Grantee Research Project Results
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
National Center for Environmental Research
P3 Award Program
CLOSED - FOR REFERENCES PURPOSES ONLY
5th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet
This is the initial announcement of this funding opportunity.
Funding Opportunity Number:
- EPA-G2008-P3-Z1 – Agriculture
- EPA-G2008-P3-Z2 – Materials and Chemistry
- EPA-G2008-P3-Z3 – Energy
- EPA-G2008-P3-Z4 – Information Technology
- EPA-G2008-P3-Z5 – Water
- EPA-G2008-P3-Z6 – Built Environment
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 66.516
Solicitation Opening Date: August 31, 2007
Solicitation Closing Date: December 20, 2007; 4:00 pm Eastern Time
Eligibility Contact: Tom Barnwell (barnwell.thomas@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9862
Electronic Submissions: Thomas O'Farrell (O'Farrell.Thomas@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9639
Technical Contact: Cynthia L. Nolt-Helms (nolt-helms.cynthia@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9693
Access Standard Application Forms (https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms)
View research awarded under previous solicitations (https://www.epa.gov/P3)
SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Synopsis of Program
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of the P3 Award Program, is seeking applications proposing to research, develop, and design solutions to real world challenges involving sustainability. The P3 competition highlights people, prosperity, and the planet – the three pillars of sustainability. The P3 Awards program is a partnership between the public and private sectors to foster progress toward sustainability by achieving the mutual goals of economic prosperity, protection of the planet, and improved quality of life for its people. The EPA offers the P3 competition in order to respond to the technical needs of the developed and developing world while moving towards the goal of sustainability. Please see the P3 website (https://www.epa.gov/P3) for more details about this program.
Award Information:
Anticipated Type of Award: Grant
Estimated Number of Awards: Approximately 55 awards for Phase I; Approximately 6 awards for Phase II
Anticipated Funding Amount: Approximately $1,000,000 total for all awards
Potential Funding per Award: Up to $10,000 per Phase I grant for one year including direct and indirect costs. Proposals for Phase I grants with budgets exceeding $10,000 will not be considered. Upon the successful completion of Phase I, Phase I grant recipients will have the opportunity to apply for Phase II funding of up to $75,000 for two additional years including direct and indirect costs (see Background section for more information). Proposals for Phase II grants with budgets exceeding $75,000 will not be considered. Cost-sharing is not required for either Phase I or Phase II grants.
Eligibility Information:
Public nonprofit institutions/organizations (limited to public institutions of higher education) and private nonprofit institutions/organizations (limited to private institutions of higher education) located in the U.S. are eligible to apply. See full announcement for more details.
Application Materials:
You may submit either a paper application or an electronic application (but not both) for this announcement. The necessary forms for submitting a P3 application will be found on the National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) web site, https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms. To apply electronically, you must use the application package available at Grants.gov (see “Submission Instructions for Electronic Applications” in Section IV). If your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, you need to allow approximately one week to complete the registration process to apply electronically. This registration, and electronic submission of your application, must be performed by an authorized representative of your organization.
Agency Contacts:
Eligibility Contact: Tom Barnwell (barnwell.thomas@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9862
Electronic Submissions: Thomas O'Farrell (O'Farrell.Thomas@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9639
Technical Contact: Cynthia L. Nolt-Helms (nolt-helms.cynthia@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9693
I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION
A. Introduction
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the auspices of the Office of Research and Development (ORD), National Center for Environmental Research (NCER), and its partners (see https://www.epa.gov/P3 for specific names) invite submissions to the 5th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability. P3 focuses on the three components of sustainability: People, Prosperity and the Planet. The P3 Program is intended to support designs that benefit people by improving their quality of life; promote prosperity by developing local economies or creating small businesses; and protect the planet by conserving resources and minimizing pollution.
The concept of sustainable development became widely promoted following publication of G. Bruntland’s Our Common Future in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development. That document defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (Oxford University Press, 1987). Although the definitions of sustainability have varied during the past 20 years, a useful definition for engineers was set forth by Mihelcic et al. (2003) as the “design of human and industrial systems to ensure that humankind’s use of natural resources and cycles do not lead to diminished quality of life due either to losses in future economic opportunities or to adverse impacts on social conditions, human health and the environment.” Fundamentally, sustainability requires the balancing of economic prosperity, environmental responsibility, and social fairness.
P3 Awards will be given to the winners of the second phase of this national, intercollegiate design competition among interdisciplinary student teams for their research, development, and design of solutions to the scientific, technical, and policy challenges confronting sustainability.
The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to solicit innovative design proposals to compete for a grant in the first phase of the P3 competition. The P3 Award is a subsequent award for further development and demonstration (also known as a Phase II grant). The competitors for the P3 Awards will be limited to those selected to receive support as a result of the competition under this RFA (Phase I). Additional instructions for the Phase II proposals can be found below in the section entitled “Instructions for Phase II proposals”.
This RFA represents the fifth National P3 Awards competition. The projects funded through the first four competitions can be viewed at https://www.epa.gov/P3.
B. Background
Among the critical components of promoting a systematic shift towards more environmentally benign and sustainable products, processes, and systems is increased awareness and training. It is essential that all involved in the design, discovery, demonstration, and implementation of sustainable innovations understand the fundamental methodologies, techniques, and principles that underlie sustainability. In addition, it is imperative to recognize that scientific, engineering, and policy innovation play a key role in addressing the persistent challenge of under-development in the world. Fundamental to the success of sustainable designs is recognizing the needs, available resources, and boundaries of the intended user.
This announcement, which addresses the first phase (Phase I) of the competition for a P3 Award, requests innovative design proposals from eligible institutions in order to obtain support for a student team to compete for one of EPA’s P3 Awards. In Phase I, the EPA will fund approximately 55 student design projects from around the country during the 2008-2009 academic year to research and develop their sustainable designs.
Phase II will begin in the Spring of 2009, when the student teams and their faculty advisor (the Principal Investigator on the grant) will be invited to submit their completed Phase I design to compete for one of EPA’s P3 Awards. (Recipients of Phase I grants may submit a proposal to EPA requesting additional funds from EPA for Phase II as described in the “Instructions for Phase II proposals” section below.) The Phase I design and the proposal for Phase II submitted in the Spring of 2009 will be considered in the evaluation for the selection of winners at the P3 Awards competition, along with a demonstration event at the National Sustainable Design Expo held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. A panel of qualified experts will be convened to judge the competition for the P3 Awards. (More information about the Expo is available at the P3 website.)
Partnerships with industry or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are strongly encouraged, particularly in Phase II. These partners are expected to help further develop the design, demonstrate the project in the field, and/or move the design to the marketplace. Matching contributions are not required in either the Phase I or the Phase II competition; however, anticipated partnerships should be identified.
Sustainability in both the developed and developing world requires scientific and technical innovation to create designs that enable the earth and its inhabitants to prosper. The EPA is conducting the competition for the P3 Awards in order to demonstrate to the nation and the world the possibilities of innovative, inherently benign, integrated, and interdisciplinary designs that simultaneously benefit people, promote prosperity, and protect and preserve the planet.
The specific Strategic Goal and Objective from EPA’s Strategic Plan that relate to this solicitation are: Goal 5: Compliance and Environmental Stewardship, Objective 5.4: Enhance Science and Research. The EPA’s Strategic Plan can be found at https://www.epa.gov/ocfo/plan/2006/entire_report.pdf (PDF) (184 pp, 11.56 MB).
C. Authorities and Regulations
- Statutory Authorities
The authorities for this RFA and resulting awards are contained in the Clean Air Act (CAA), Section 103, 42 U.S.C. 7403; Clean Water Act (CWA), Section 104, 33 U.S.C.; the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), Section 1442, 42 U.S.C. 300j-1; the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Section 20, 7 U.S.C. 136r; the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA), Section 8001, 42 U.S.C. 6981; and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Section 10, 15 U.S.C. 2609. For research with an international aspect, the above statutes are supplemented, as appropriate, by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Section 102(2)(F). Specific descriptions of the areas of research that are authorized by each statute are described below:CAA: Clean Air Act--Section 103
Section 103 of the Clean Air Act authorizes the EPA to make grants to institutions for research, investigations, experiments, demonstrations, surveys and studies relating to the causes, effects (including health and welfare effects), extent, prevention and control of air pollution.CWA: Clean Water Act--Section 104 (freshwater ecosystems)
Section 104 of the Clean Water Act authorizes the EPA to make grants to colleges and universities to conduct basic research into the structure and function of freshwater aquatic ecosystems and to improve understanding of the ecological characteristics necessary to the maintenance of the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of these systems.CWA: Clean Water Act--Section 104
Section 104 of the Clean Water Act authorizes the EPA to make grants to institutions for research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of water pollution.SDWA: Safe Drinking Water Act--Section 1442
Section 1442 of the Safe Drinking Water Act authorizes the EPA to make grants for research, training, studies, and demonstrations relating to the causes, diagnosis, treatment, control, and prevention of physical and mental diseases and other impairments of man resulting directly or indirectly from contaminants in water, or to the provision of a dependably safe supply of drinking water, including (A) improved methods: (i) to identify and measure the existence of contaminants in drinking water (including methods which may be used by State and local health and water officials), and (ii) to identify the source of such contaminants; (B) improved methods to identify and measure the health effects of contaminants in drinking water; (C) new methods of treating raw water to prepare it for drinking, so as to improve the efficiency of water treatment and to remove contaminants from water; (D) improved methods for providing a dependably safe supply of drinking water, including improvements in water purification and distribution, and methods of assessing the health related hazards of drinking water; and (E) improved methods of protecting underground water sources of public water systems from contamination.FIFRA: Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act--Section 20
Section 20 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act authorizes the EPA to make grants for pesticide-related research, development, monitoring, public education, training, demonstrations, and studies.SWDA: Solid Waste Disposal Act--Section 8001
Section 8001 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act authorizes the EPA to make grants for research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, public education programs and studies relating to: (1) adverse health and welfare effects from solid waste; (2) solid waste management programs; (3) resource recovery and conservation, and hazardous waste management systems; (4) production of usable forms of recovered resources; (5) waste reduction; (6) improved solid waste collection and disposal methods; (7) identification of solid waste components; (8) small scale and low technology solid waste management systems; (9) methods to improve performance of recovered solid waste; (10) improvements in land disposal practices; (11) methods for sound disposal of resources, including sludge and coal slurry; (12) methods of hazardous waste management; and (13) air quality impacts from the burning of solid waste.TSCA: Toxic Substance Control Act--Section 10
Section 10 of the Toxic Substance Control Act authorizes the EPA to make grants for research, development, monitoring, public education, training, demonstrations and studies directed toward the development of the fundamental scientific basis of screening and monitoring techniques used to detect toxic chemical substances and quantify the effects of toxic chemical substances and mixtures in the environment.NEPA: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)--Section 102(2)(F)
For research with an international aspect, the above statutes are supplemented, as appropriate, by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Section 102(2)(F) which authorizes support to foreign recipients and international work/travel by domestic recipients. - Applicable Regulations
Applicable regulations include: 40 CFR Part 30 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations) and 40 CFR Part 40 (Research and Demonstration Grants). Applicable OMB Circulars include: OMB Circular A-21 (Cost Principles for Educational Institutions) relocated to 2 CFR Part 220, OMB Circular A-110 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Other Non-Profit Organizations) relocated to 2 CFR Part 215, and OMB Circular A-122, (Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations) relocated to 2 CFR Part 230.
D. Specific Areas of Interest/Expected Outputs and Outcomes
Note to applicant: The term “output” means an environmental activity or effort, and associated work products, related to a specific environmental goal(s), (e.g., testing a new methodology), that will be produced or developed over a period of time under the agreement. The term “outcome” means the result, effect, or consequence that will occur from the above activit(ies) that is related to an environmental, behavioral, or health-related objective.
The P3 program aims to generate research outputs in the form of innovative, inherently benign, integrated, and interdisciplinary designs that will advance the scientific, technical, and policy knowledge necessary to further the goals of sustainability. The desired outcomes of the P3 research are to minimize the use and generation of hazardous substances, utilize resources and energy effectively and efficiently and simultaneously advance economic competitiveness and maintain or improve human health.
This Phase I competition is purposely designed to provide flexibility for creativity, allowing the interdisciplinary teams of students to: (1) define a technical challenge to sustainability; (2) discuss the relationship of the challenge to people, prosperity, and the planet; and (3) develop a design approach to address the challenge.
Challenges from a wide range of categories will be considered. Proposals can include, but are not limited to, the technical challenges listed as examples in the category descriptions below. All projects, regardless of category, should be student led with faculty involvement, as appropriate and necessary. All projects must be research as authorized by one or more of the statutes described in Section C.1. above. (NEPA is a secondary supporting statute and can not be the sole supporting statute for a proposed project.)
Categories include:
- agriculture (e.g., irrigation practices, reduction or elimination of pesticides)
- materials and chemicals (e.g., materials conservation; renewable, bio-based feedstocks; inherently benign materials and chemicals through green engineering and green chemistry; biotechnology; recovery and reuse of materials through product, process, or system design)
- energy (e.g., reduction in air emissions through innovative strategies for energy production and energy distribution; energy conservation; inherently benign energy through green chemistry, green engineering; biotechnology)
- information technology (e.g., delivery of and access to environmental performance, technical, educational, or public health information related environmental decision-making)
- water (e.g., water quality, quantity, conservation, availability, and access)
- built environment (e.g., environmental benefits through innovative green buildings, transportation and mobility strategies, and smart growth as it results in reduced vehicle miles traveled or reduces storm water runoff)
Challenges related to population growth and medical care, while important, are not included in this competition (other than the delivery or distribution systems of knowledge, goods, and supplies).
- Bruntland, G. (Ed.) (1987) Our common future: The world commission on environment and Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Mihelcic, J.R., Crittendan, J.C., Small, M.J., Shonnard, D.R., Hokanson, D.R., Zhang, Q. Sustainability science and engineering: The emergence of a new metadiscipline. Environmental Science and Technology, 37, 5314-5324 (2003).
F. Special Requirements
Agency policy prevents EPA technical staff and managers from providing individual applicants information that may create an unfair competitive advantage. Consequently, EPA employees will not review, comment, advise, and/or provide technical assistance to applicants preparing applications in response to EPA RFAs, nor will they endorse an application or discuss in any manner how the Agency will apply the published evaluation criteria for this competition.
Groups of two or more eligible applicants may choose to form a consortium and submit a single application for this assistance agreement. The application must identify which organization will be the recipient of the assistance agreement and which organization(s) will be subawardees of the recipient.
These awards may involve the collection of “Geospatial Information,” which includes information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or constructed features or boundaries on the Earth or applications, tools, and hardware associated with the generation, maintenance, or distribution of such information. This information may be derived from, among other things, a Geographic Positioning System (GPS), remote sensing, mapping, charting, and surveying technologies, or statistical data.
It is anticipated that a total of approximately $550,000 will be awarded under this announcement for Phase I, depending on the availability of funds and quality of applications received. The EPA anticipates funding approximately 55 grants for Phase I under this RFA. The projected EPA award amount for each Phase I grant is up to $10,000 for one year. Requests for amounts in excess of a total of $10,000, including direct and indirect costs, will not be considered. The total project period for an application submitted in response to this RFA may not exceed one year.
Based on the completed Phase I design, the proposal for additional funding under Phase II, and recommendations from the judging panel, EPA will select approximately six P3 Award winners from among recipients of Phase I funding, depending on the availability of funds. These P3 Award winners will be eligible to receive additional Phase II funding of up to $75,000 each from EPA, bringing the total funding under this solicitation for Phase I and Phase II to approximately $1,000,000. Proposals for Phase II grants with budgets exceeding $75,000 will not be considered.
The EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards, or make more or fewer awards than anticipated, under this RFA. The EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy, if additional funding becomes available after the original selections are made. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than four months after the original selection decisions.
EPA intends to award only grants under this announcement. Under a grant, EPA scientists and engineers are not permitted to be substantially involved in the execution of the research. However, EPA encourages interaction between its own laboratory scientists and grant Principal Investigators or P3 team members after the award of an EPA grant for the sole purpose of exchanging information in research areas of common interest that may add value to their respective research activities. This interaction must be incidental to achieving the goals of the research under a grant. Interaction that is “incidental” does not involve resource commitments.
A. Eligible Applicants
Public nonprofit institutions/organizations (limited to public institutions of higher education) and private nonprofit institutions/organizations (limited to private institutions of higher education) located in the U.S. are eligible to apply to be the recipient of a grant to support teams of undergraduate and/or graduate students. The students on the teams supported by the institution receiving the grant must be enrolled in the college, university, or post-secondary educational institution they will be representing at the time the proposal is submitted. Institutions are allowed to submit more than one proposal where each proposal represents a unique design concept and student team. For the purposes of grant administration, the team's faculty advisor will be designated the Principal Investigator throughout the P3 grant award and competition process. In addition to the Principal Investigator, each team selected for award will also be asked to provide contact information for a student lead.
Universities and educational institutions must be subject to OMB Circular A-21. Profit-making firms are not eligible to receive grants from the EPA under this program. Eligible nonprofit organizations include research institutes, corporations, or foundations that are part of a U.S. institution of higher education. However, nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that lobby are not eligible to apply.
National laboratories funded by Federal Agencies (Federally-Funded Research and Development Centers, “FFRDCs”) may not apply. FFRDC employees may cooperate or collaborate with eligible applicants within the limits imposed by applicable legislation and regulations. They may participate in planning, conducting, and analyzing the research directed by the applicant, but may not direct projects on behalf of the applicant organization. The institution, organization, or governance receiving the award may provide funds through its assistance agreement from the EPA to an FFRDC for research personnel, supplies, equipment, and other expenses directly related to the research. However, salaries for permanent FFRDC employees may not be provided through this mechanism.
Federal Agencies may not apply. Federal employees are not eligible to serve in a principal leadership role on an assistance agreement, and may not receive salaries or augment their Agency’s appropriations in other ways through awards made under this program.
The applicant institution may enter into an agreement with a Federal Agency to purchase or utilize unique supplies or services unavailable in the private sector. Examples are purchase of satellite data, census data tapes, chemical reference standards, analyses, or use of instrumentation or other facilities not available elsewhere. A written justification for federal involvement must be included in the application. In addition, an appropriate form of assurance that documents the commitment, such as a letter of intent from the Federal Agency involved, should be included.
Interdisciplinary teams, including representatives from multiple engineering departments and/or departments of chemistry, architecture, industrial design, business, economics, policy, social science, and others, are strongly encouraged to submit an application through their institution.
Collaboration with colleges and universities outside the United States is permitted, but only U.S. institutions will be eligible for awards. Up to 40% of the total grant may be sub-contracted to another educational institution (domestic or foreign) as described in instructions for submitting to this RFA. If foreign work is performed, in the process of funding the grant, EPA’s Office of Research and Development is required to obtain clearance from EPA’s Office of International Activities and the U.S. Department of State.
Potential applicants who are uncertain of their eligibility should contact Tom Barnwell (barnwell.thomas@epa.gov) in NCER, phone (202) 343-9862.
B. Cost-Sharing
Institutional cost-sharing is not required for Phase I or Phase II. However, if partners are providing contributions (funding and/or in-kind), this information should be included on the budget forms and should be described, as requested below, in the research plan. In addition, a brief statement concerning cost-sharing should be added to the budget justification.
C. Other
Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV of this announcement or they will be rejected. In addition, where a page limitation is expressed in Section IV with respect to parts of the application, pages in excess of the page limit will not be reviewed. Applications must be received by the EPA, or Grants.gov, on or before the solicitation closing date and time in Section IV of this announcement or they will be returned to the sender without further consideration. Also, applications exceeding the funding limits or project period term described herein will be returned without review. Further, applications that fail to demonstrate a public purpose of support or stimulation (e.g., by proposing research which primarily benefits a Federal program or provides a service for a Federal agency) will not be funded.
In addition, to be eligible for funding consideration, a project’s focus must consist of activities within the statutory terms of EPA’s financial assistance authorities; specifically, the statutes listed in I.C. above. Generally, a project must address the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of air pollution, water pollution, solid/hazardous waste pollution, toxic substances control, or pesticide control depending on which statute(s) is listed in I.C. above. These activities should relate to the gathering or transferring of information or advancing the state of knowledge. Proposals should emphasize this “learning” concept, as opposed to “fixing” an environmental problem via a well-established method. For example, a proposal to plant some trees in an economically depressed area, in order to prevent erosion, would probably not, in itself, fall within the statutory terms “research, studies” etc., nor would a proposal to start a routine recycling program. The statutory term “demonstration” can encompass the first instance of the application of a pollution control technique, or an innovative application of a previously used method. Similarly, the application of established practices may qualify when they are part of a broader project which qualifies under the term “research”. However, EPA cannot fund demonstration projects year after year for an indefinite period of time. Proposals relating to other topics which are sometimes included within the term “environment” such as recreation, conservation, restoration, protection of wildlife habitats, etc., must describe the relationship of these topics to the statutorily required purpose of pollution prevention and/or control.
As mentioned above, the competitors for the P3 Awards and the subsequent award for further development and demonstration (Phase II) will be limited to those selected to receive support as a result of the competition under this RFA (Phase I).
Applications deemed ineligible for funding consideration will be notified within fifteen calendar days of the ineligibility determination.
IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
You may submit either a paper application or an electronic application (but not both) for this announcement. Instructions for both types of submission follow in Section E. If not otherwise marked, instructions apply to both types of submissions.
A. Internet Address to Request Application Package
For paper applications, forms and instructions can be found on the NCER web site: https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms.
For electronic applications, use the application package available at Grants.gov (see “Submission Instructions for Electronic Applications” in Section E). Note: With the exception of the budget form and the current and pending support form (available at https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms), all necessary forms are included in the electronic application package.
For both paper and electronic applications, an email will be sent by NCER to the Principal Investigator and the Administrative Contact (see below) to acknowledge receipt of the application and transmit other important information. The email will be sent from receipt.application@epa.gov; emails to this address will not be accepted. If you do not receive an email acknowledgment within 30 days of the submission closing date, immediately inform the Eligibility Contact shown in this solicitation. Failure to do so may result in your application not being reviewed. See “Submission Instructions for Electronic Applications” for additional information regarding acknowledgment of receipt of electronically submitted applications. Please note: Due to often-lengthy delays in delivery, it is especially important that you monitor NCER’s confirmation of receipt of your application when using regular mail.
B. Content and Form of Application Submission
The application is made by submitting the materials described below. Applications must contain all information requested and be submitted in the formats described.
- Standard Form 424
The applicant must complete Standard Form 424. This form will be the first page(s) of the application. Instructions for completion of the SF424 are included with the form. The form must contain the original (or electronic) signature of an authorized representative of the applying institution.Applicants are required to provide a “Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System” (DUNS) number when applying for federal grants or cooperative agreements. Organizations may receive a DUNS number by calling 1-866-705-5711 or by visiting the web site at http://www.dnb.com.
Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs,” applies to most EPA programs and assistance agreements, unless the program or assistance agreement supports tribal, training/fellowships (other than Wastewater and Small Water Systems Operator training programs), and research and development (with some exceptions). The SF424 refers to this Executive Order requirement. National research programs are generally exempt from review unless the proposals (a) require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), or (b) do not require an EIS but will be newly initiated at a particular site and require unusual measures to limit the possibility of adverse exposure or hazard to the general public, or (c) have a unique geographic focus and are directly relevant to the governmental responsibilities of a State or local government within that geographic area. To determine whether their state participates in this process, and how to comply, applicants should consult http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html.
- Key Contacts
The applicant must complete the “Key Contacts” form as the second page of the application: a Key Contacts continuation page is also available at https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms. The Key Contacts form should also be completed for major sub-agreements (i.e., primary co-investigators). Please make certain that all contact information is accurate. - Table of Contents
Provide a list of the major subdivisions of the application indicating the page number on which each section begins. - Abstract (1 page)
The abstract is a very important document in the review process. Therefore, it is critical that the abstract accurately describes the research being proposed and conveys all the essential elements of the research. Also, the abstracts of applications that receive funding will be posted on the NCER web site.The abstract should include the information described below (a-j). Examples of abstracts for previous P3 grants may be found on the P3 web site.
- Research Category and Funding Opportunity Number: Enter the full name of the solicitation (P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet) and one of the six funding opportunity numbers that appear at the beginning of this announcement. The funding opportunity number selected should be the one that reflects the challenge area that best represents the proposed project.
- Title: Use the exact title of your project as it appears in the application. The title must be brief yet represent the major thrust of the project. Because the title will be used by those not familiar with the project, strike a balance between highly technical words and phrases and more commonly understood terminology. Do not use general phrases such as “research on.”
- Faculty Advisor: List the faculty advisor, then the names and affiliations of each co-advisor who will significantly contribute to the project. Provide a web site URL or an e-mail contact address for additional information. The faculty advisor will serve as the Principal Investigator for the purposes of the award.
- Institution: In the same order as the list of advisors, list the name, city and state of each participating university or other applicant institution. The lead institution applying for assistance must be clearly identified.
- Student Represented Departments and Institutions: List the departments and institutions that will be represented by the students participating on the team.
- Project Period: The Phase I project will begin on or about August 4, 2008 and end on or about April 1, 2009.
- Project Amount: Show the total dollars requested from the EPA for the entire project period such that the budget total does not exceed $10,000, including direct and indirect costs.
- Total Project Amount: Show the total dollar amount, including total dollar request from EPA and an estimate of the total contribution (funding and/or in-kind) that will be provided by partners (such as educational institutions, industry, NGOs), if applicable.
- Project Summary: Cover the following: (1) Definition of a technical challenge to sustainability; (2) Development of an innovative design approach with technical merit to address the challenge; (3) Discussion of how the challenge and proposed design relate to sustainability including people, prosperity, and the planet; (4) Description of strategy for measuring results, evaluation and demonstration; and (5) Description of how P3 concepts will be used as an educational tool at the university, such as by incorporation into the community and/or the institution’s curriculum.
- Supplemental Keywords: Without duplicating terms already used in the text of the abstract, list keywords to assist database searchers in finding your research. A complete set of keywords is very important. A list of suggested keywords may be found at: https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms.
- The Funding Opportunity Number (see IV.B.9.b.) must be placed in the upper right side of the “header” of the Abstract page.
- Research Plan and References
- Research Plan (10 pages)
The description of the research plan must provide the following information:
- P3 Project Description: Address the peer review criteria (see Section V, Application Review Information). Structure the description using the peer review criteria as subheadings:
- Challenge Definition;
- Innovation and Technical Merit;
- Relationship of Challenge to Sustainability;
- Measurable Results (outputs/outcomes), Evaluation Method, and Demonstration Strategy; and
- Integration of P3 Concepts as an Educational Tool.
- Project Schedule. Show significant steps and milestones for the project. Clearly depict the project’s duration, and include key milestones and project tasks from research to design to development to demonstration. Indicate anticipated role and tasks of each team member or department represented. Also, indicate anticipated interactions with any and all partners (see b. below), if applicable.
This description must not exceed ten (10) consecutively numbered (bottom center), 8.5x11-inch pages of single-spaced, standard 12-point type with 1-inch margins. While these guidelines establish the minimum type size requirements, applicants are advised that readability is of paramount importance and should take precedence in selection of an appropriate font for use in the proposal.
- P3 Project Description: Address the peer review criteria (see Section V, Application Review Information). Structure the description using the peer review criteria as subheadings:
- Partnerships (if applicable): [Note: This description does not count toward the ten (10) page limit for the Research Plan.]
Partnerships are strongly encouraged and will be particularly important for the demonstration strategies. While formal partnerships need not be established prior to submitting the proposal, indicate any and all anticipated partnerships including the type of partner (educational institution, industry and/or NGOs), matching contributions (funding and/or in-kind) provided by the partner, and the nature of the partnership. Formal letters of understanding or commitment from any and all partners should be submitted in support of the application, when available and appropriate and will be considered letters of intent/support as described in Section IV.B.5.d.(1) below.
- References [Note: These do not count toward the ten (10) page limit for the Research Plan.]
- Important Attachments:
- Please see Section IV.B.9.a. on letters of intent/letters of support for more details on these attachments. Any letters exceeding one brief paragraph are considered part of the Research Plan and therefore contribute to the 10-page limit for the Research Plan.
- Appendices, including drawings or preliminary data, may be included but must remain within the 10-page limit for the Research Plan.
- Research Plan (10 pages)
- Budget and Budget Justification
- Budget
Prepare a budget table using the guidance and form found at https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms. The budget categories are also indicated in the following Budget Justification section (IV.B.6.b.) Note: For electronic submissions, the budget table should be attached to the Project Narrative Attachment Form electronic file [see Section IV.E.2.c.(4)]. Any project containing subawards or subcontracts that constitute more than 40% of the total direct cost of the application will be subject to special review. Additional justification for use of these must be provided, discussing the need for the subaward/subcontract to accomplish the objectives of the research project.
Please note that institutional cost-sharing is not required. However, if cost-sharing is proposed, a brief statement concerning cost-sharing should be added to the budget justification, and estimated dollar amounts must be included in the appropriate categories in the budget table.
Please note that when formulating budgets for proposals/applications, applicants must not include management fees or similar charges in excess of the direct costs and indirect costs at the rate approved by the applicants cognizant audit agency, or at the rate provided for by the terms of the agreement negotiated with EPA. The term "management fees or similar charges" refers to expenses added to the direct costs in order to accumulate and reserve funds for ongoing business expenses, unforeseen liabilities, or for other similar costs that are not allowable under EPA assistance agreements. Management fees or similar charges may not be used to improve or expand the project funded under this agreement, except to the extent authorized as a direct cost of carrying out the scope of work.
- Budget Justification [2 pages in addition to the 10-page limit for the Research Plan described in IV.B.5. above, and not including additions under Nos. (6) and (7) below to support contracts and subawards.]
Describe the basis for calculating travel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and other costs identified in the itemized budget. The budget justification should not exceed two consecutively numbered (bottom center), 8.5x11-inch pages of single-spaced, standard 12-point type with 1-inch margins.
Budget information should be supported at the level of detail described below. (Note: Please pay attention to the distinctions itemized below. If your submitted budget is not consistent with the parameters detailed below, the processing of an award may be delayed until a new budget is requested and submitted.)
- Personnel:
- Personnel costs are not eligible under this solicitation.
- Fringe Benefits:
- Fringe benefits are not eligible under this solicitation.
- Travel:
- Specify the estimated number of trips, locations, and associated costs for each trip.Explain the need for any travel, paying particular attention to travel outside the United States.
- Be certain to include travel costs for an estimated number of faculty advisors and students to participate in the National Sustainable Design Expo featuring the EPA’s P3 Award which will be held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in spring of 2009.
- Equipment:
- Identify all tangible, non-expendable personal property to be purchased that has an estimated cost of $5,000 or more per unit and a useful life of more than one year.
- Any personal property items with a unit cost of less than $5,000 should be entered in the “Supplies” category.
- Supplies:
- “Supplies” means tangible property other than “equipment.”
- Identify categories of supplies to be procured (e.g., laboratory supplies or office supplies). Specifically identify computers to be purchased or upgraded.
- Contractual:
- Identify each proposed contract for services/analyses or consultants and specify its purpose and estimated cost.
- Contracts must have a separate itemized budget and budget justification, not to exceed one additional page each, included as part of the application.
- Personnel costs are allowable for essential specialized consultant fees.
- Other:
- List each item in sufficient detail for the EPA to determine the reasonableness of its cost relative to the research to be undertaken.
- Note that subawards, such as those with other universities for members of the research team, are included in this category.
- Subawards must have a separate itemized budget and budget justification, not to exceed one additional page each, included as part of the application.
- Indirect Costs:
- If indirect costs are included in the budget, indicate the approved rate and base with an explanation of how the indirect costs were calculated.
- Personnel:
- Budget
- Resumes
Provide resumes for each faculty advisor and student team leader. The resume for each individual must not exceed two consecutively numbered (bottom center), 8.5x11-inch pages of single-spaced, standard 12-point type with 1-inch margins. - Current and Pending Support
Complete a current and pending support form (provided at https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms) for each faculty advisor, showing financial resources intended to support research related to the proposal or that would consume the investigator’s time. Include all current and pending research regardless of source. - Guidelines, Limitations, and Additional Requirements
- Letters of Intent/Letters of Support
Letters of intent to provide resources for the proposed research or to document intended interactions are limited to one brief paragraph committing the availability of a resource (e.g., use of a person's time or equipment) or intended interaction (e.g., sharing of data, as-needed consultation) that is described in the Research Plan. Letters of intent are to be included as an addition to the budget justification documents.All letters that do not commit a resource vital to success of the proposal are considered letters of support.
Letters of support, and letters of intent that exceed one brief paragraph, are considered part of the Research Plan and are included in the 10-page Research Plan limit.
Note: Letters of intent or support must be part of the application; letters submitted separately will not be accepted. Any transactions between the successful applicant and parties providing letters of support or intent financed with EPA grant funds are subject to the funding restrictions described in Section IV. D.
- Funding Opportunity Number(s) (FON)
At various places in the application, applicants are asked to identify the FON. The number must be placed at the top of the abstract. For paper submissions, the number must also be placed in the address on the package that is sent to the EPA (see below).Applicants must select the FON corresponding to their proposed research topic area. It is the responsibility of the applicant to identify the proper FON based on the nature of the proposed research. If the proposed research fits under more than one FON, the applicant should choose the most appropriate one. For electronic submissions, use the appropriate electronic application package for the chosen FON (see “Submission Instructions for Electronic Applications”). Each application must be submitted using a single FON.
The Funding Opportunity Numbers for this RFA: 5th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet – are:
- EPA-G2008-P3-Z1 – Agriculture
- EPA-G2008-P3-Z2 – Materials and Chemistry
- EPA-G2008-P3-Z3 – Energy
- EPA-G2008-P3-Z4 – Information Technology
- EPA-G2008-P3-Z5 – Water
- EPA-G2008-P3-Z6 – Built Environment
- Confidentiality By submitting an application in response to this solicitation, the applicant grants the EPA permission to make limited disclosures of the application to technical reviewers both within and outside the Agency for the express purpose of assisting the Agency with evaluating the application. Information from a pending or unsuccessful application will be kept confidential to the fullest extent allowed under law; information from a successful application may be publicly disclosed to the extent permitted by law.
In accordance with 40 CFR 2.203, applicants may claim all or a portion of the application as confidential business information (for example, hypotheses or methodologies contained in the research narrative that the applicant wishes to protect from possible public disclosure). EPA will evaluate confidentiality claims in accordance with 40 CFR Part 2. Applicants must clearly mark applications or portions of applications they claim as confidential. If no claim of confidentiality is made, the EPA is not required to make an inquiry to the applicant as otherwise required by 40 CFR 2.204(c) (2) prior to disclosure.
- Letters of Intent/Letters of Support
C. Submission Dates and Times
For paper copy submissions, the original and two (2) copies of the complete application (3 in all) must be received by NCER no later than 4:00 pm Eastern Time on the solicitation closing date. Electronic applications must be transferred to Grants.gov no later than 4:00 pm Eastern Time on the solicitation closing date. Applications received after the closing date and time will be returned to the sender without further consideration.
It should be noted that this schedule may be changed without prior notification because of factors not anticipated at the time of announcement. In the case of a change in the solicitation closing date, a new date will be posted on the NCER web site (https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/), the P3 website (https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/p3/), and a modification posted on www.grants.gov.
Solicitation Closing Date: December 20, 2007, 4:00 pm Eastern Time for both paper and electronic submissions. Earliest Anticipated Start Date: August 4, 2008
NOTE: Customarily, applicants are notified about evaluation decisions within six months of the solicitation closing date. Awards are generally made 9-12 months after the solicitation closing date.
D. Funding Restrictions
The funding mechanism for all awards issued under STAR solicitations will consist of assistance agreements from the EPA. All award decisions are subject to the availability of funds. In accordance with the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act, 31 U.S.C. 6301 et seq., the primary purpose of an assistance agreement is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by federal statute, rather than acquisition for the direct benefit or use of the Agency. In issuing a grant, the EPA anticipates that there will be no substantial EPA involvement in the design, implementation, or conduct of the research. If you wish to submit applications for more than one P3 funding opportunity you must ensure that the research proposed in each application is significantly different from any other that has been submitted to the EPA or from any other financial assistance you are currently receiving from the EPA or other federal government agency.
Collaborative applications involving more than one institution must be submitted as a single administrative package from one of the institutions involved.
EPA awards funds to one eligible applicant as the “recipient” even if other eligible applicants are named as “partners” or “co-applicants” or members of a “coalition” or “consortium”. The recipient is accountable to EPA for the proper expenditure of funds.
Funding may be used to provide subgrants or subawards of financial assistance to fund partnerships provided the recipient complies with applicable requirements for subawards or subgrants including those contained in 40 CFR Part 30, as appropriate. Successful applicants must complete contracts for services and products and conduct cost and price analyses to the extent required by the procurement provisions of these regulations. The regulations also contain limitations on consultant compensation. Applicants are not required to identify contractors or consultants in their proposal. Moreover, the fact that a successful applicant has named a specific contractor or consultant in the proposal EPA approves does not relieve it of its obligations to comply with competitive procurement requirements. Please note that applicants may not award sole source contracts to consulting, engineering or other firms assisting applicants with the proposal based solely on the firm's role in preparing the proposal.
Successful applicants cannot use subgrants or subawards to avoid requirements in EPA grant regulations for competitive procurement by using these instruments to acquire commercial services or products from for-profit organizations to carry out its assistance agreement. The nature of the transaction between the recipient and the subawardee or subgrantee must be consistent with the standards for distinguishing between vendor transactions and subrecipient assistance under Subpart B Section .210 of OMB Circular A-133, and the definitions of “subaward”
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.