Review Policy / Proposal Guidelines / Reporting Requirements

Peer Merit / Review Policies
NP Proposal Guidelines
NP Reporting Requirements

Peer Merit / Review Policies

All research projects supported by the Office of Nuclear Physics (NP) undergo regular peer review and merit evaluation based on procedures set down in 10 CFR Part 605 for the extramural grant program and in an analogous process for the laboratory programs and scientific user facilities. The purpose of peer reviewing NP research projects is to provide NP program managers with independent technical evaluations. The NP peer review process evaluates the following criteria, in order of importance:

Scientific and/or technical merit of the project;
Appropriateness of the proposed method or approach;
Competency of applicant's personnel and adequacy of proposed resources;
Reasonableness and appropriateness of the proposed budget; and
Quality and efficacy of the Plan for Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research

The criteria for a review may also include other appropriate factors established and announced by the Office of Nuclear Physics.

The NP peer review and merit evaluation procedures are described within the following documents:

For more information about SC's merit review system, please browse the Grants and Contracts website.

Conflict of Interest

If you have any affiliation with, or any personal or financial connection to, the person or institution submitting this research proposal that might be construed as creating a conflict of interest, please contact the Department of Energy (DOE) Program Manager before proceeding further with your review. The general standard for judging whether a conflict of interest situation exists is whether a reasonable person with knowledge of all the relevant facts would have reason to question your impartiality in the matter. If you know that you have a conflict of interest, please advise us and destroy the research proposal and any information leading to it promptly. We assume that you have no conflict of interest if you proceed with the review. Do not contact the principal investigator concerning any aspect of the proposal. Upon completion of the review, please destroy any copies of the research proposal you may have made.

Confidentiality of Research Proposals and Peer Reviews

The Department receives research proposals in confidence and is responsible for protecting the confidentiality of their contents. For this reason, please do not copy, quote, or otherwise cite material from this research proposal. Use the information in the research proposal for review purposes only, and treat the information in confidence except to the extent that some portions of it may already be available to the general public without restriction. It is the policy of the Department that reviews will not be disclosed to persons outside the Government except when an external review team (e.g., a Committee of Visitors) accesses Department files in the course of performing an evaluation of a program area within the Department. In these instances, each member of such an external review committee signs a conflict-of-interest statement before the review is conducted. In addition, the Department may send verbatim excerpts or abstracts of the reviews without the names and affiliations of the reviewers to the principal investigator. The Department considers reviews to be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA, 5 USC 552) but cannot guarantee that it will not be forced to release reviews under FOIA or other laws.

NP Proposal Guidelines

It is important that the specific proposals be submitted to the proper funding opportunity announcement. Failure to do so may result in a proposal declined with no review. Please read the following carefully.

NP’s Comparative Review

Research proposals submitted in response to this “Continuation of Solicitation for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program” NOFO are merit reviewed on a comparative basis. Proposals submitted to this NOFO are only accepted during the limited time when the solicitation is open.

Restrictions as to what sort of institutions can submit proposals may apply; a careful reading of the NOFO is warranted.

This NOFO is NP’s principle research funding instrument. Other NOFOs that support NP activities in very specific areas are offered during the year, often open for a limited time. For more information and to access to the current or most recent Comparative Review NOFO, please go to the NP Funding Opportunities web page.

Although applications can be submitted at any time to the Annual Funding Notice of Opportunity (open NOFO), to receive full consideration for NP funding in a given fiscal year, proposals for new efforts to be supported through the open NOFO should be submitted to grants.gov no later than November 15th for the Fundamental Symmetries, Nuclear Structure/Nuclear Astrophysics, Heavy Ions and Nuclear Theory subprograms or no later than September 30th for the other NP subprograms. These NP specific dates are independent of possible changes to the dates for the closure of the open NOFO and its replacement with a successor. It is strongly recommended that proposals addressing specific NP research or technology development activities that were formerly submitted to the Office of Science annual solicitation be now submitted to NP's Research Opportunities in Nuclear Physics NOFO.

For a complete description of the types of Office of Science funding opportunity announcements, corresponding guidelines and requirements, and how to apply for a financial assistance award, please view the Office of Science’s Funding Opportunities web page.

Conference proposal guidelines

Proposals/FWPs must be submitted AT LEAST 6 MONTHS prior to the start of the conference to allow for proper review and processing of proposals. Proposals not meeting this requirement may be declined without further review.

Please note the following:

The meeting must have a policy or code of conduct in place that addresses discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment, other forms of harassment, and sexual assault, and that includes processes for reporting complaints and addressing complaints.
Costs for entertainment and alcoholic beverages are not allowed and cannot be reimbursed. Such costs cannot be included in the conference registration fee.
Costs for meals, refreshments (e.g. coffee breaks), invited speaker travel or honoraria are allowable only in very limited circumstances. Explicit justification must be provided.
Costs for room and A/V rental, meeting support, and conference proceedings are allowable.
Travel support should be limited to students who have no other source of funding.
Grantees are not allowed to charge overhead on conference proposals.
Exploring multiple funding sources is encouraged and should be noted in the proposal.
Conferences held outside the US are generally not supported, even if organized by US groups. Exceptions may be made in rare circumstances for international conferences or workshops where funding through a US lab is the only viable alternative and there is a demonstrated programmatic interest to the DOE.
Conference and/or workshop related applications submitted to DOE Office of Science program offices have additional requirements regarding 1) the current code of conduct of the host organization for the meeting and 2) a recruitment and accessibility plan for speakers and attendees. Further guidance on these requirements are provided at: https://science.osti.gov/grants/Applicant-and-Awardee-Resources/Conference-Proposals.

NP Reporting Requirements

Progress Reports

DO NOT include any personally identifiable information (e.g. birth dates, SSN #s) in your report. Reports may be included in publicly searchable databases and we cannot ensure confidentiality of information provided.

Grants, cooperative agreements, and interagency agreements:

Progress Reports are collected in the DOE Office of Science Portfolio Analysis and Management System (PAMS).

Progress Reports are due in PAMS ninety (90) days before the end of each budget period. Thirty (30) days prior to the Progress Report due date, PAMS will send the PI an email requesting a Progress Report. The PI subsequently should complete the task in PAMS to submit the report. The DOE Program Manager for the grant, cooperative agreement, or interagency agreements may approve, request changes, or disapprove the report. If a revised budget is required for the next budget period, the DOE Program Manager will initiate a request to the PI and/or the institution’s Sponsored Research Office when approving the Progress Report.

PAMS will follow the format detailed in the federal-wide standard Research Performance Progress Report or RPPR. Please refer to this site for guidelines on the content and supporting material required for the Progress Report.

If you have trouble using PAMS, consult the “External User Guide” on the PAMS website or contact the PAMS Helpdesk at [email protected].

Laboratory Field Work Proposals (FWP):

PIs at national laboratories (for example, a PI of a laboratory Early Career Award) will continue to submit their progress reports as they have done in the past until further notice.

All PIs must follow the same format as detailed in the federal-wide standard Research Performance Progress Report or RPPR.

Final Reports

A Final Report that summarizes the entire project must be submitted by the recipient within ninety (90) days after the final project period ends or the award is terminated. Satisfactory completion of an award will be contingent upon the receipt of this report. The Final Report shall follow the same outline as a progress report. A list of manuscripts prepared for publication should be appended. Submit one copy of the Final Report to the DOE Project Officer (Block 11 of the Notice of Financial Assistance Award). The final Scientific/Technical Report must be submitted electronically-via the DOE Energy Link System (E-Link) accessed at https://www.osti.gov/elink/2413-submission.jsp.

The report must be accompanied by a completed electronic version of DOE Form 241.3, "U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Announcement of Scientific and Technical Information (STI)." You can complete, upload, and submit the DOE F.241.3 online via E-Link.

Reports must be submitted in the PORTABLE DOCUMENT FORMAT (PDF) and be one integrated PDF file that contains all text, tables, diagrams, photographs, schematic, graphs, and charts. Materials, such as prints, videos, and books, that are essential to the report but cannot be submitted electronically, should be sent to the Contracting Officer at the address listed in Block 12 of the Notice of Financial Assistance Award.

Please note the following:

Your report becomes the public record of the taxpayer-funded research.

You are responsible for uploading the report to ELink. As a courtesy, you should send an electronic version to your Grant Monitor.
Your final closeout report should cover your research conducted during your last renewal period. Many NP grants have been renewed multiple times, but only the last renewal period, typically three years, needs to be covered.
Your final report should emphasize the last budget year and include important results and highlights from your last renewal period. Consider using the progress report format and limit the length to no more than five pages per Principle Investigator.
Include a list of those students partially or fully supported by your grant who were awarded a PhD during your final renewal period.
Do not include budget sheets or estimates of unexpended funds.

Final Reports must be submitted within 90 days after the final project period ends.