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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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National Center for Environmental Research

14th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet

CLOSED - FOR REFERENCES PURPOSES ONLY

Phase I Recipients

Phase II Recipients

This is the initial announcement of this funding opportunity.

Funding Opportunity Numbers and Associated Research Areas:

EPA-G2017-P3-Q1 – Energy
EPA-G2017-P3-Q2 – Built Environment
EPA-G2017-P3-Q3 – Materials and Chemicals
EPA-G2017-P3-Q4 – Water

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 66.516

Solicitation Opening Date: December 5, 2016
Solicitation Closing Date: February 3, 2017, 11:59:59 pm Eastern Time

Technical Contact: Cynthia McOliver (mcoliver.cynthia@epa.gov); phone: 202-564-7657
Eligibility Contact: Ron Josephson (josephson.ron@epa.gov); phone: 202-564-7823
Electronic Submissions: Debra M. Jones (jones.debram@epa.gov); phone: 202-564-7839

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. Grants.gov Submittal Requirements and Limited Exception Procedures
  B. Application Package Information
  C. Content and Form of Application Submission
  D. Submission Dates and Times
  E. Funding Restrictions
  F. Submission Instructions for Phase I Applications and Other Submission Requirements
  G. Submission Instructions for Phase II Applications
V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION
  A. Review Process for Phase I Applications
  B. Review Process for Phase II Applications
  C. Human Subjects Research Statement (HSRS) Review
  D. Funding Decisions
  E. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation
VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION
  A. Award Notices
  B. Disputes
  C. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
VII. AGENCY CONTACTS

Access Standard STAR Forms (How to Apply and Required Forms)
View research awarded under previous solicitations Past Research Funding Opportunities

SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Synopsis of Program:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – as part of its People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Award Program – is seeking applications proposing to research, develop, and design solutions to real world challenges involving sustainability. The P3 competition highlights the use of scientific principles in creating innovative projects focused on sustainability. The P3 Award Program was developed to foster progress toward sustainability by achieving the mutual goals of improved quality of life, economic prosperity and protection of the planet—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 People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Student Design Competition website for more details about this program.

This solicitation provides the opportunity for the submission of applications for projects that may involve human subjects research. Human subjects research supported by the EPA is governed by EPA Regulation 40 CFR Part 26 (Protection of Human Subjects). This includes the Common Rule at subpart A and prohibitions and additional protections for pregnant women and fetuses, nursing women, and children at subparts B, C, and D. Research meeting the regulatory definition of intentional exposure research found in subpart B is prohibited by that subpart in pregnant women, nursing women, and children.  Research meeting the regulatory definition of observational research found in subparts C and D is subject to the additional protections found in those subparts for pregnant women and fetuses (subpart C) and children (subpart D). All applications must include a Human Subjects Research Statement (HSRS, as described in Section IV.C.5.b of this solicitation), and if the project involves human subjects research, it will be subject to an additional level of review prior to funding decisions being made as described in Sections V.C and V.D of this solicitation.

Guidance and training for investigators conducting EPA-funded research involving human subjects may be obtained here:
Basic Information about Human Subjects Research
Basic EPA Policy for Protection of Subjects in Human Research Conducted or Supported by EPA

Award Information:
Anticipated Type of Award: Grant
Estimated Number of Awards: Approximately 25 awards for Phase I; Approximately 7 awards for Phase II.
Anticipated Funding Amount: Approximately $900,000 total for all Phase I & II grant awards.
Potential Funding per Award: Up to $15,000 per Phase I grant including direct and indirect costs. Proposals for Phase I grants requesting an award of more than $15,000 will not be considered. Proposals for Phase I grants must be for one year. Proposals with a duration of more than one year will not be considered.

Upon the successful completion of Phase I, grant recipients will have the opportunity to apply for a P3 Phase II grant of up to $75,000 total for two 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 or with a duration of more than two years 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. (includes eligible institutions of higher education located in U.S. territories and possessions) 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. See full announcement for more details.

Application Materials:
To apply under this solicitation, use the application package available at Grants.gov (for further submission information see Section IV.F. “Submission Instructions for Phase I Applications and Other Submission Requirements”). Note: With the exception of the current and pending support form (available at How to Apply and Required Forms), all necessary forms are included in the electronic application package. Make sure to include the current and pending support form in your Grants.gov submission.

If your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, you need to allow approximately one month to complete the registration process. Please note that the registration process also requires that your organization have a unique entity identifier (formerly ‘DUNS number’) and a current registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) and the process of obtaining both could take a month or more. Applicants must ensure that all registration requirements are met in order to apply for this opportunity through Grants.gov and should ensure that all such requirements have been met well in advance of the submission deadline. This registration, and electronic submission of your application, must be performed by an authorized representative of your organization.

If you do not have the technical capability to utilize the Grants.gov application submission process for this solicitation, see Section IV.A below for additional guidance and instructions.

Agency Contacts:
Technical Contact: Cynthia McOliver (mcoliver.cynthia@epa.gov); phone: 202-564-7657
Eligibility Contact: Ron Josephson (josephson.ron@epa.gov); phone: 202-564-7823
Electronic Submissions: Debra M. Jones (jones.debram@epa.gov); phone: 202-564-7839

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 14th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet. 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 projects and designs developed by interdisciplinary student teams that benefit people by improving their quality of life, promoting prosperity by developing local economies, and protecting the planet by conserving resources and minimizing pollution. Additional details about EPA’s sustainability research can be found in EPA’s Sustainability Research Strategy (PDF) (72 pp, 1.14 MB) (2007) 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. An overview of the meaning of sustainability for application in NCER research proposals is located here: Sustainability Primer (PDF) (2 pp, 195 K)

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.” Earlier, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 introduced the concept of sustainability and the definition used there was reiterated in Executive Order 13514 - Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance.  It stated that the goal of sustainability is to, “create and maintain conditions, under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations.”

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 2012 Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 outcome document.  This document states “Eradicating poverty is the greatest global challenge facing the world today and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development;” followed by “We recognize that poverty eradication, changing unsustainable and promoting sustainable patterns of consumption and production and protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development are the overarching objectives of and essential requirements for sustainable development.”  That report went on to state “We therefore acknowledge the need to further mainstream sustainable development at all levels, integrating economic, social and environmental aspects and recognizing their interlinkages, so as to achieve sustainable development in all its dimensions.”  (United Nations, 2012)

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.  It is imperative to recognize the key role scientific, engineering, and policy innovations can play in addressing the sustainable development challenge. Successful sustainable design recognizes the needs, available resources, and boundaries of the intended user.  See for instance: Cradle to Cradle (Braungart & McDonough, 2002), The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability--Designing for Abundance (McDonough & Braungart, 2013), Engineering Biomimicry (Lakhtakia & Martín-Palma, 2013) and Biomimicry (Benyus, 2002).

The P3 Award Program is composed of two phases that award grants on a competitive basis.  The purpose of this RFA is to solicit proposals for innovative research projects and designs to compete for the first phase of the P3 Award Program. The first phase is a competition for one-year grants of up to $15,000 to test, research, and develop innovative scientific projects or engineering designs that will promote sustainable development. In the spring of 2018, the Phase I grantees awarded from this solicitation are required to present their projects/designs in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area; teams will be informed of the venues as registration and logistics are available.  Teams will also submit a Project Report that will serve as an application for a Phase II grant award of up to $75,000. The Phase II grant awards are intended to support the further development and demonstration of the sustainability projects/designs created in Phase I.  The competitors for 2018 P3 Phase II grants are limited to recipients of Phase I grant awards from this solicitation.  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.  Those projects identified for receipt of a Phase II grant will be recognized as P3 Award recipients on the P3 website.  If a team elects not to compete for a Phase II grant award, its faculty advisor must inform his or her Project Officer and a Final Report must be submitted per the award Terms and Conditions.

This RFA represents the 14th National P3 Awards competition. Previously awarded projects funded through this program can be viewed at the People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Student Design Competition website. 

EPA recognizes that it is important to engage all available minds to address the environmental challenges the nation faces. At the same time, EPA seeks to expand the environmental conversation by including members of communities which may have not previously participated in such dialogues to participate in EPA programs. For this reason, EPA strongly encourages all eligible applicants identified in Section III, including minority serving institutions (MSIs), to apply under this opportunity.

For purposes of this solicitation, the following are considered MSIs:

  1. Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1061). A list of these schools can be found at White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities;
  2. Tribal Colleges and Universities, as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1059(c)). A list of these schools can be found at American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities;
  3. Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1101a(a)(5)). There is no list of HSIs. HSIs are institutions of higher education that, at the time of application submittal, have an enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students that is at least 25% Hispanic students at the end of the award year immediately preceding the date of application for this grant; and
  4. Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions; (AANAPISIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1059g(a)(2)). There is no list of AANAPISIs. AANAPISIs are institutions of higher education that, at the time of application submittal, have an enrollment of undergraduate students that is not less than 10 % students who are Asian American or Native American Pacific Islander.

B. Background
Increased awareness and understanding of sustainability are critical components for promoting a systematic shift towards more environmentally benign and sustainable products, processes, and systems. It is essential that all involved in the design, discovery, demonstration, and implementation of sustainable innovations understand the fundamental techniques and principles that underlie sustainability.  Innovative research can take the form of wholly new applications or applications that build on existing knowledge and approaches for new uses.

EPA’s P3 Program has identified the following four strategic program goals.

Goal 1: Engage and educate the next generation of scientists, engineers, and the greater academic and external communities in the principles of sustainability.

Goal 2: Spark innovation and sustainable technologies through research and development conducted by the P3 projects.

Goal 3: Support the demonstration of sustainable technologies around the world.

Goal 4: Foster the development of enterprises rooted in sustainability.

Specific outputs and outcomes from the Phase I and II grant awards are described in Section I.D. below.

This announcement addresses the first phase (Phase I) of the P3 competition by requesting proposals for innovative research projects or designs from eligible institutions.  The Phase I grants are intended to support an interdisciplinary team of undergraduate and/or graduate students to develop their projects/designs in preparation for competing for a P3 Phase II grant award to demonstrate their proposed projects/designs. The EPA will fund approximately 25 Phase I research proposals from around the country during the 2017-2018 academic years.

The proposal process for the Phase II grant awards will begin in the spring of 2018, when the student teams and their faculty advisor (the Principal Investigator [PI] on the grant) submit a Project Report describing the Phase I project activities and the Phase II proposal for further development. A panel of qualified experts will be convened to review the applications and score them based on the evaluation criteria described in Section V.

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.

Although P3 grant funding must be used for research and cannot be used for commercialization and for-profit initiatives (such as business creation), proposals with commercial potential are encouraged to apply to EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program.  Since its inception, EPA's SBIR Program has provided incentive funding to small businesses to translate their innovative ideas into commercial products that address environmental problems.  The EPA is one of 11 federal agencies that participate in the SBIR Program established by the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982. EPA issues annual solicitations for Phase I and Phase II research proposals from science and technology-based firms (not universities).  Many institutions have entrepreneurship centers where adjunct faculty are practicing entrepreneurs.  SBIR applicants are encouraged to consult with their university’s business or management school and entrepreneurship center faculty about how best to design their proposed research.  For more information on EPA’s SBIR Program see Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program.  For more information about the federal SBIR Program see SBIR/STTR.

The specific Strategic Goal and Objective from the EPA’s Strategic Plan that relate to this solicitation are Goal 3: Cleaning up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development, and Objective 3.1: Promote Sustainable and Livable Communities.

The EPA’s FY 2014-18 Strategic Plan can be found at: EPA Strategic Plan

C. Authority and Regulations

  1. Statutory Authorities

    Note that a project’s focus is to consist of activities within the statutory terms of EPA’s financial assistance authorities; specifically, the statute(s) listed below.  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 above. Further note applications dealing with any aspect of or related to hydraulic fracking will not be funded by EPA through this program.

    The authorities for awarding research grants under this RFA are contained in the Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C. 7403, Section 103(b)(3); Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. 1254, Section 104(b)(3); the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), 42 U.S.C. 300j-1, Section 1442; the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 U.S.C. 136r, Section 20; the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA), 42 U.S.C. 6981, Section 8001; and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C. 2609, Section 10. 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, extent, prevention, and control of air pollution.

    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.  Water pollution is defined as man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological integrity of water, including freshwater aquatic ecosystems.

    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.  (NEPA cannot be the sole supporting statute for a proposed project.)

  2. Applicable regulations
    Additional applicable regulations include: 2 CFR Part 200, 2 CFR Part 1500, and 40 CFR Part 40 (Research and Demonstration Grants).

     

D. Expected Outputs and Outcomes
Note to applicant:  The term “output” means an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work products related to an environmental goal or objective, that will be produced or provided over a period of time or by a specified date.  The term “outcome” means the result, effect or consequence that will occur from carrying out an environmental program or activity that is related to an environmental or programmatic goal or 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 enhance the sustainability of human society on the planet. The desired outcomes of the research conducted via the P3 program address the three aspects of sustainability.  Through the use of sustainable technologies this research aims to simultaneously: (1) maintain or improve human health and well-being; (2) advance economic competitiveness; and (3) protect and preserve the environment by effectively and efficiently using water, materials, and energy and minimizing the generation or emission of pollution or minimizing the use of hazardous substances.

The outputs and outcomes of the research efforts conducted via the individual P3 grants contribute directly to accomplishing the P3 Program goals presented in Section B of this solicitation.

E. Research Areas
Applicants should address one of the research areas listed below in their Phase I proposals. Note that each application must be submitted using a single Funding Opportunity Number (FON). (Proposals can include, but are not limited to, technical challenges within the examples following each research area below.)  Review criteria specific to the P3 Program and against which the Phase I proposals will be evaluated are presented later in Section V.A.2.  To fulfill Agency requirements for a research grant, all proposals should clearly articulate how the proposed project/design will result in pollution prevention and/or control. The link to pollution prevention should be direct such as reduction in air emissions from a more efficient engine design.   Proposals should also consider the lifecycle environmental impacts of the project, including (if applicable) materials management, minimizing toxicity of materials, efficient use of water and energy, minimizing pollution, and minimizing the impacts of disposal.    For example, biofuels proposals must demonstrate that the proposed new fuel or process will deliver net positive energy, i.e., that it produces more energy than is required to produce it.

Energy (Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-G2017-P3-Q1 – Energy)

  1. Green Energy
    This includes but is not limited to:
    1. Innovative strategies for energy conservation and efficiency as well as production and distribution,
    2. Inherently benign energy through biomimicry, green engineering and development of alternative energy sources.
    3. Energy solutions that contribute to energy security and community disaster resilience (for instance, better able to handle climate-change-induced weather extremes including severe storms and flooding).

Built Environment (Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-G2017-P3-Q2 – Built Environment)

  1. Green Buildings
    Green building practices maximize efficiency with which buildings and their sites use resources, energy, water, and materials throughout the complete building life cycle from siting, design, and construction to operation, renovation, and reuse.  Building designs that enhance affordability, accessibility while maximizing efficiency are encouraged.  Areas of interest include but are not limited to research on:
    1. Innovative processes for minimizing waste generation from the construction, renovation, and demolition of buildings while boosting safe recycling of materials with low recycling rates (e.g., carpet, asphalt shingles, plastics, tile, and insulation).
    2. Devices, technologies, and materials that reduce energy needs or strengthen disaster resilience (e.g., climate-change-induced weather extremes) in existing buildings.
    3. Application of biomimicry in building design.
  2. Smart Growth
    Smart growth covers a range of development and conservation strategies that help protect our natural environment and make our communities more attractive, resilient, socially equitable and diverse, and economically stronger. Areas of interest include but are not limited to research on:
    1. Innovative transportation and mobility strategies.
    2. Information technologies for pollution prevention.
    3. Systems or strategies that improve community resilience to climate-change-induced weather extremes for all population segments.

Materials and Chemicals (Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-G2017-P3-Q3 – Materials and Chemicals)

  1. Sustainable Materials
    Sustainable material science develops new materials and products with minimal environmental and public health impacts over their life cycles. Areas of interest include but are not limited to research on:
    1. Biomimicry-inspired materials or coatings.
    2. Electronics waste reduction, recycling, and/or material recovery.
    3. More-efficient production practices.
  2. Sustainable Chemistry
    Sustainable chemistry principles are used to design chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. Sustainable chemistry applies across the life cycle of a chemical product, including its design, manufacture, and use.  Areas of interest include but are not limited to research on:
    1. Less-toxic flame retardants. 
    2. Substitution of rare earth metals.
    3. Safer chemical storage to prevent releases in case of storms or flooding (i.e., disaster resilience).
  3. Preventing and reducing food waste
    The EPA and the USDA are partnering through the U.S. Food Waste Challenge to address sustainable food management from farm to final disposition.  (United States 2030 Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal)  Through this partnership, the EPA is working to reduce food waste, which is the largest component (21 percent) of discarded municipal solid waste.  Areas of interest include but are not limited to:
    1. Improving food transportation, distribution, recovery, and secondary uses (see Food Recovery Hierarchy).
    2. Broadening composting deployment, for instance by increasing awareness, making it easier to participate, improving collection, processing, etc.

Water (Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-G2017-P3-Q4 – Water)

  1. Drinking Water
    Considerations include cost, ease of use, social impacts, and environmental impacts including resource and energy use. Areas of interest include but are not limited to research on:
    1. Small drinking water systems.
    2. Increasing disaster resilience by preventing pollutant release into drinking water sources during flood events.
    NOTE:  Because the P3 program has already funded many arsenic-removal projects, additional arsenic-removal projects are highly discouraged.
  2. Water Quality
    Research areas of interest for ensuring long-term sustainability include the prevention and/or control of the man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological integrity of water, including freshwater aquatic ecosystems.
  3. Wastewater and Water Reuse
    Areas of interest include but are not limited to:
    1. Treatment technologies to capture energy/resources.
    2. Treatment technologies to enable a closed-loop residential system.

It is recognized that some proposals may be appropriate for more than one FON/research area, but the applicant must identify a primary FON/research area for application submission purposes.  The primary FON/research area is used to determine the appropriate peer review panel.

Please note the following Agency requirements for P3 research proposals:

  • All proposals should clearly articulate how the proposed project/design will result in pollution prevention and/or control or describe how the proposed project/design proposes research within the scope of the statutes described in Section I.C.1. above. (NEPA is a secondary supporting statute for international projects and cannot be the sole supporting statute for a proposed project.)
  • Generally, a proposal to this solicitation should address the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of air pollution, water pollution, solid/hazardous waste pollution, toxic substances control, or pesticide control. Proposals should not focus on fixing an environmental problem via a well-established method, but instead highlight their innovative research aspects. For example, a proposal to plant some trees in an economically depressed area in order to prevent erosion, or a proposal to start a routine recycling or composting program would not be considered appropriate for the P3 Program. However, the first instance of the application of a pollution-control technique or an innovative application of a previously used method would be considered appropriate for the P3 Program.
  • To the extent practicable, research proposals must embody innovation and sustainability.  Innovation for the purposes of this RFA is defined as the process of making changes; a new method, custom or device.  Innovative research can take the form of wholly new applications or applications that build on existing knowledge and approaches for new uses.  Research proposals must include a discussion on how the proposed research is innovative (see Section IV.C.5.a). The concept of sustainability is based on language in the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).  This definition is reiterated in Executive Order 13514, Federal Leadership in Environment, Energy, and Economic Performance, stating that the goal of sustainability is to, “create and maintain conditions, under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations.” Research proposals must include a discussion on how the proposed research will seek sustainable solutions that protect the environment and strengthen our communities (see Section IV.C.5.a). ORD will draw from all of the above-mentioned innovation and sustainability definitions in the review/evaluation process of recommending research proposals (see Sections V.A and V.B).

Review criteria specific to the P3 Program are presented in Sections V.A. and V.B.

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. 2012. Rio +20 United Nationals Conference on Sustainable Development Outcome Document. United Nations. (The Future We Want)

United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2007. Sustainability Research Strategy. EPA 600/S 07/001 (Sustainability Research Strategy (PDF) (72 pp, 1.14 MB)

Books

Benyus, J. 2002. Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. William Morrow Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0060533229.

Braungart, M. & McDonough, W. 2002. Cradle to Cradle. North Point Press. ISBN 978-0865475878.

Lakhtakia, A. & Martín-Palma, R.J. (Eds.) 2013. Engineered Biomimicry. Elsevier. ISBN: 978-0-12-415995-2. Engineered Biomimicry (E-book)

McDonough, W. & Braungart, M. 2013. The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability—Designing for Abundance. North Point Press. ISBN 978-086547748

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

G. Special Requirements
Agency policy and ethical considerations prevent EPA technical staff and managers from providing 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.  EPA employees cannot endorse any particular application.

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. 

This solicitation provides the opportunity for the submission of applications for projects that may involve human subjects research. All applications must include a Human Subjects Research Statement (HSRS; described in Section IV.C.5.b of this solicitation). If the project involves human subjects research, it will be subject to an additional level of review prior to funding decisions being made as described in Sections V.C and V.D of this solicitation.

A P3 project may involve intellectual property (IP). If that is the case, P3 teams are encouraged to ensure that their institution’s technology transfer office reviews any IP-related materials before making them public. This is to ensure that any concerns related to patent filings or adjustments to IP strategies, if needed, can be addressed prior to any public display.

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 organizations(s) will be subawardees of the recipient.

II. AWARD INFORMATION
It is anticipated that a total of approximately $900,000 will be awarded under this announcement for Phase I and Phase II grant awards, depending on the availability of funds, quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations.  The EPA anticipates funding approximately 25 grants for Phase I under this RFA.  The projected EPA award amount for each Phase I grant is up to $15,000 for its one year duration.  Requests for amounts in excess of a total of $15,000, 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 project/design, the Phase II proposal to further develop and demonstrate the sustainability project/design created in Phase I, and the reviews from the reviewers, EPA will select approximately seven P3 Award winners from among recipients of Phase I funding, depending on the availability of funds and other applicable considerations. These P3 Award winners will be eligible to receive additional Phase II funding of up to $75,000 each. Proposals for Phase II grants with total 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 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 six months after the original selection decisions.

In appropriate circumstances, EPA reserves the right to partially fund proposals/applications by funding discrete portions or phases of proposed projects. If EPA decides to partially fund a proposal/application, it will do so in a manner that does not prejudice any applicants or affect the basis upon which the proposal/application, or portion thereof, was evaluated and selected for award, and therefore maintains the integrity of the competition and selection process.

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 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. (includes eligible institutions of higher education located in U.S. territories and possessions) 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.

Foreign governments, international organizations, and non-governmental international organizations/institutions 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, 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.

Potential applicants who are uncertain of their eligibility should contact Ron Josephson (josephson.ron@epa.gov) in NCER; phone: 202-564-7823.

B. Cost Sharing
Institutional cost-sharing is not required for Phase I or Phase II.

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. In addition, applications must be submitted through Grants.gov as stated in Section IV of this announcement (except in the limited circumstances where another mode of submission is specifically allowed for as explained in Section IV) on or before the application submission deadline published in Section IV of this announcement. Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in Section IV of this announcement (see Section IV.F. “Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements” for further information) to ensure that their application is timely submitted. Applications submitted after the submission deadline will be considered late and deemed ineligible without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was late due to EPA mishandling or because of technical problems associated with Grants.gov or relevant SAM.gov system issues. An applicant’s failure to timely submit their application through Grants.gov because they did not timely or properly register in SAM.gov or Grants.gov will not be considered an acceptable reason to consider a late submission.

Also, applications exceeding the funding limits or project period term described herein will be rejected 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.

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

Additional provisions that apply to this solicitation and/or awards made under this solicitation, including but not limited to those related to confidential business information, contracts and subawards under grants, and proposal assistance and communications, can be found at EPA Solicitation Clauses

These, and the other provisions that can be found at the website link, are important, and applicants must review them when preparing applications for this solicitation. If you are unable to access these provisions electronically at the website above, please communicate with the EPA contact listed in this solicitation to obtain the provisions.

Formal instructions for submission through Grants.gov are in Section F.

A. Grants.gov Submittal Requirements and Limited Exception Procedures
Applicants, except as noted below, must apply electronically through Grants.gov under this funding opportunity based on the Grants.gov instructions in this announcement. If an applicant does not have the technical capability to apply electronically through Grants.gov because of limited or no internet access which prevents them from being able to upload the required application materials to Grants.gov, the applicant must contact OGDWaivers@epa.gov or the address listed below in writing (e.g., by hard copy, email) at least 15 calendar days prior to the submission deadline under this announcement to request approval to submit their application materials through an alternate method.

Mailing Address:
OGD Waivers
c/o Barbara Perkins
USEPA Headquarters
William Jefferson Clinton Building
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N. W.
Mail Code: 3903R
Washington, DC 20460

Courier Address:
OGD Waivers
c/o Barbara Perkins
Ronald Reagan Building
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Rm # 51267
Washington, DC 20004

In the request, the applicant must include the following information:
Funding Opportunity Number (FON)
Organization Name and DUNS
Organization’s Contact Information (email address and phone number)

Explanation of how they lack the technical capability to apply electronically through Grants.gov because of: 1) limited internet access or 2) no internet access which prevents them from being able to upload the required application materials through Grants.gov.

EPA will only consider alternate submission exception requests based on the two reasons stated above and will timely respond to the request -- all other requests will be denied. If an alternate submission method is approved, the applicant will receive documentation of this approval and further instructions on how to apply under this announcement. Applicants will be required to submit the documentation of approval with any initial application submitted under the alternative method. In addition, any submittal through an alternative method must comply with all applicable requirements and deadlines in the announcement including the submission deadline and requirements regarding proposal content and page limits (although the documentation of approval of an alternate submission method will not count against any page limits).

If an exception is granted, it is valid for submissions to EPA for the remainder of the entire calendar year in which the exception was approved and can be used to justify alternative submission methods for application submissions made through December 31 of the calendar year in which the exception was approved (e.g., if the exception was approved on March 1, 2015, it is valid for any competitive or non-competitive application submission to EPA through December 31, 2015). Applicants need only request an exception once in a calendar year and all exceptions will expire on December 31 of that calendar year. Applicants must request a new exception from required electronic submission through Grants.gov for submissions for any succeeding calendar year. For example, if there is a competitive opportunity issued on December 1, 2015 with a submission deadline of January 15, 2016, the applicant would need a new exception to submit through alternative methods beginning January 1, 2016.

Please note that the process described in this section is only for requesting alternate submission methods. All other inquiries about this announcement must be directed to the Agency Contact listed in Section VII of the announcement. Queries or requests submitted to the email address identified above for any reason other than to request an alternate submission method will not be acknowledged or answered.

B. Application Package Information
Use the application package available at Grants.gov (see Section IV.F. “Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements”). Note: With the exception of the current and pending support form (available at How to Apply and Required Forms), all necessary forms are included in the electronic application package. Make sure to include the current and pending support form in your Grants.gov submission.

An email will be sent by NCER to the 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 acknowledgement within 10 calendar days of the submission closing date, immediately inform the Electronic Submissions Contact shown in this solicitation. Failure to do so may result in your application not being reviewed. See Section IV.F. “Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements” for additional information regarding the application receipt acknowledgment.

C. 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.

  1. Standard Form 424

    The applicant must complete Standard Form 424. Instructions for completion of the SF424 are included with the form. (However, note that EPA requires that the entire requested dollar amount appear on the SF424, not simply the proposed first year expenses.) The form must contain the signature of an authorized representative of the applying organization.

    Applicants are required to provide a unique entity identifier (formerly ‘DUNS number’) when applying for federal grants or cooperative agreements. Organizations may receive a unique entity identifier, at no cost, by calling the dedicated toll-free request line at 1-866-705-5711, or visiting the website at: Dun & Bradstreet

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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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Last updated April 28, 2023