The solicitations are presented in a single document because the two programs are very similar. The major difference is that STTR grants must involve substantial cooperative research collaboration between the small business and a single non-profit research institution (defined in Section 2.9). However, it should be noted that the SBIR program also permits substantial collaboration between the small business and other organizations, including non-profit research institutions.  The difference is that in SBIR, the collaboration is optional, while in STTR, the collaboration is required and must be cooperative in nature.  In the rest of the guidelines, italics will be used to identify information that pertains exclusively to the STTR program.

These solicitations are for Phase I grant applications only, but this document describes some aspects of Phase II grants as reference information. 

Phase I:  Phase I grant awards from these competitions will be made during fiscal year 2003 to small businesses, in amounts up to $100,000. The duration of Phase I will be nine months.  Phase I is to evaluate, insofar as possible, the scientific or technical merit and feasibility of ideas that appear to have commercial potential.  The grant application should concentrate on research that will contribute to proving scientific or technical feasibility of the approach or concept.  Success in Phase I is a prerequisite to further DOE support in Phase II.

Phase II:  Phase II is the principal R&D effort, and only Phase I grantees will be eligible to compete for subsequent Phase II continuation of their Phase I projects.  Phase II awards are expected to be made during fiscal year 2004 to small businesses with approaches that appear sufficiently promising as a result of the Phase I effort.  Phase II grant awards are expected to be in amounts up to  $750,000 and cover a period of up to 24 months.  Funds will be allocated over a two-year period. It is anticipated that one-third to one-half of Phase I awardees will receive Phase II awards, depending on Phase I results and availability of funds.  Instructions for preparing a  Phase II grant   application will be provided  to all Phase I grantees through a posting on the SBIR/STTR website.  The work proposed for Phases I and II, assuming that it proceeds successfully, should be suitable in nature for subsequent progression to Phase III.

Phase III:  Under Phase III, it is intended that non‑SBIR capital be used by the small business to pursue commercial applications of the R&D.  That is, the SBIR/STTR funding pays for research or R&D meeting DOE objectives identified by the DOE (Phases I and II); non-SBIR capital provides follow-on developmental funding to meet commercial objectives (Phase III). Additionally, under Phase III, Federal agencies may award non-SBIR/STTR funded follow-on grants or contracts for (1) products or processes that meet the mission needs of those agencies, or (2) further research or R&D.  In some cases, these follow-on grants or contracts could be sole source awards since they represent a continuation of SBIR or STTR projects that were competitively selected in Phases I and II by scientific/technical review criteria. 

These solicitations are for Phase I grant applications only, but this document describes some aspects of Phase II grants as reference information.

1.5     RESTRICTIONS

a.    Choice of Topic and Subtopic – Each grant application must be submitted to only one topic and, within it, to only one subtopic as described in the Technical Topics section.  DOE will not assign a topic and/or subtopic to grant applications; this must be done by the applicant. When a grant application has relevance to more than one subtopic, the applicant must decide which subtopic is the most relevant and submit the grant application under that subtopic only.

      b.    Responsiveness – To be considered responsive, a grant application must fall within the description of the subtopic, and also satisfy any conditions contained in the introductory  section  of  that  topic.  The language in both the topic  introductions and the subtopics should be taken literally.  Applications that do not directly address the subtopic statement will be declined for non-responsiveness, and will not be peer reviewed.

      d.    Multiple Applications – There is no limit on the number of different grant applications that a small business may submit, even to the same subtopic.

      e.    Similar Applications -- Similar grant applications in which some of the tasks overlap (e.g., the same technology used for different purposes), may be submitted. However, no more than one such similar grant application will be funded as a result of these solicitations.  If a grant application has tasks which overlap with those in another grant application, the applicant must so indicate by answering “Y” for yes on Question #6 on the grant application  cover page, Appendix A, and by providing the information required by Section 3.3.4.

f.    Grant Applications Being Considered for Other Funding – If a grant application submitted in response to these solicitations contains a significant amount of essentially equivalent work as one that has been previously funded by, has been submitted to, or is about to be submitted to, another Federal agency, or to another DOE program, the applicant must so indicate by answering "Y" for yes for Question #6 on the grant application cover page, Appendix A, and by providing the information required by Section 3.3.4.  If an award is made pursuant to a grant application submitted under these solicitations, the grantee will be required to certify that neither the grantee organization nor any of its employees have previously been, nor are currently being paid for essentially equivalent work by an agency of the Federal Government.

  In the event the same or similar work is selected for funding by two or more agencies, the agencies, in consultation with the applicant, will determine the awarding agency.

1.5.2     Restrictions on the Principal Investigator

The Principal Investigator (PI) is the key individual designated by the applicant to direct the project.  The PI must be knowledgeable in all technical aspects of the grant application and be capable of leading the research effort. Because the DOE's evaluation of the grant application is critically dependent on the qualifications of the PI, changes in the PI that are made after award selection are strongly discouraged.  Requests for PI changes will be closely scrutinized and infrequently approved, and may cause delays in grant execution.

The PI’s primary employment must be with the small business at the time of award and during the conduct of the proposed research.  Primary employment means that more than one-half of the PI's time, but no less than 20 hours (average) per week, is spent in the employment of the small business during the conduct of the project. Primary employment with a small business precludes full-time employment with another organization. However, it is acceptable for the PI to be on an unpaid leave-of-absence from another organization during the conduct of the research project.  In addition, the PI is expected to devote to the project a considerable part of his or her time (at least 195 hours for  both SBIR and STTR Phase I projects, or a minimum of five hours per week for the duration of the project). Also, the source of the PI's compensation for work on the project must be the small business.  In order to ensure appropriate technical guidance for the project, only one PI will be accepted per project; co-PIs will not be accepted.  Before the grant is awarded, the PI will be required to sign a statement certifying adherence to all these requirements.

For both SBIR and STTR, there are requirements on the amount of the funded research or analytical effort that must be performed by the small business (see also Section 3.3.5.a) in order to be selected for and to receive a grant. The funded research or analytical effort is defined as the total requested funding minus the cost of any purchased or leased equipment, materials, and supplies (whether purchased by the applicant, a research institution, or by any other subcontractor).  Work performed by a consultant, a DOE national laboratory, or any other subcontractor, will be considered as external to the applicant organization when complying with these requirements.

To be awarded an SBIR grant, a minimum of two-thirds of the funded research or analytical effort must be allocated to the small business applicant during Phase I; correspondingly, a maximum of one-third of the effort may be allocated to consultants or subcontractors.  (In Phase II, up to one-half of the effort may be allocated to consultants or subcontractors).

To be awarded  an STTR grant, at least 40% of the funded research or analytical effort must be allocated to the small business, and at least 30% of the effort must be allocated to a single non-profit research institution (as defined in Section 2.8).  (The same requirement is applicable for both Phase I and Phase II.)

Grant applications that include a substantial amount of cooperative research collaboration with a single non-profit research institution can be considered for funding in both programs, thereby increasing the chances of winning an award.  The required dollar amount for the research institution (RI) depends on the amount of material, equipment, and supplies in the budget. However, it is unlikely that STTR requirements can be satisfied unless the subcontract for the RI is at least $15,000. Applicants can indicate their interest in being considered for both programs by checking the appropriate box on the grant application cover page, Appendix A.  If you choose to be considered in both programs, prepare the grant application to meet the requirements of the SBIR program.  It is understood that because some requirements differ for the two programs adjustments may be required after the grant application is selected for award. These adjustments will be addressed during the negotiation period before the grant begins.

The small business, not a subcontractor  (including the research institution in STTR), must exercise management direction and control of the performance of the SBIR or STTR funding agreement.  Regardless of the proportion of the work or funding of each of the performers under the grant, the small business is the primary grantee with overall responsibility for the grant’s performance.  It is recommended that all agreements between the small business and any subcontractor (including the research institution collaborating in an STTR project), including any business plan concerning agreements and responsibilities between the parties, or for the commercialization of the resulting technology, reflect the controlling position of the small business during the performance of Phase I or Phase II.

It is in the small business's best interest, when collaborating with a research institution or other subcontractor, to negotiate a written agreement for allocating, between the parties, intellectual property rights and rights to carry out any follow-on research, development, or commercialization.  For STTR awards only, the small business and the research institution must certify that this agreement has been completed. This certification will be requested by the Contract Specialist after award selection, but before the grant is signed. A model agreement, which may be found at http://www.science.doe.gov/sbir/Solicitations/FY 2003/model.htm, may be used or revised through negotiation between the small business and the research institution. The completed agreement should not be submitted with the grant application, but retained by the parties to the agreement.

The Federal government will not be a party to any agreement between the small business and any subcontractor, including the STTR research institution. However, applicants are reminded that nothing in such agreements should conflict with any provisions setting forth the respective rights of the United States and the small business with respect to both intellectual property rights and any rights to carry out follow-on research.

1.7.2     Cooperative Research and Development Agreements 

SBIR/STTR grant recipients who choose a DOE laboratory as a subcontractor may be required to implement a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA).  CRADAs are collaborative research agreements between DOE laboratories and their partners, and are approved by the appropriate DOE Operations Office. In many cases, the CRADA could be used as a vehicle for the property and commercialization rights agreement required by the STTR program (Section 1.7.1).

Immediately after the applicant small business is notified that it has been chosen for an SBIR/STTR grant award, the company should contact the laboratory to determine if a CRADA will be required.  If the DOE laboratory requires a CRADA, no work  may be initiated by the laboratory under the grant until the CRADA has been approved.

Implementation of a CRADA begins with project definition and milestones, and leads to a statement of work.  Standard terms and conditions, with a total of 60 options to provide maximum flexibility, are available from the laboratory for use by partners and laboratories.  A streamlined, short-form CRADA document that can reduce the need for legal review is also available.

1.7.3     Work-for-Others Agreements 

"Work-for-Others" agreements are used by DOE national laboratories when performing tasks that are less cooperative in nature than tasks that require a CRADA (i.e., the work is directed by the primary contractor rather than being fully collaborative).  Nonetheless, it is recommended, even when operating under a work-for-others agreement, that the small business negotiate a written agreement for the disposition of intellectual property that laboratory employees may develop during the course of their work for the grantee. 

1.7.4     When to Negotiate these Agreements

It is recommended that small business applicants to the SBIR/STTR programs attempt, to the maximum extent practicable, to negotiate these agreements before submitting the grant application.  It is during this period that the small business will have maximum leverage in conducting negotiations.  If satisfactory terms cannot be agreed upon at this time, the small business still would have the option of finding an alternative research institution or subcontractor.  Once the grant application has been submitted to the DOE, and subsequently reviewed and selected for award, the small business may be locked-in to the subcontractor identified in the grant application.  Also, after selection for award, there would only be a short time available for conducting these negotiations before the grant would begin.

Questions about the DOE SBIR/STTR programs may be addressed to the SBIR/STTR Program Office, SC-32/ Germantown Building, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585-1290, telephone (301) 903-1414, e-mail: sbir-sttr@science.doe.gov. Requests to be added to the notification list for future DOE SBIR/STTR solicitations should be forwarded to the SBIR/STTR Program office as mentioned above, by calling the DOE SBIR/STTR hotline on (301) 903-5707, or by submitting your request on-line at the SBIR/STTR website: http://www.science.doe.gov/sbir.  For reasons of competitive fairness, communications with DOE personnel regarding this solicitation are limited to non-technical matters and to clarifying specific language in the solicitation. Further interpretations of the narrative descriptions of the technical topics will not be provided. However, the staff of DOE national laboratories, universities, or other research institutions may provide assistance, or may even enter into an agreement to participate in a grant application, as described in Section 1.6.

No information on grant application status will be available until the final selections have been made (approximately four months after the closing date of the solicitation). However, if a grant application acknowledgment letter, with an assigned grant application number, is not received from DOE within three weeks of the closing date, the applicant should telephone (301) 903-1414.

The following definitions apply for purposes of this solicitation:

2.1     RESEARCH OR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Research or R&D is any scientific or engineering activity which is (1) a systematic, intensive study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the subject; (2) a systematic study directed specifically toward applying new knowledge to meet a recognized need; and/or (3) a systematic application of knowledge toward the production of useful materials, devices, and systems or methods, including design, development, and improvement of prototypes and new processes to meet specific requirements.

Innovation is the process of introducing new ideas into use, or the process of introducing novel uses of existing ideas.

2.3     SMALL BUSINESS

A small business is one that at the time of award of Phase I (and of Phase II, if awarded):

    (2) is  in  the  legal  form  of an  individual proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, joint venture, association, trust or cooperative, except that where the form is a joint venture, there can be no more than 49 percent participation by foreign business entities in the joint venture;     

    (3) is at least 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens  in,  the United States,  except in  the case  of a joint venture, where each entity to the venture must be 51
percent owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in, the United States; and     

    (4) has, including its affiliates, not more than 500 employees.  

A socially and economically disadvantaged small business is one:

a.       that is at least 51 percent owned by (i) an Indian tribe or a native Hawaiian organization, or (ii) one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals; and;

b.       whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.  A socially and economically disadvantaged individual is defined as a member of any of the following groups:  Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans, Subcontinent Asian Americans, other groups designated from time to time by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to be socially disadvantaged, or any other individual found to be socially and economically disadvantaged by SBA pursuant to section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 637(a).                                                           

Related information requested in Appendix D, "Application Checklist," is provided to the Small Business Administration for statistical purposes and is not considered in the evaluation of grant applications or award of grants.

2.5     WOMAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS

A woman-owned small business is a small business that is at least 51 percent owned by a woman or women who also control and operate it.  "Control" in this context means exercising the power to make policy decisions.  "Operate" in this context means being actively involved in the day-to-day management.

Related information requested in Appendix D, "Application Checklist," is provided to the Small Business Administration for statistical purposes and is not considered in the evaluation of grant applications or award of grants.

A “Hubzone” is a "historically underutilized business zone". To find out if your business is in a Hubzone, use the mapping utility provided by the Small Business Administration at its Hubzone Contracting web site: https://eweb1.sba.gov/hubzone/internet/general/findout.cfm 

Related information requested in Appendix D, "Application Checklist," is provided to the Small Business Administration for statistical purposes and is not considered in the evaluation of grant applications or award of grants.

2.8     JOINT VENTURE  

A joint venture is an association between two or more firms to participate jointly in a single business enterprise. There must be a community of interests, a sharing of profits and losses, and, for the purposes of this solicitation, the new entity must qualify as a small business, as defined in Section 2.3.  If a joint venture is selected for award, the Contract Specialist from the Contracting Office will request a signed agreement from the parties involved. The agreement must state which company will negotiate the grant and serve as the main point of contact.

2.9     RESEARCH INSTITUTION

A research institution is a U.S. research organization that is:

a.       A non-profit research institution as defined in section 4(5) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (i.e., an organization owned and operated exclusively for scientific or educational purposes, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholders or individual), or

b.       A non-profit college or university, or

      c.       A non-profit medical or surgical hospital, or

      d.   A contractor-operated federally-funded research and development center (FFRDC), as identified by the National Science Foundation in accordance with the government-wide Federal Acquisition Regulations issued in accordance with section 35(c) (1) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (or any successor legislation thereto).  Department of Energy FFRDCs include Ames Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Savannah River Technology Center, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility.

e.    A government-owned, government-operated facility, such as the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), is not eligible to act as either a partner or subcontractor in DOE SBIR/STTR projects.

DOE plans to make selections for  Phase I awards from those grant applications judged to have the highest overall merit within their technical subject area, with approximately equal consideration given to each of the following criteria:

1.   Strength of the Scientific/Technical Approach as evidenced by (1) the innovativeness of the idea and the approach, (2) the significance of the scientific or technical challenge, and (3) the thoroughness of the presentation.

2.   Ability to Carry out the Project in a Cost Effective Manner as evidenced by  (1) the qualifications of the Principal Investigator, other key staff, and consultants, if any, and the level of adequacy of equipment and facilities; (2) the soundness and level of adequacy of the work plan to show progress toward proving the feasibility of the concept; and (3) the degree to which the DOE investment in the project would be justified by the level of proposed research effort.

3.   Impact as evidenced by  (1) the significance of the technical and/or economic benefits of the proposed work, if successful, (2) the likelihood that the proposed work could lead to a marketable product or process, and (3) the likelihood that the project could attract further development funding after the SBIR or STTR project ends.

The DOE will not fund any grant application for which there is a reservation with respect to any of the three evaluation criteria, as determined by the review process.  In addition, because the DOE supports only high quality research and development, grant applications will be considered candidates for funding only if they receive strong endorsements with respect to at least two of the three criteria. From those grant applications considered candidates for funding, each of the participating DOE program areas will select up to a pre-determined number for funding.   (The pre-determined number is proportional to a program area’s monetary contribution to the SBIR/STTR programs.) Therefore, grant applications are largely in competition with other grant applications submitted to technical topics from the same DOE technical program area.

4.3     EVALUATION CRITERIACPHASE II

Detailed instructions regarding Phase II grant application submission will be provided by DOE to all Phase I awardees. A Phase II grant application can be submitted only by a DOE Phase I awardee.  It must contain enough information on progress accomplished under Phase I by the time of Phase II grant application submission to evaluate the project's promise if continued into Phase II.  The Phase II grant application will be evaluated based on the equally weighted criteria below.

1.   Strength of the Scientific/Technical Approach as evidenced by (1) the strength and innovativeness of the overall idea and approach for the combined Phase I/Phase II project, (2) the significance of the scientific or technical challenge, and (3) the thoroughness of the presentation.

2.   Ability to Carry Out the Project in a Cost Effective Manner as evidenced by  (1) the qualifications of the Principal Investigator, other key staff, consultants, if any, and the level of adequacy of equipment and facilities; (2) the soundness and level of adequacy of the work plan to meet the problem or opportunity;  (3) with regard to the Phase I objectives, the degree to which Phase I has proven feasibility of the concepts; and (4) the degree to which the DOE investment in the project would be justified by the level of proposed research effort.

3.   Impact as evidenced by (1) the significance of the technical and/or economic benefits of the proposed work, if successful, (2) the likelihood that the proposed work could lead to a marketable product or process, and (3) the likelihood that the project could attract further development funding after the SBIR or STTR project ends.  The following evidence of commercial potential will also be considered:  (a) the small business concern's record of commercializing SBIR, STTR, or other research, (b) Phase II funding commitments from private sector or non-SBIR/STTR Federal funding sources, and  (c) Phase III follow-on funding commitments for the subject of the research.

Phase II grant applications will be subject to a technical review process similar to Phase I.  Grant applications will Be  judged  against  Phase II criteria on a competitive basis.

Final decisions will be made by DOE based on the evaluation criteria and consideration of   program balance and   needs.

The Phase II funding commitment described above should be an additional 20 percent or more of the Phase II funding
requested from the DOE in order to receive full credit. Smaller commitments will receive partial credit.  The commitment must be provided either to or by the small business during the Phase II project period.  Contributions from international companies are allowed for Phase II non-SBIR/STTR follow-on funding contributions.  In-kind contributions are acceptable provided the commitment is in writing, signed by a responsible official, and includes a dollar estimate of its value.

The Phase III follow-on funding commitment must provide that a specific amount of funds (at least one-half of that amount requested from DOE for Phase II) will be made available to or by the small business.  Smaller commitments will receive partial credit.  The commitment must be signed by a person with the authority to make it, indicate when the funds will be made available, and contain specific technical objectives which, if achieved in Phase II, will make the commitment exercisable by the applicant.  The terms cannot be contingent on obtaining a patent because of the length of time that process requires. Commitments by private sector firms to purchase items developed under Phase II are acceptable provided the commitment is in writing, signed by responsible official, and includes a dollar estimate of its value.

5.2     REPORTS AND PAYMENTS

Final Reports – Three copies of a final technical report on the project must be submitted to DOE within 90 days after the performance of the effort ends.   Therefore, the final report is due:

§         90 days after the Phase I project period ends if a Phase II application was not submitted; or

§         90 days after notification of non-selection for a Phase II award if a Phase II application was submitted; or

§         90 days after the Phase II project period ends.

One copy should be sent to the DOE Technical Project Manager and two copies to the Contract Specialist of the Contracting Office which negotiated the grant. 

The final report should include a single-page project summary as the first page (use Appendix B form or a similar format) identifying the purpose of the research, a brief description of the research carried out, the research findings, and the commercial applications and other benefits of the research in a final paragraph.  DOE may publish the summary so it must not contain proprietary information.  The remainder of the report should indicate in detail the project objectives, work carried out, results obtained, and estimates of technical feasibility. The Final Technical Report shall be marked in accordance with the clause entitled “Rights in Data – SBIR/STTR Program” of the grant.

Payment Procedures – Details of payment procedures will be provided by the DOE Contract Specialist if a grant is issued.  Fixed-obligation grants will be issued for Phase I awards.  Incremental funding over a 24-month period is expected to be used with Phase II grants. Do not send invoices to the DOE Headquarters SBIR/STTR program; use the process provided by the Contract Specialist.

If the proposed research involves human subjects or vertebrate animals, the following regulations will apply:

a.       Human Subjects – Guidelines to be used in safeguarding the rights and welfare of human subjects used in research supported by the Department of Energy are contained in Ch. 10, Part 745 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) available on the internet at http://www.science.doe.gov/ober/humsubj/cfrtext.pdf

b.   Animal Welfare – Research work funded by the Department of Energy must be in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act of 1966, as amended (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq), (9 CFR Part 1, 2, and 3).

If the proposed scientific research involves human subjects or vertebrate animals, attach a note to that effect to the Checklist, (Appendix D).  (The note will not count in the page limit.)  If the grant application is selected for award, the SBIR/STTR office will provide information regarding additional approvals which must be obtained prior to award.

a.      Proprietary Information -- Information contained in unsuccessful grant applications will remain the property of the applicant.  The Government will retain for three years one file copy of each unsuccessful grant application and destroy the remainder.  Public release of information in any grant application submitted will be subject to existing statutory and regulatory requirements, such as the Freedom of Information Act.

If proprietary information is provided in a grant application that constitutes proprietary technical data, confidential personnel information, or proprietary commercial or financial information, it will be treated in confidence, to the extent permitted by law, provided this information is clearly marked by the applicant with the term "Confidential Proprietary Information" and provided appropriate page numbers are inserted into the Proprietary Notice legend printed at the bottom of the cover page (Appendix A).  The Government will limit dissemination of such information to official channels.  Any other legend may be unacceptable to the Government and may constitute grounds for removing the grant application from further consideration and without assuming any liability for inadvertent disclosure. 

b.      Protection of Grant Application Information -- DOE's policy is to use data included in grant applications for evaluation purposes only and to protect such information from unauthorized use or disclosure.

 In addition to government personnel, scientists and engineers from outside the Government may be used in the grant application evaluation process.  The decision to obtain outside evaluation will take into consideration requirements for the avoidance of organizational conflicts of interest and the competitive relationship, if any, between the applicant and the prospective outside evaluator.  The evaluation will be performed under an agreement with the evaluator that the information contained in the grant application will be used only for evaluation purposes and will not be further disclosed.

     c.       Rights in Data Developed Under SBIR/STTR Funding Agreements – Rights in technical data, including software developed under the terms of any funding agreement resulting from grant applications submitted in response to this solicitation, shall remain with the grantee, except that the Government shall have the limited right to use such data for Government purposes and shall not release such proprietary data outside the Government without permission of the grantee for a period of not less than four years from completion of the project from which the data were generated.  However, effective at the conclusion of the four-year period, the Government shall retain a royalty-free license for Government use of any technical data delivered under an SBIR/STTR award whether patented or not and shall be relieved of all disclosure prohibitions.

      d.      Copyrights – With prior written permission of the cognizant DOE Contracting Officer, the awardee may copyright and publish (consistent with appropriate national security considerations, if any) material developed with DOE support.  DOE receives a royalty-free license for the Federal Government and requires that each publication contain an appropriate acknowledgment and disclaimer statement.

e.        Patents – Small businesses may retain the principal worldwide patent rights to any invention developed with Federal support.  The Government receives a royalty-free license for Federal use, reserves the right to require the patent holder to license others in certain circumstances, and requires that anyone exclusively licensed to sell must
normally manufacture it domestically. Information regarding patent rights in inventions supported by Federal funding can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations, 37 CFR Part 401.    

f.       Distribution of Intellectual Property and Commercialization Rights Between the Small Business and Subcontractor – When using subcontractors, including research institutions, the small business is responsible for protecting its own interests with regard to the retention of intellectual property and commercialization rights.  The negotiation of written agreements for assigning these rights is recommended and discussed in Section 1.7.

5.6     GRANTEE COMMITMENTS  

On award of a grant, the grantee will be required to make certain legal commitments through acceptance of numerous provisions in the Phase I grant.  The outline that follows is illustrative of the provisions that will be included in the Phase I grant.  This is not a complete list of provisions to be included nor does it contain specific wording of these clauses. 

a.      Standards of Work – Work performed under the grant must conform to high professional standards.

b.      Inspection – Work performed under the grant is subject to Government inspection and evaluation at all reasonable times.

      c.       Examination of Records – The  U.S. Comptroller General (or a duly authorized representative) shall have the right to any directly pertinent records of the grantee involving transactions related to this grant.

      d.       Default – The government may terminate the grant if the grantee materially fails to comply with the terms and conditions of award.             

      e.       Termination – The grant may be terminated in whole or in part at any time by the government, with consent of the grantee; or by the grantee, upon written notification to DOE setting forth the reasons.                      

f.      Disputes – Any dispute concerning the grant which cannot be resolved by agreement shall be decided by the cognizant DOE Contracting Officer with right of appeal.

      g.   Grant Work Hours – The grantee may not require an employee to work more than eight hours a day or forty hours a week unless the employee is compensated accordingly (e.g., overtime pay).

      h.   Equal Opportunity – The grantee will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

i.      Affirmative Action for Veterans – The  grantee will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because he or she is a disabled veteran.

      j.      Affirmative Action for Handicapped – The grantee will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because he or she is physically or mentally handicapped.

      k.      Officials Not to Benefit – No government official shall benefit personally from the grant.

l.         Covenant Against Contingent Fees – No person or agency has been employed to solicit or secure the grant upon an understanding for compensation except bona fide employees or commercial agencies maintained by the grantee for the purpose of securing business.

m.      Gratuities – The Government may terminate the grant if any gratuity has been offered to any representative of the Government to secure the grant.

      n.       Patent Infringement – The grantee shall report each notice or claim of patent infringement based on the performance of the grant.

a.    This solicitation is intended for informational purposes and reflects current planning.  If there is any inconsistency between the information contained herein and the terms of any resulting SBIR or STTR award, the terms of the award shall control.

b.   Before issuing an SBIR or STTR award, the Government may request the applicant to submit certain organizational, management, personnel, and financial information to assure responsibility of the applicant. 

c.      Unsolicited grant applications will not be accepted under SBIR/STTR programs in either Phase I or Phase II.

d.   If a written request for a debriefing is received by the SBIR/STTR Program Manager within 30 days after the announcement of the final selections, the small business will be provided with written information pertinent to DOE's evaluation of the grant application.  The identity of reviewers or their affiliation will not be disclosed. Specific scores will not be provided.

      e.    Any submission incorporating data affecting the national security will not be accepted for evaluation.

Applicants may want to obtain scientific and technical information related to their proposed effort as background or for other purposes.  Sources of this information are listed in the bibliographies of each technical topic.

Alternatively, microfiche of unclassified, unlimited DOE reports are available for use by the public free of charge in Government Printing Office depository collections.  More than 1,400 public, college, and university libraries around the country are designated as U.S. Depository Libraries.  Check with a local public library.  Most libraries participate in an inter-library loan service whereby one may request copies of an unavailable publication from another library which has it.

7.2     DOE OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION

The Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) coordinates the Department of Energy’s Technical Information Management Program.  OSTI collects, preserves, and disseminates scientific and technical information resulting from DOE’s research and development activities. It makes worldwide scientific and technical information available to DOE’s customers and the general public.  Potential SBIR applicants can obtain information from the following OSTI sources:

(1) DOE Information Bridge, a searchable web-based tool with 30,000 full-text DOE R&D reports (see Web site http://www.osti.gov/bridge).   Note:   Current DOE contractors and grantees wishing to obtain access should call OSTI at 423-576-8401 or 423-576-0487, or E-mail informationbridge@adonis.osti.gov.

(2) R&D Project Summaries, a web-based system describing each of 15,000 DOE R&D projects (see Web site http://www.osti.gov/rdprojects). 

3) EnergyFiles Virtual Library Environment, a digital library   of    over    400    energy-related    databases    and other information resources (see Web site http://www.osti.gov/EnergyFiles).

(4)  PubSCIENCE, allows the user to search abstracts and citations of multiple publishers at no cost.  Once the user has found an interesting abstract, a hyperlink provides access to the publisher's server to obtain the full text article. The article will come up immediately if the user or his/her organization has a subscription to the journal.  If the user lacks such a subscription, access to the full text can be obtained by pay per view, by special arrangement with the publisher, library access or through commercial providers.  PubSCIENCE is available for public use through the Government Printing Office's "GPO ACCESS".  It can be accessed at http://pubsci.osti.gov or http://www.access.gpo.gov.