mechanical engineer by degree, she worked in aerospace for about 10 years, followed by a 20 year tenure at DOE. Ms. Pierce has worked in many of the research and development areas, including solar, wind, and biomass, before becoming the project manager for the tribal energy program, a position she has held for the last 15 years.
And with that, we'll start the webinar now, and Lizana, the virtual floor is yours.
Lizana Pierce: Thank you, Randy. Good afternoon, and welcome to the webinar. This informational webinar is for people interested in applying to the Department of Energy's funding opportunity announcement, or FOA, which was issued February 12, 2016, entitled Establishment of an Intertribal Technical Assistance Energy Provider's Network.
As Randy said, my name is Lizana Pierce, and I am a senior engineer with the Department of Energy and a program manager under the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, otherwise known simply as the Office of Indian Energy. I have been working in clean energy for the last 20 years, and specifically in Indian energy since the late nineties. Under the Office of Indian Energy, I am tasked with implementing the deployment program, specifically for financial assistance that entails issuing funding opportunity announcements, managing the application review process, administering the resultant grants, and overseeing the funded tribal energy projects.
The intent of this webinar is to cover the basic aspects of the funding opportunity announcement and highlight essential details about the application process, including the types of applications sought, who is eligible to apply, cost share and other requirements, what the application needs to contain, how to ask questions, and how applications will be selected for funding.
Before we begin, I’d like to draw your attention to the email address in the lower right hand side of the cover page. This is the official mailbox to direct all of your questions during the entire FOA process. Please do not contact DOE or DOE laboratory staff directly with questions, including myself, as all questions must be in writing. The reason for only accepting questions in writing is to ensure you receive a formal response and so that everyone has the benefit of that response, because if you have a question, other potential applicants may also have the same question.
As we will not have a live Q&A session as part of this webinar, please capture your questions as they come up and send them via email to tribal@ee.doe.gov. In the subject line of your email, please include the FOA number, which is DE-FOA-0001453. Responses to all questions received at this mailbox will be posted to the frequently ask questions, the FAQs, webpage for this FOA on the EERE Exchange website, unless a similar question has already been asked. Responses to your questions will typically be posted within three business days after receipt. Before submitting a question, please check the FAQ webpage on the EERE Exchange website to see if a similar question has already been answered. In submitting a question, please be careful not to include any language that might be business sensitive, proprietary, or confidential.
Your participation in this webinar is completely voluntary. There are no particular advantages or disadvantages to the application evaluation process with respect to your participation in today's webinar. These slides and an audio recording of this webinar will be posted in the next week or so. As a registrant of the webinar, you'll be notified when this material is available.
You may want to download the FOA document now for reference, as I will be referring to specific pages during the webinar. So let's get started. Next slide, please.
Before we discuss the funding opportunity announcement itself, I wanted to walk you through the EERE Exchange website and where you can find the FOA document itself, the application form, and frequently asked questions, FAQs. The EERE Exchange website is at www.EERE-Exchange.energy.gov. Once on that page, scroll down the list until you load the FOA number. For this FOA, it's DE-FOA-0001453. Clicking the FOA number in the FOA list will take you to the section of the webpage specific to the FOA shown on the slide. As you can see on the slide of the EERE Exchange website, the section specific to this FOA includes a brief summary and other key information. The direct link to the FOA summary is at the bottom of the slide. My apologies for the slide. The screen shot will be expanded on the next few slides. Next slide, please. Pardon me.
As you can see from this screenshot, the EERE Exchange summery for the FOA includes the FOA document itself, application documents, contact information for submitting questions regarding the FOA, and for EERE Exchange support, and a link to the FAQs webpage, and the submission deadline, which is April 14, 2016 at 5:00 eastern time.
If the application documents are not shown, you'll need to click on the view required application documents link under the required application documents. Once the view required application documents link is clicked, a list of those documents will be revealed, as shown on this slide. Next slide, please.
As you can see, once you click on the view required application documents, you'll see the various forms that need to be included as part of your application. Note that these forms only comprise part of an application, and in and of themselves do not make a complete application. Further into the presentation we'll go through the elements that comprise a complete application.
The forms include the application for financial assistance, an SF-424, which is fillable PDF form, the budget justification, or EERE-335, which is a multi-tab Microsoft Excel form, disclosure of lobbying activities, which is an SF-LLL, which is a Word document, and if this does not apply to you, please indicate not applicable, sign, date, and include as part of the application, and a summary slide template, a PowerPoint slide intended to summarize your proposed project.
All other components of the application are self-generated, and for a complete list of the application contents, see the table beginning on page 15 of the FOA document. Next slide, please.
The answers to all FOA-related questions received in our email box, which is tribal@ee.doe.gov, will be posted on the frequently asked questions FAQs webpage specific to this FOA on the EERE Exchange website. This slide shows an example of the FAQ webpage. You may wish to check this page periodically, as questions and answers will continue to be posted throughout the entire time the FOA is open. Next slide, please.
This slide shows the anticipated schedule for the FOA, which is also on the cover page of the funding opportunity announcement document. The FOA has already been posted, and we are conducting the FOA informational webinar now. Please note that all applications are due on the EERE exchange website no later than 5:00 eastern on April 14, 2016. Note that the closing time is 5:00 eastern, so that the help desk assistance and support will be available to you up until the closing time. If you are in Alaska, pacific, mountain, or central time zones, please plan accordingly to meet the 5:00 eastern deadline. Please note that DOE will not extend the submission deadline for applicants that fail to submit the required information due to server connection congestion. The EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadline specific to this FOA. The apply and submit buttons may be disabled at the defined submission deadline. Therefore, please ensure you begin uploading your application at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline to ensure you meet that deadline, and allow one hour to submit the application.
Once the application is submitted in the EERE Exchange, you may revisit or update your application until the expiration of the deadline.
DOE anticipates notifying applications selected for negotiation of award this summer, and making awards in the fall. Each and every applicant will receive a notification letter by email to the technical and administrative points of contacts designed in EERE Exchange system. Notification letters will state whether the application is determined to be non-compliant, which is incomplete or late application, ineligible or non-responsive – see page four of the FOA for application's specifically not of interest, not selected for funding, a selection is postponed, not selected but designated as an alternate, or selected for negotiation towards an award.
The notification letter will state the basis upon which those decisions were made. Note that there is no process for appeal for applications deemed non-compliant or ineligible, and those decisions are final.
To apply for this FOA, applicants must register with and submit application materials through the EERE Exchange at the website shown. Frequently asked questions to this FOA and the EERE application process can be found at the website indicated on the slide. Register in Grants.gov at www.grants.gov to receive automated updates when amendments to this FOA are posted. Please note that applications will not be accepted through Grants.gov, though. Next slide.
The EERE Exchange registration does not have a delay. However, the remaining registration requirements could take several weeks to process, and are necessary for potential applicants to actually receive an award under this FOA. Although not required in order to submit the application through EERE Exchange, all potential applicants lacking a DUNS number or not yet registered with SAM or FedConnect should complete those registrations as soon as possible. So see pages 36 through 37 for information on how to register in the above systems.
All applications are strongly encouraged to carefully read the funding opportunity announcement and to adhere to the stated submission requirements. This presentation summarizes the contents of the FOA. However, if there are any inconsistencies between the FOA and this presentation or statements from DOE personnel, the FOA is the controlling document, and application should rely solely on the FOA language or officially seek clarification from DOE by submitting a written request to tribal@ee.doe.gov. If you believe there are any inconsistencies, please contact us by sending an email to tribal@ee.doe.gov. Next slide.
The agenda for this webinar is as shown. First, we'll provide a summary of the FOA, discuss applications not of interest, aware information, applicant eligibility, cost share, content and forms of application, application eligibility, merit review and selection criteria, registration requirements, and the application submission and points of contact, as well as questions and closing. Pardon me.
The FOA executive summary included on page one of the FOA document includes key information on the FOA. This information is summarized on this and the next few slides. We will go over this information as part of the presentation, but it is provided here as a summary, and I'll give you a moment to read through the slide. [Pause] Next slide, please.
The FOA executive summary included on page one of the FOA document includes key information. This information is summarized here, and we'll go over more as part of the presentation. And I'll give you a moment to read through this slide. [Pause] Next slide, please.
A goal of the DOE Office of Indian Energy is to strength tribal communities, to sustain future generations. The office is charged by Congress under the Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Act of 2005 and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to provide, direct, foster, coordinate, and implement energy planning education management, conservation, and delivery of programs that promote Indian tribal energy development, efficiency in use, reduce and stabilize energy costs, enhance and strengthen Indian tribal energy and economic infrastructure related to natural resource development and electrification, and to bring electrical power and service to Indian land and the homes of tribal members located on non-Indian land, or acquired, constructed, or improved in whole or in part with federal funds. Next slide, please.
Through this funding opportunity announcement, the Office of Indian Energy will continue its efforts to maximize the development and deployment of energy solutions for the benefit of American Indians and Alaska natives, and together with Alaska native tribal regional organizations and intertribal organizations, will provide tribal communities and Alaska native villages the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to implement successful strategic energy solutions on a regional rather than individual tribe or village basis.
The Office of Indian Energy is initially piloting this technical assistance energy providers' network through Alaska native regional corporations and intertribal organizations. Therefore, under this FOA, the DOE Office of Indian Energy is soliciting Alaska native regional corporations and intertribal organizations interested in establishing internal energy experts to provide technical assistance and informational resources to their member Indian tribes, including Alaska native villages, on a regional basis.
It is therefore envisioned that Alaska native regional corporations and intertribal corporations will structure their technical assistance on a regional basis to best meet the needs of their member tribes, resulting in clear, measurable outcomes and end products that include plans to become financially sufficient beyond DOE's Office of Indian Energy funding, and a methodology of equitability, providing services across member Indian tribes or Alaska native villages. Next slide, please.
As part of these intertribal regional programs, it is envisioned that energy experts will coordinate energy solutions among participating energy tribes, including Alaska native villages within the region, deliver technical assistance, build the human capacity by providing information to tribal leaders and staff through workshops and webinars, service an informational clearinghouse for participating Indian tribes, including Native Alaskan Villages Network, with regional and national energy organizations, advise DOE's Office of Indian Energy on energy goals and the needs in their region, and enhance DOE's technical assistance network across Indian country.
In an effort to ensure that each selected energy expert has the same baseline energy information, selected applicants will need to plan and budget for five one-week trips to Golden, Colorado, for training. Also as part of the resulting grants, recipients will be required to attend and present at the annual program review. So please include travel costs for one-week trips each year of the proposed grant period. Typically, these annual program review meetings are held in Denver, Colorado, and for more on the annual review, see Tribal Energy Program Review under projects on the Office of Indian Energy website at www.energy.gov/indianenergy. If you have any questions on either of these requirements, please send those to tribal@ee.doe.gov.
Applications not of interest are indicated on this slide and on page four of the FOA document. As the third bullet may be a little confusing, I'll read the slide and then try to clarify.
Applications that fall outside the parameters specified in section 1A of the FOA and applications proposing the purchase of major equipment, the installation of energy hardware, installation of meters or other indicators, evaluation of product marketing opportunities – pardon me – assessment of manufacturing opportunities research, product development, procurement, major related services, or major construction or manufacturing facilities, are not of interest under this funding opportunity announcement. Next slide, please.
Next, on to the award information. As discussed in the executive summary, DOE expects to make $4 to $7 million in federal funds available for new awards under this FOA. The average award amount is anticipated to range from $300,000.00 to $1 million for a 3 to 5 year grant period. As previously discussed, at the end of the grant period, the funded technical assistance energy providers are expected to be financially sufficient such that they can continue these efforts without further DOE support. Next slide, please. Thanks.
Now we'll go over who is eligible to apply. Only the following types of applicants are eligible to apply for this FOA. Applicants that do not meet these requirements will be deemed ineligible, and their applications will not be reviewed or considered.
In accordance with EPAct 2005 authorities and consistent with 2 CFR 910.126(b) – pardon me – eligibility for awards under this FOA is restricted to Alaska native regional corporations and intertribal organizations that as part of their applications provide written evidence of their authority to submit an application to this FOA on behalf of two or more Indian tribes.
Note that to be eligible, intertribal organizations must include written evidence of their authority to submit an application to the FOA on behalf of two or more Indian tribes. That evidence may include, but is not limited to, a resolution, ordinance, executive order, charter, public law 93638 contract, self-governance compact, or other legal documentation. DOA will determine the sufficiency of the authorization based on the evidence submitted as part of the application. Next slide, please.
For purposes of the FOA only, Alaska native regional corporations means one of the 13 Alaska native regional corporations as defined in and established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Intertribal organizations, as indicated previously, for purposes of this FOA only, mean an organization comprised of two or more Indian tribes established under Congressional, state, or tribal law to act on behalf of the participating Indian tribes.
Intertribal organizations may include, but are not limited to, intertribal councils, regional tribal organizations or associations, Alaska regional development organizations, or ARDORs, and tribal federations.
Note that an Indian tribe, for purposes of this FOA, is an Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including Alaska native villages, but not regional or village corporations, which are recognized as eligible for special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians specifically. For purposes of this announcement, an eligible Indian tribe, including Alaska native village, but not regional village _____, must be federally recognized as listed in Indian Entities, recognized as eligible to receive services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, published by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Federal Registrar on January 14, 2015, under 80 FR 1942, as supplemented by the Bureau of Indian Affairs' final determination for federal acknowledgement of the _____ Indian tribe, effective October 6, 2015.
You may also find these eligibility requirements on page six and seven of the FOA. Next slide, please. Thanks.
Next, on to cost sharing. Under the funding opportunity announcement, required cost share must be at least ten percent of the total allowable costs of the project, where the total – where the total allowable cost of the project is the DOE share and the recipient share of allowable cost. To assist applicants in calculating proper cost share amounts, DOE has included additional cost share information in appendix B of the FOA. Next slide, please.
All cost share must come from non-federal sources unless otherwise allowed by law. Included here and in the FOA on pages seven and eight are a few instances where federal funds can be used as non-federal cost share, including funding under the Indian Self-Determination Act, Tribal Self-Governance Funding Agreement, self-determination contract funding, and compact funding. Additionally, I understand that the ICDBG, Indian Community Development Block Grant Funds, may also be used as non-federal cost share.
If the funds being proposed as non-federal cost share against this announcement are from a federal source allowed by law, the applicant must specifically identify those funds and provide as part of the application evidence of the authority that allows those funds to be used as non-federal cost share. Next slide, please.
The total budget presented in the application must include both federal, DOE, and non-federal cost share, which combined reflect the total project cost proposed. All costs must be verifiable from the recipient's records and be necessary and reasonable for the accomplishment of the project. And as all sources of cost share are considered part of total project costs, the cost share dollars will be scrutinized under the same federal regulations as federal dollars to the project. Next slide, please. Thank you.
Cost share must be allowable. It must be verifiable at the time of submission of the application. Please refer to this chart for your entity's applicable cost share principles. It is imperative that you follow the applicable cost share principles when creating your budgets for the application. Next slide, please.
Cost share can be provided in case or in in kind contributions. They can be provided by the recipient, subcontractors, or a third party. Allowable in kind contributions may include, but are not limited to, contribution of time, unrecovered indirect costs, unrecovered facility and administrative costs, rental value of buildings or equipment, value of a service, other resource, or third party in kind contribution. Next slide. Thank you.
Be aware that there are items that are considered unallowable cost share. If a cost is considered unallowable, it cannot be counted as cost share. This slide provides some examples of cost share that is unallowable. Please take note of the fourth and fifth bullets. Generally, any cost before or after the DOE grant period cannot be consider cost share. Next slide, please.
If an award is made, cost share must be provided on an invoice by invoice basis at as a minimum the percentage negotiated. However, if you are not able to provide the cost share on an invoice by invoice basis, you may request a waiver from the DOE contracting officer. Such a request would be made after notification of selection, prior to award. As an example of cost share on an invoice by invoice basis, if an award is executed and the entity is requesting reimbursement of $50,000.00, and the cost share is 50 percent, then the cost share reflected on that invoice must be $50,000.00, 50 percent of the total project cost of $100,000.00. Next slide.
Next, on to the content and format of the application. Applications must include an application for federal assistance, form SF-424, as a formal application form signed by an authorized representative of the applicant. By signing, the authorized representative is making certain certifications and assurances, and therefore, the form must be printed, signed, scanned, before being uploaded as part of the application. Note that all forms can be obtained from the EERE Exchange website under the required application documents by clicking the required applications documents hyperlinks to the FOA forms _____ and can then be downloaded, completed, and submitted as part of your application.
Next is a summary for public release. Applicants are required to submit a one-page summary of their proposed project for public release. Also included is a summary slide, a single PowerPoint slide that provides quick facts about the proposed project. Slide content requirements are provided in the FOA and the template provided as part of the required applications documents on EERE Exchange.
The technical volume is the key submission describing the proposed the project and addressing the merit review criteria. The technical volume must not exceed ten pages, as DOE will only review the first ten pages. See the table on page 17 through 20 of the FOA document for specific content of the technical volume.
Briefly, though, the technical volume should include a project summary, detailed project description, description of the methodology to be employed to ensure services are equitably provided among member Indian tribes or Alaska native villages, a description of the plan to become financially sufficient beyond DOE grant funding. And under roles and responsibilities and capabilities, the management approach, including the description of the roles and responsibilities and capabilities, and, too, level of commitment. The actual commitments of the applicants and each participant must be included as an attachment. Those commitments may be in the form of a resolution, declarations, and letters of commitment. Note that letters of support from anyone besides member Indian tribes are not required or desired.
The work plan. The work plan should describe the work to be accomplished and how the applicant will achieve project milestones. The work plan must not exceed five pages, as only the first five pages will be reviewed. See pages 21 and 22 of the FOA's specific content of the work plan, and appendix D for the format.
Attachments. We'll discuss the attachments on the next slide. Next slide, please.
During the submittal of your application on EERE Exchange, files are denoted as required or optional. Be aware that files designated as optional on this slide and in EERE Exchange may actually be necessary to complete your application and to fully address the merit review criteria. Attachments to your application may include the site and resource maps and graphics file, and it may be used to supply any graphics to supplement the technical volume, including maps, photographs, or other visuals of the project location, or buildings affected.
Evidence. Statements of commitment and cost sharing is a required filed, and includes the actual commitments from the applicant and each participant. As indicated from the last slide, those commitments may be in the form of resolutions, declarations, letters of commitment. Again, letters of support from anyone besides member Indian tribes are not required or desired.
Evidence of authority. This file is required only for intertribal organizations. As previously presented, intertribal organizations must provide written evidence of their authority to submit an application for this FOA. Evidence of that authority may include, but is not limited to, a resolution, ordinance, executive order, charter, public law 93638 contract, self-governance compact, or other legal documentation. DOE will determine the sufficiency of that authorization evidence – authorization, pardon me, based on the evidence submitted.
Another attachment is the subcontract plan. It is required that project participants, consultants, contractors, or vendors _____ have not been identified. The plan should include a description of the selection process to be employed, the statement of work, and criteria to be used for selection. The subcontract plan may be supplemented by excerpts from the _____ Procurement Policies and Procedures document.
Resumes. It is required for each key person proposed as part of the project: the technical contact, the business contact, tribal staff, consultants, subcontractor representatives, etcetera. A key person is any individual who contributes in a substantial, measurable way to the execution of the project. Each resume must not exceed two pages, and you need to save those resumes in a single file for uploading with your application.
The next attachment is the budget justification, form EERE 335. The budget justification must include both the funds requested from DOE as well as those proposed as cost share. Let me repeat that. The budget and budget justification must reflect all project costs, regardless of whether those funds are being requested from DOE or provided as cost share.
The form itself is a multi-tab Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. In addition to the proposed costs, the form requests the basis for the costs being proposed. The form can be downloaded from the EERE Exchange website. Applications must provide a separate budget justification form each sub-awardee, which is a sub-recipient or subcontractor, but excluding vendors, that is expected to perform work estimated to be more than $250,000.00, or more than 25 percent of the total work effort, whichever is less.
Remember, the budget justification must address the total project cost, both the funds being requested from DOE, as well as those proposed as cost share.
The budget support file is an optional file. The file, if submitted, may include documentation, such as an indirect rate agreement, breakdown of fringe cost, vendor quotes which exceed $250,000.00, or other relevant supplemental budget information.
The other attachment is the disclosure of lobbying activities, form SF-LLL. Recipients and sub-recipients may not use any federal funds to influence or attempt to influence, directly or indirectly, Congressional action on any legislative or appropriation matters. All applicants are required to complete and submit and SF-LLL, disclosure of lobbying activities, and disclose if any non-federal funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence any of the following in connection with your application: an officer or employee of any federal agency, a member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a member of Congress. If no non-federal funds have been paid or will be paid to any person, indicate none on the form, sign, scan, and submit with your application. Next slide, please.
This slide summarizes the elements of an application included on pages 15 of the FOA document. I'd recommend that if you choose to apply to this funding opportunity, to use this table as a checklist when preparing and when uploading your application. Just another reminder to capture any questions you may have as they come up and to send them via email to tribal@ee.doe.gov, including the FOA name and number in the subject line. Next slide, please.
As we previously pointed out, applicants must submit applications no later than 5:00 eastern time on April 14th, 2016. Once submitted, DOE will conduct an eligibility review, and an application will be deemed eligible if the applicant is an eligible entity, and you need to refer to section 3A of the FOA, pages six and seven. Specifically, eligibility for award under this funding opportunity announcement is restricted to Alaska native regional corporations and intertribal corporations that, as part of their application, provide written evidence of their authority to submit an application on behalf of two or more Indian tribes.
Another eligibility requirement is cost share. You can find that under section 3B on pages seven and eight of the FOA document. Required cost share must be at least ten percent of the total allowable cost of the project. Remember, the sum of both the DOE share and the recipient share of allowable cost equals the total allowable cost of the project. The application is eligible if it complies with the content and form requirements, the applicant successfully uploaded all required documents and clicked the submit button in the EERE Exchange by the deadline. In other words, a complete application submitted by the deadline.
Section 3C on page 11 of the FOA, the proposed project is responsive to the intent of the FOA. See section 1A and section 3D of the FOA. Specifically, any application not responsive to the intent of the FOA as described in section 1, or as identified specifically not of interest as described in section 1B on page 4 of the FOA, will be deemed nonresponsive and not reviewed or considered, and if the application meets any other eligibility requirements listed in section 3 of the FOA. Please aware that DOE will not make eligibility determinations prior to the date on which the applications are due.
The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant. In other words, DOE will not advise or make determination on whether your entity or your proposed project are eligible, so please do not seek advice from any DOE employees or DOE laboratory staff. Next slide, please.
The merit review and selection process consists of a series of reviews, including the initial eligibility review that we just spoke about, a rigorous technical review, and a programmatic review. The rigorous technical reviews are conducted by reviewers that are experts in the subject matter of the FOA.
Ultimately, the selection official considers the recommendations of the reviewers, along with considerations such as program policy factors, to make the selection decision. See a description of the process on the next slide. Next.
This slide reflects the multi-tiered review process, and I'll give you a moment. Next slide, please.
Next, we go over the merit review criteria, or what your application will be reviewed against. The four criterion are executive summary, project description and outcome, roles, responsibilities, capabilities, and commitment, and the work plan. Each of the criterion have varying weights, ranging from 15 to 40 percent, where the weight indicates the relative importance of the criteria. See pages 31 and 32 of the technical merit review criteria if you are following along with the FOA document. Also note that the technical volume and the work plan, as described in the tables on page 17 through 22, follow the same order and describe the required content on which the criteria will be applied.
The project summery or criteria one is worth 15 percent of the total score, and includes clarity of the overview of the proposed project, quality and completeness of the description of the applicant, which includes the items listed on the slide there, soundness of the discussion of the need for and impact of DOE funding to the proposed project, and the implications if not funded. Next slide, please.
Criterion two are the project description and outcome. It's weighted at 40 percent. It includes the extent to which the proposed project services the Indian tribes being represented, taking into account the items shown on the slide, the reasonableness of the methodology to be employed to ensure services under the proposed project are equitably provided among member tribes, including Alaska native villages, and third, the quality of the proposed plan to become financially sufficient beyond the grant funding period. Next slide, please. Thank you.
The third criterion, roles, responsibilities, capabilities, and commitment, is worth 30 percent, and finally, criterion four is the work plan, weighted at 15 percent. And I'll give you a moment to review the sub-criteria. [Pause] Next slide, please.
Next, on to the selection factors. The selection official may consider the merit review recommendations, program policy factors, and the amount of funds available in arriving at selections for this FOA. After the merit review process, the selection official may consider the program policy factors shown here to come to a final selection decision. The program policy factors are included here and on page 32 and 33 of the FOA, and I'll give you a moment to read through those. [Pause]
Under the third bullet, please note that the only – that only applies to the two Indian tribes designated as the Climate Action Champion, specifically Blue Lake Rancheria and the Sault Ste. Marie tribe of the Chippewa Indians. Next slide, please.
Registration requirements. To apply to this FOA, applicants must register with and submit application materials through EERE Exchange at the website shown. A control number will be assigned while registering in EERE Exchange. You'll need to retain this number, as it will be used as an identifier, and required on all application documents. Although not required to submit an application, the following registrations must be complete to receive an award under the FOA. You need a DUNS number, you need to be registered in SAM and FedConnect and Grants.gov. The EERE Exchange registration does not have a delay: however, the remaining registration requirements in the table could take several weeks to process, and are necessary for any potential applicant to receive an award.
Therefore, although not required to submit an application, all potential applicants lacking a DUNS number or not yet registered in SAM or FedConnect should complete those registrations as soon as possible. DUNS number. To obtain a DUNS number, Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Number System, DUNS number, through the website link shown. SAM, System for Award Management. Register with the System for Award Management System, designating an electronic business point of contact, E-Biz POC, and obtaining a special password called an MPIN, are important steps in the SAM registration. SAM registration must be updated annually.
FedConnect. Registering in FedConnect. To create an organizational account, your organization's SAM MPIN obtained through the SAM registration is required to register in FedConnect. For more information about the SAM MPIN or other registration requirements, review the FedConnect Ready Set Go Guide, which can be obtained from the FedConnect site. Note that all documents associated with any award will only be available through the FedConnect system, and therefore, it's required if an award is made. You may also wish to register in Grants.gov to receive automated updates with amendments to this FOA are posted. However, please note that applications will not be accepted through Grants.gov.
For more information on these registrations, please see page 36 and 37 of the FOA document. Next slide, please.
All required submission must come through EERE Exchange. DOE will not review or consider applications submitted through any other means. Please see the users' guide for applying to DOE or applying to the Department of Energy Funding Opportunity Announcements found on the EERE Exchange, under manuals. It is a step by step guide, including screen shots, on how to register and how to submit an application into EERE Exchange.
Please note that for this FOA, there are no pre-application documents, such as concept papers or letters of intent, nor will you be able to reply to reviewer comments, as reviewer comments will not be provided to the applicant until after selections have been made. So please disregard those sections of the EERE Exchange Users' Guide. Next slide, please.
Key submission points. You need to check your entries in EERE Exchange. Submissions could be deemed ineligible due to incorrect entry. DOE strongly encourages the applicants to submit an application one to two days prior to the deadline to allow for full upload of the application documents, and to avoid any potential technical glitches with the system. Make sure you hit the submit button. Any changes made after you hit the submit button will be – un-submit your application, and you will need to hit the submit button again. For your records, print out the EERE Exchange confirmation page at each step, which contains the applicants control number.
Applicants that experience issues with submission prior to the FOA deadline should contact the Exchange help desk for assistance at EERE-Exchangesupport@hq.doe.gov. The Exchange help desk and/or EERE Exchange system administrators will assist applicants in resolving issues. The Office of Indian Energy is not able to assist with technical issues associated with the system or the submittal of an application. Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in late submissions should also contact the Exchange help desk for assistance. The Exchange help desk or EERE Exchange system administrators may be able to assist. It is strongly encouraged that you keep records and/or documentation, including screen shots, of any issues you experience submitting your application. Next slide, please.
Applicants must designate primary and backup points of contact in the EERE Exchange with whom DOE will communicate during the process. Remember that these are the contacts that will be used to notify applicants of whether their application was deemed non-responsive, non-compliant, unsuccessful, or selected for negotiation of an award. It is imperative that the applicant or selectees be responsive during the award negotiations and meet negotiation deadlines. Failure to do so may result in cancellation of further award negotiations or rescission of the selection. Next slide, please.
Questions about this FOA, as we've said numerous times, please email tribal@ee.doe.gov with any questions, and those will be posted. All questions related to the FOA will be posted on an EERE Exchange website under the frequently asked questions or FAQs site. DOE will attempt to respond to questions in three business days, unless a similar question has already been posted on the website. You will be notified via email when a response to your question has been posted. Next slide. Thank you.
Problems logging into EERE Exchange or uploading and submitting applications documents, please email EERE-Exchangesupport@hq.doe.gov and include the FOA name and number, and they can help you with those issues. As we did not entertain questions during this webinar, please send any to us via email at tribal@ee.doe.gov. Again, please include the FOA name and number in the subject line.
In closing, please download the funding opportunity announcement, DE-FOA-0001453, and read it thoroughly so you understand all the steps and requirements for submitting an application. Do not rely solely on this webinar. If you are considering submitting an application, please register in EERE Exchange as soon as possible and obtain a control number. As previously indicated, this control number must be included on all application documents. Check the frequently asked questions on the EERE Exchange periodically for any supplemental information or amendments to the FOA.
A few final comments. Remember, registering in Grants.gov means you'll receive email notices of any amendments to the FOA, but applications will not be accepted through Grants.gov. I want to thank you for your attention, and before I close, I'd also like to invite you to join the Office of Indian Energy's email list. To join, see the lower right corner of our website at www.Energy.gov/Indianenergy. By subscribing, you'll receive any information on this funding opportunity announcement, funding opportunities through other agencies, training opportunities, webinars, and other upcoming events.
For information on previously funded tribal energy projects, see projects on the website navigation. For a list of other open funding opportunities, see funding on the website. The Office of Indian Energy also offers technical assistance. If you're interested, please check out the technical assistance section of the website and submit a request.
These slides and an audio recording of this webinar will be posted in the next week or so, and as a registrant of the webinar, you'll be notified when this material is available. If there are any inconsistencies between the funding opportunity announcement, this presentation, or statements from DOE personnel, the FOA document is the controlling document, and applicants should rely on the FOA language, or seek clarification by sending your questions to tribal@ee.doe.gov.
Hopefully, we've answered some of your questions and provided an overview of the FOA in the process. We look forward to seeing your project ideas as part of your applications, and possibly working with you in the future. Have a wonderful afternoon, and this concludes today's webinar. Thank you.
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