Grantee Research Project Results

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
National Center for Environmental Research
P3 Award Program

CLOSED - FOR REFERENCES PURPOSES ONLY

7th 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 Numbers (FON) and Associated Research Areas:

EPA-G2010-P3-Q1 � Energy
EPA-G2010-P3-Q2 � Built Environment
EPA-G2010-P3-Q3 � Materials and Chemicals
EPA-G2010-P3-Q4 � Water
EPA-G2010-P3-Q5 � Agriculture

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 66.516

Solicitation Opening Date: August 27, 2009
Solicitation Closing Date: January 4, 2010 - extended to January 5, 2010: 11:59:59 pm Eastern Time

Eligibility Contact: William Stelz (stelz.william@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9802
Electronic Submissions Contact: Ron Josephson (josephson.ron@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9643
Technical Contact: Cynthia L. Nolt-Helms (nolt-helms.cynthia@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9693

Table of Contents:
SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
	Synopsis of Program
	Award Information
	Eligibility Information
	Application Materials
	Agency Contacts
I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION
	A. Introduction
	B. Background
	C. Authority and Regulations
	D. Expected Outputs and Outcomes
	E. Research Areas
	F. References
	G. Special Requirements
II. AWARD INFORMATION
III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION
	A. Eligible Applicants
	B. Cost Sharing
	C. Other
IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
	A. Internet Address of Application Materials
	B. Content and Form of Application Submission
	C. Submission Dates and Times
	D. Funding Restrictions
	E. Submission Instructions for Phase I Applications and Other Submission Requirements
	F. Submission Instructions for Phase II Proposal Packages
V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION
	A. Review Process for Phase I Applications
	B. Review Process for Phase II Applications
	C. Funding Decisions
VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION
	A. Award Notices
	B. Disputes
	C. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
VII. AGENCY CONTACTS

Access Standard STAR 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 the overall sustainability of human society. The P3 competition highlights the use of scientific principles in creating innovative projects focused on sustainability. The P3 Awards program was developed 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-- people, prosperity, and the planet – the three pillars of sustainability. The EPA offers the P3 competition in order to respond to the technical needs of the 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 40 awards for Phase I; Approximately 6 awards for Phase II
Anticipated Funding Amount: Approximately $850,000 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 requesting an award of more than $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 requesting an award of more than $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 degree-granting public institutions of higher education) and private nonprofit institutions/organizations (limited to degree-granting private institutions of higher education) located in the U.S. are eligible to apply. See full announcement for more details.

Application Materials:
The necessary forms for submitting a STAR 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. Electronic submission of your application must be performed by an authorized representative of your organization.

Applicants must submit the full application in PDF format via electronic mail to 2009-P3-AWARDS-APPS@epa.gov with the funding opportunity number (FON) in the subject line by the closing date and time.

If you do not have the technical capability to utilize the electronic mail submission process for this solicitation, call 1-800-490-9194 or send a webmail message to (https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/forms/contact-us-about-research-grants) at least 15 calendar days before the submission deadline to assure timely receipt of alternate submission instructions. In your message provide the funding opportunity number and title of the program, specify that you are requesting alternate submission instructions, and provide a telephone number, fax number, and an email address, if available. Alternate instructions will be e-mailed whenever possible. Any applications submitted through alternate submission methods must comply with all the provisions of this RFA, including Section IV, and be submitted by the solicitation closing date and time identified above.

Agency Contacts:
Eligibility Contact: William Stelz (stelz.william@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9802
Electronic Submissions Contact: Ron Josephson (josephson.ron@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9643
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), invites submissions to the 7th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability. P3 focuses on scientific projects and engineering designs that address the three components of sustainability: people, prosperity and the planet. The P3 Program is intended to support science-based designs developed by interdisciplinary student teams that benefit people by improving their quality of life, promote prosperity by developing local economies, and protect the planet by conserving resources and minimizing pollution. Additional details about EPA’s sustainability research can be found in EPA’s Sustainability Research Strategy (2007) (https://www.epa.gov/sustainability/pdfs/EPA-12057_SRS_R4-1.pdf (72 pp, 1.37 MB)) which presents the role of EPA’s Office of Research and Development in improving understanding of the earth’s natural and man-made systems, assessing threats to those systems, and developing and applying new technologies and decision support tools.

The concept of sustainable development became widely promoted following the 1987 publication of Our Common Future by the World Commission on Environment and Development (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). That document defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Agenda 21 (United Nations, 1992), adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil in June 1992, built on that foundation to provide a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human activity impacts the environment.

The concept of sustainable development as encompassing activities that address people, prosperity and the planet continues to have international support as indicated by the United Nations 2005 World Summit Outcome document which described the three components of sustainable development--economic development, social development and environmental protection--as “interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars.” That report went on to state that “poverty eradication, changing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development are overarching objectives of and essential requirements for sustainable development.” (United Nations, 2005).

In an article entitled Sustainability science and engineering: The emergence of a new metadiscipline, Mihelcic et al. (2003) provided a useful definition of sustainability for scientists and engineers 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.

The P3 Award Program is composed of two phases that award grants on a competitive basis. The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to solicit science-based, innovative research design proposals to compete for the first phase of the P3 competition. The first phase of the P3 Award Program is a competition for one-year grants of up to $10,000 to test scientific hypotheses and principles by developing scientific or engineering designs that will promote sustainable development. In the spring following Phase I grant awards, Phase I grantees are required to present their designs at the annual National Sustainable Design Expo on the National Mall in Washington, DC where they will have an opportunity to compete for Phase II grant awards of up to $75,000. The Phase II grant awards support the demonstration and further development of the sustainability designs created in the first phase of the program. The competitors for the P3 Phase II grants will be limited to those selected to receive support as a result of the competition under this RFA (Phase I). Additional instructions for completing the Phase II proposals, which will be due approximately seven months after the Phase I grants are awarded, will be distributed to Phase I recipients following award of the Phase I grants. Those projects identified for receipt of a Phase II grant are also recognized as “P3 Award” recipients and will be recognized as such on the P3 website.

This RFA represents the seventh National P3 Awards competition. Previously awarded projects funded through this program 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 the key role scientific, engineering, and policy innovations can play in addressing the persistent challenge to sustainable development around the world. Fundamental to the success of sustainable design is recognizing the needs, available resources, and boundaries of the intended user.

This announcement addresses the first phase (Phase I) of the P3 competition by requesting innovative, science-based design proposals from eligible institutions. The Phase I grants are intended to support an interdisciplinary team of undergraduate and/or graduate students to develop their projects in preparation for competing for a Phase II grant award to demonstrate their proposed designs. In Phase I, the EPA will fund approximately 40 student design projects from around the country during the 2009-2010 academic year to research and develop their sustainable designs.

The proposal process for the Phase II grant awards will begin in the Spring of 2010, when the student teams and their faculty advisor (the Principal Investigator on the grant) will be invited to submit their Project Report describing their Phase I project activities and their Phase II proposal for further development. The written Project Report and team presentations at the National Sustainable Design Expo (the Expo) held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C will be considered in the selection of winners at the P3 Awards competition in the Spring of 2010. A panel of qualified experts will be convened to judge the competition and provide recommendations for the P3 Phase II grant and associated “P3 Award” recipients. (More information about the Expo is available at the P3 website: https://www.epa.gov/P3.)

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 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, environmentally benign, 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 Society’s Capacity for Sustainability through Science and Research. The EPA’s Strategic Plan can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/ocfo/plan/2006/entire_report.pdf (PDF) (184 p, 11.5 MB).

C. Authority and Regulations

Statutory
The authorities for awarding research grants under this RFA 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. 1254; 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. Expected Outputs and Outcomes
Note to the 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 activity(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 simultaneously achieve three goals: (1) to maintain or improve human health; (2) to advance economic competitiveness; and (3) to protect and preserve the environment by effectively and efficiently using water, materials, and energy and minimizing the generation, emission and use of hazardous substances.

E. Research Areas
The Phase I competition is designed to foster creativity by allowing interdisciplinary teams of students to:

identify the technical challenge to sustainability their design will address;
discuss how the identified technical challenge relates to people, prosperity, and the planet;
propose a scientifically-based design approach to address the challenge; and
propose an approach to communicate relevant data and information to users and stakeholders.

Challenges in a wide range of research areas will be considered. All projects must be science-based research or development as defined in 40 CFR Part 30.2 Subpart (dd) (see Section III.C. below for language) and as authorized by one or more of the statutes described in Section C.1. above. (NEPA is a secondary supporting statute and cannot be the sole supporting statute for a proposed project.)

Projects that apply established approaches or designs to address a sustainability challenge to a new regional location are not appropriate for the P3 competition. (These are sometimes referred to as “off-the-shelf” projects.)

Applicants must address one or more of the research areas listed below in their Phase I proposals. (Proposals can include, but are not limited to, technical challenges within the examples following each research area below.) All proposals must clearly articulate how the proposed project/design will result in pollution prevention and/or control. The link to pollution prevention can be a direct link (such as reductions in air emissions from a more efficient engine design) , or an indirect link (such as water conservation approaches that reduce the energy needed to provide clean drinking water).

Energy (e.g., reduction in air and water emissions through innovative strategies for energy production and energy distribution; energy conservation; inherently benign energy through green chemistry, green engineering)
(Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-G2010-P3-Q1 – Energy)

Built Environment (e.g., green building designs, transportation and mobility strategies, or smart growth approaches that result in environmental benefits such as air emission reductions or water quality improvements )
(Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-G2010-P3-Q2 – Built Environment)

Materials and Chemicals (e.g., biomimicry; materials conservation; renewable feedstocks; materials and chemicals that are inherently benign and energy-, water- and material efficient through their full life-cycles; recovery and reuse of materials through product, process, or system design)
(Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-G2010-P3-Q3 – Materials and Chemicals)

Water (e.g., water quality, conservation, availability, and access)
(Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-G2010-P3-Q4 – Water)

Agriculture (e.g., reduction or elimination of pesticides, minimizing fertilizer and nutrient runoff, productive use of agricultural wastes, water management in agriculture)
(Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-G2010-P3-Q5 – Agriculture)

All projects, regardless of research area, must be student-led with faculty involvement, as appropriate and necessary.

It is recognized that some proposals may be appropriate for more than one FON/research area, although the applicant must identify a primary FON/research area for application submission purposes.

F. References
Journals
Mihelcic, J.R., Crittendan, J.C., Small, M.J., Shonnard, D.R., Hokanson, D.R., Zhang, Q. 2003. Sustainability science and engineering: The emergence of a new metadiscipline. Environmental Science and Technology, 37, 5314-5324. 4.

Reports
United Nations. 1992. Agenda 21: Earth Summit - The United Nations Programme of Action from Rio. United Nations.

United Nations. 2005. World Summit Outcomes. United Nations. (www.un.org/summit2005)

United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2007. Sustainability Research Strategy. EPA 600/S 07/001 (https://www.epa.gov/sustainability/pdfs/EPA-12057_SRS_R4-1.pdf (72 pp, 1.38 MB))

Book
World Commission on Environment and Development. 1987. Our Common Future. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

G. Special Requirements
Agency policy prevents EPA technical staff and managers from providing individual applicants with 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.

Please Note: P3 Award projects (both Phase I & II) will not accommodate a Multiple PI application. P3 Award projects should be submitted as a single Lead PI application.

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.

Your award may involve intellectual property. If that is the case, P3 teams are encouraged to ensure explanations about technologies and key components of prototypes are reviewed by their university’s technology transfer office prior to display at the National Sustainable Design Expo (the Expo). This is to ensure any issues related to patent filings or adjustments to intellectual property strategies, if needed, can be made prior to the public display at the Expo.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

It is anticipated that a total of approximately $400,000 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 40 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 for a Phase I grant 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 $850,000. Proposals for Phase II grants with budget requests exceeding $75,000, including direct and indirect costs, will not be considered. The total project period for a Phase II grant may not exceed two years.

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 Phase I 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 six 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.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants
Public nonprofit institutions/organizations (limited to degree-granting public institutions of higher education) and private nonprofit institutions/organizations (limited to degree-granting 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. Profit-making firms are not eligible to receive assistance agreements from the EPA under this program. 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 application where each application 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.

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, 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-awarded to another educational institution (domestic or foreign) as described in instructions for submitting to this RFA. If foreign work will be 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 before any funded foreign work or travel is performed.

Potential applicants who are uncertain of their eligibility should contact William Stelz (stelz.william@epa.gov) in NCER, phone (202) 343-9802.

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 may be included in the written budget justification and be described in the research plan.

C. Other
Phase I application packages 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 submitted to EPA (see Section IV.E. “Submission Instructions for Phase I Applications and Other Submission Requirements” for further information), 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 terms 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.

Applicants must address one or more of the research areas listed in Section I.E in order to be considered for funding.

Projects that apply established approaches to address a sustainability challenge to a new regional location are not appropriate for the P3 competition and will not be considered for funding. (These are sometimes referred to as “off-the-shelf” projects.)

All projects, regardless of research area, must be student-led with faculty involvement, as appropriate and necessary.

An individual applicant may submit more than one proposal. However, each one must be submitted independently and each must propose an independent project. (That is, the success of one proposal cannot be dependent upon the successful award of another proposal).

Projects proposed for support from the P3 program must propose “research and development” activities consistent with the definition found in 40 CFR Part 30.2 Definitions; Subpart (dd): “Research and development means all research activities, both basic and applied, and all development activities that are supported at universities, colleges, and other non-profit institutions. ’Research’ is defined as a systematic study directed toward fuller scientific knowledge or understanding of the subject studied. ’Development’ is the systematic use of knowledge and understanding gained from research directed toward the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods, including design and development of prototypes and processes. The term research also includes activities involving the training of individuals in research techniques where such activities utilize the same facilities as other research and development activities and where such activities are not included in the instruction function.

In addition, to be eligible for funding consideration, all proposals must clearly articulate how the proposed project/design will result in pollution prevention and/or control and consist of activities within the statutory terms of EPA’s financial assistance authorities; specifically, the statute(s) 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 referenced. 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 fall within the statutory terms “research” or ”development,” nor would a proposal to start a routine recycling program. However, the statutory term “development” 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”. 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.

Applications deemed ineligible for funding consideration will be notified within fifteen calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

As mentioned above, the competitors for the P3 Awards and the subsequent grant 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).

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. Internet Address of Application Materials
The full application package must be submitted electronically via e-mail to 2009-P3-AWARDS-APPS@epa.gov (or through any authorized alternate submission methods described below) by the solicitation closing date and time.). All necessary forms are available at http://epa.govhttps://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms.

An email will be sent by NCER to the Principal Investigator (PI) 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 Section E. “Submission Instructions for Phase I Applications and Other Submission Requirements” for additional information regarding the application receipt acknowledgment.

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 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. Institutions may receive a DUNS number by calling 1-866-705-5711 or by visiting the web site at http://www.dnb.com. Please be aware that this process may take up to or may exceed two weeks to complete.

Executive Order 12372, �Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs,� does not apply to the Office of Research and Development's research and training programs unless EPA has determined that the activities that will be carried out under the applicants' proposal (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.

If EPA determines that Executive Order 12372 applies to an applicant's proposal, the applicant must follow the procedures in 40 CFR Part 29. The applicant must notify their state's single point of contact (SPOC). To determine whether their state participates in this process, and how to comply, applicants should consult http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html. If an applicant is in a State that does not have a SPOC, or the State has not selected research and development grants for intergovernmental review, the applicant must notify directly affected State, area wide, regional and local entities of its proposal.

EPA will notify the successful applicant(s) if Executive Order 12372 applies to its proposal prior to award.
Key Contacts
The applicant must complete the �Key Contacts� form available at https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms. The form includes an �Additional Key Contacts� page to be completed for additional investigators. The Key Contacts form should also be completed for major sub-agreements (i.e., primary 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 and understandably describes the scientific research or new design concept being proposed and conveys all the essential elements of the proposed project. Abstracts of applications that receive funding will be posted on the NCER web site.

The abstract should include the information described below (a-k). Examples of abstracts for previous P3 grants may be found on the P3 web site (https://www.epa.gov/P3).
1. Funding Opportunity Number(s) and Research Area(s): Enter the full name of the solicitation (P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet) and the funding opportunity number and associated research area under which you are submitting your proposal. If your project is relevant to more than one research area, you may list additional research areas, labeled as such. The funding opportunity numbers and their associated research areas are listed at the beginning of this announcement and in section I.E. above.
  Please note: The Funding Opportunity Number (see sections I.E. above or IV.B.9.b. below) to which the proposal is being submitted must be placed in the upper right side of the �header� of the Abstract page.
2. 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.�
3. Principal Investigator: This person will serve as the faculty advisor for the P3 student team. List the name of the PI and then the names and affiliations of any co-investigators/advisors who will significantly contribute to the project. Provide a web site URL or an e-mail contact address for each investigator.
  If student investigators are known at the time of the proposal, identify a student lead and list student investigators and indicate whether they are under-graduate or graduate students.
4. Institution: In the same order as the list of investigators, list the name, city and state of each participating university or other applicant institution. The lead institution applying for assistance must be clearly identified.
5. Student Represented Departments and Institutions: List the departments and institutions that will be represented by the students participating on the team.
6. Project Period: The Phase I project will begin on or about August 15, 2010 and end on or about August 14, 2011.
7. EPA Project Amount: Show the total dollars requested from the EPA for the entire project period such that the total does not exceed $10,000, including direct and indirect costs.
8. Total Project Amount: Show the total dollar amount, including total dollars requested 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.
9. Project Summary: Address the following:
  - Definition of the technical challenge to sustainability;
  - Description of how the proposed design approach, with the innovative scientific or technical aspects clearly identified, will address the challenge;
  - Discussion of how the challenge and proposed design relate to sustainability including people, prosperity, and the planet;
  - Description of strategy for measuring results, evaluation and demonstration; and
  - Description of how the P3 project will provide education about the concepts of sustainability at the university or community level.
10. Contribution to Pollution Prevention or Control: Provide a brief statement describing how the proposed project/design will further the goals of pollution prevention and/or control. This can be a direct link such as reductions in air emissions from a more efficient engine design, or an indirect link such as water conservation approaches that reduce the energy needed to provide irrigation water.
11. 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.
Research Plan and References
1. Research Plan (12 pages)
  This plan (including parts 1 and 2 below) must not exceed twelve (12) 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 plan.
  
  The description of the research plan must provide the following information:
  1. P3 Project Description: Structure your description using the sub-headings presented below (i-v). To the extent appropriate and relevant to your proposed project/design, please address the issues identified in the bullets within each sub-heading below.
    1. Proposed Project/Design
      - Describe your proposed project/design, including goals and objectives.
      - Clearly state how it relates to pollution prevention.
      - Explicitly identify the innovative or inventive aspects of your proposed project/design. Projects lacking this component are not appropriate for the P3 program.
      - Highlight the interdisciplinary aspects of your proposed approach.
      - Address the feasibility of the project/design by demonstrating the scientific/technical soundness, and discussing the trade-offs in the proposed design approach.
      - If relevant, address the availability and appropriateness of the materials to be used in the proposed project/design.
    2. Challenge Definition
      - Identify the technical challenge your proposed project/design will address in terms that are relevant, significant, and related to sustainability.
      - Provide a literature review of relevant and current approaches used to address the challenge.
    3. Relationship of Challenge to Sustainability (People, Prosperity and the Planet)
      Describe how the proposed project/design promotes sustainable environmental protection, economic prosperity, and social benefit.
      
      With respect to �People�:
      - Explain your engagement with intended end users.
      - Describe how the proposed environmental and economic outcomes could benefit the intended users and society more generally.
      With respect to �Prosperity�:
      - Identify short- and long-term costs associated with the project/design, including potential implementation and maintenance costs.
      - Describe the potential economic benefits of the project/design, including market share, if appropriate.
      With respect to the �Planet�:
      - Discuss how the project/design will reduce negative or increase positive impacts on the environment and human health, diminish resource consumption, and/or directly benefit the environment over its full lifecycle.
      - Address the impacts of the project/design on the local environment and ensure that it will not shift negative environmental impacts to another locality or media (e.g., air, water, land).
    4. Results (outputs/outcomes), Evaluation and Demonstration
      - Describe your expected results and their associated outputs and outcomes (as defined in Section I. D above).
      - Explain how the project/design goals and objectives will be determined and what qualitative and/or quantitative evaluation(s) will be used to determine success.
      - State the societal, economic, and environmental benefits of the proposed project/design, being sure to relate the expected results to the environmental statue you cited.
      - Address the transferability and/or scalability of the design or approach.
    5. Integration of P3 Concepts as an Educational Tool
      - Identify the educational benefits of the P3 project design, and describe how the team will use the P3 project to encourage sustainability among participants, institutions, and/or surrounding or involved communities.
  2. Project Schedule and Milestones. Clearly describe and schedule key milestones and project tasks from research to design to development to demonstration. Indicate anticipated roles and tasks of each team member or department represented. Also, indicate anticipated interactions with any and all partners (see b. below), if applicable.
2. Partnerships (if applicable): (Note: This section does not count toward the twelve page limit for the Research Plan outlined in section a. above.)
  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.9.a. below.
3. References. (Note: This section does not count toward the twelve page limit for the Research Plan outlined in section a. above.)
Budget and Budget Justification
1. Budget
  Prepare a master budget table using SF-424A Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (aka SF-424A), available at https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms. Only complete �Section B-Budget Categories�. Provide the object class budget category (a. - k.) amounts for each budget year under the Grant Program, Function or Activity heading. Each column reflects a separate budget year. For example, Column (1) reflects budget year 1. Since P3 Phase I grants are one-year grants, you will only need to fill in the Year 1 column. The total budget will be automatically tabulated in column (5).
  
  It is essential that all submitted budgets use ONLY the budget categories provided in the OMB-approved form and indicated in the following Budget Justification section (IV.B.6.b.).
  
  If a subaward, such as a subagreement with an educational institution is included in the application, provide a separate SF-424A and budget justification for the subaward. Include the total amount for the subaward under �Other� in the master SF-424A. Applicants may not use subagreements to transfer or delegate their responsibility for successful completion of their EPA assistance agreement. Therefore, EPA expects that subawards or subcontracts should not constitute more than 40% of the total direct cost of the total project budget. If a subaward/subcontract constitutes more than 40% of the total direct cost, additional justification may be required before award, discussing the need for the subaward/subcontract to accomplish the objectives of the research project.
  
  Please note that institutional cost-sharing is not required. If cost-sharing is proposed, a statement describing the cost-sharing should be added to the written budget justification (see IV.B.6.b. below) but does not need to be included in the formal �budget� submitted for approval.
  
  The budget must include travel expenses for the Principal Investigator and the student team, or representatives of the student team, to participate in the National Sustainable Design Expo to be held in the spring of 2011 on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
  
  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.
2. Budget Justification (Note: This section should be limited to 2 pages in addition to the twelve (12) 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/or other costs identified in the budget. Indicate here if cost-sharing is proposed. Include a written description of the proposed cost-sharing that identifies the relevant budget categories and the estimated dollar amounts. 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 listed 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.)
  1. Personnel:
    - Personnel costs are not eligible under this solicitation.
  2. Fringe Benefits:
    - Fringe benefits are not eligible under this solicitation.
  3. Travel:
    - 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 2010.
    - Specify the estimated number of trips, locations, and associated costs for each trip. Explain the need for any travel. If travel outside the United States is proposed, clearly identify who will be traveling, where they will be going, and what amount of the funds requested from the EPA are needed to cover the international travel.
  4. Equipment:

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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.

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7th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet

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