How to Apply for a U.S. EPA P3 Grant

1. How to Apply for a U.S. EPA P3 Grant Overview presented by Cynthia Nolt-Helms Fall 2011 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

2. What is the P3 Program? • A two-phase grants competition for teams of students to design for sustainability • Support innovative research on projects or designs • developed by an interdisciplinary team of students that • improve quality of life for people • promote prosperity by developing local economies, and • protect the planet by conserving resources and minimizing pollution…” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

3. Beginning the Process • Read the Request for Applications (RFA) completely • http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2012/2012_p3.html • Highlight sections/ • phrases that are critical for success U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

4. Your Target Audience? • External Peer Reviewers • provide technical review • relative to criteria in Section V.A.2. of RFA • EPA Reviewers • provide programmatic review • EPA priorities and statutory considerations in Section V.A.3. of RFA • Your team • Clearly identifies innovative research component • Defines the roadmap for implementation U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

5. P3 is a Two-Phase Program • Phase I – Up to $15,000 to design a solution • Winning teams bring their projects to National Sustainable Design Expo in Washington, DC in April 2013 • Expo is 2-3 day event on the National Mall • Teams compete for P3 Award and Phase II grant • Teams judged by outside experts • Great opportunity to network with other teams and professionals in the field • Phase II – Up to $90,000 to take project to next level • Implement in the field or develop science leading to commercialization U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

6. Authority and Regulations • EPA can only fund grants supported by these statutes: • Clean Air Act • Clean Water Act • Safe Drinking Water Act • Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act • Solid Waste Disposal Act • Toxic Substances Control Act • Only supplemental support for international projects: • National Environmental Policy Act U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

7. Statutory Authority Example • “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, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of water pollution.” • Application A: The goal of this project is to design an innovative irrigation drip system which minimizes agricultural water use while maximizing the yield of corn. (NOT Fundable) • Application B: The goal of this project is to design an innovative irrigation drip system which minimizes agricultural water use to protect ground water resources and reduce water pollution from nutrient, pesticide, and contaminant leaching. (Fundable) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

8. Outputs and Outcomes • Output: A report, a product, an invention • Something tangible • The grantee developed a simple sand filter to purify drinking water in a Mexican village (output). • Outcome: What results from the output • Answers the question: Why do we care? • Example: It prevented 300 cases of dysentery and reduced the mortality rate by 30% (quantitative outcome). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

9. Research Areas = Funding Opportunity Numbers (FONs) • Described in Section I.E. of RFA • These determine which peer review panel will review each proposal • Water • Energy • Agriculture • Materials and Chemicals • Built Environment • Green Infrastructure • Clean Cookstoves U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

10. Special Requirements • EPA staff may not assist applicant with developing the technical aspects of the proposal • There can only be one Principal Investigator for each grant • Needs to be a faculty member • Has the ultimate responsibility for the grant U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

11. Eligibility • Only eligible entities may apply: • Public & Private non-profit, degree-granting institutions of higher education • Located in the United States • Collaboration with colleges and universities outside the U.S. is permitted. • Community Colleges are eligible • Institutions may submit more than one application, but they can not be inter-dependent. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

12. Application and Submission • Use the standard application package provided by grants.gov • Grants.gov page for P3 Application Package and Instructions • If your institution lacks technical capability to utilize the Grants.gov application submission process, call 1-800-490-9194 or send a webmail message at least 15 calendar days before the submission deadline to assure timely receipt of alternate submission instructions. • Forms also available on http://epa.gov/ncer/rfa/forms • Important: A receipt will be sent from receipt.application@epa.gov to the PI and the administrative contact. If you do not receive a receipt within 30 days of submission closing date, inform the Eligibility Contact: James Gentry at gentry.james@epa.gov) or 703-347-8093 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

13. Applying via Grants.gov Mandatory Documents “window” from Grants.gov website: Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) Project Narrative Attachment Form EPA KEY CONTACTS FORM Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

14. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) Project Narrative Attachment Form EPA KEY CONTACTS FORM Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs Described in Section IV.B.1. of RFA • The application “cover sheet” • Process established at institutional level to complete this form • Consult Institution’s Office of Sponsored Programs U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

15. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) Project Narrative Attachment Form EPA KEY CONTACTS FORM Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs Described in Sections IV.B.2 - IV.B.5 & IV.B.6.b of RFA • Table of Contents (Section IV.B.3) • Including page numbers • Abstract (Template provided in Section IV.B.4. of the RFA) • Clearly state goal(s) and desired outcomes • Ensure it is understandable to a broad audience • Make the case for why this research is important • Used in the review process U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

16. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) Project Narrative Attachment Form (continued) EPA KEY CONTACTS FORM Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs • Research Plan and References (Template provided in Section IV.B.5. of the RFA) • Evaluated by peer reviewers against the criteria presented in the RFA • Follow the template & limit to 12 pages • Budget Justification (Section IV.B.6.b. of the RFA) • Present in categories provided in Section B of Budget Form • Totals should correspond to those presented in Budget Form • Budget information should be more detailed than was provided in the budget form U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

17. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) Project Narrative Attachment Form (continued) EPA KEY CONTACTS FORM Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs • Resumes (Section IV.B.7. of RFA) • Faculty advisor, co-advisors and members of the student team • Respect 2 pp limit/resume • Current and Pending Support (Section IV.B.8. of RFA) • Form not available through grants.gov, provided at EPA’s website (http://epa.gov/ncer/rfa/forms; linked in RFA) • Complete form for faculty advisors, co-advisors and important co-workers (but not consultants or contractors) • Letters of Intent & Letters of Support (Section IV.B.9.a.) • Limit to one brief paragraph • Letters submitted separately will not be accepted U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

18. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) Project Narrative Attachment Form (continued) EPA KEY CONTACTS FORM Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs Section IV.B. 2 of RFA • Available via grants.gov or EPA website link: http://epa.gov/ncer/rfa/forms • Asks for contact information for: • Authorized Representative • Payee • Administrative Contact • Project Manager • •A separate person must be identified for each of these four positions U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

19. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) Project Narrative Attachment Form (continued) EPA KEY CONTACTS FORM Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs • SF-424A: Available via grants.gov or EPA website link: http://epa.gov/ncer/rfa/forms • Only fill out Section B • Use only the eight categories provided! • Personnel (no charges allowed) • Fringe Benefits (no charges allowed) • Travel • Equipment • Supplies • Contractual • Other • Indirect Costs U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

20. Example Budget: Provide itemization for each category a. Personnel Not permitted for P3 Phase I applications (including student stipends) b. Fringe Benefits As above c. Travel* Total………………………………..………$2,700 d. Equipment (items _> $5,000)* Total……………………………….....................0 e. Supplies* Total……………………………….….….. $3,200 f. Contractual* Total………………………………..……….$ 0 h. Other* Total………………………………..…….....$ 500 i. Total Direct Costs…………………….……….$6,400 j. Indirect Costs (EX: Calculated at 40.5% of a.-h.) Total…………………………………………$2,592 k. TOTALS (Sum i-j) Total…………………………………………$8,992 Example Budget Justification: Can be in paragraph form or a detailed itemization. c. Travel: • Expenses to cover travel for 5 students and one faculty advisor from ____ to Washington, DC for Expo. Travel will be by van. Van rental: $330 • Room costs: 3 nights x 3 rooms x $150/room = $1,350 • Food, Gas & Local Transportation: 6 people x 4 days x $42.50 = $1,020 • Travel Total = $2,700 e. Supplies • The supplies to be purchased are: Item A at ___per ___ Item B at ___ per ____ etc. • Supplies total = $3,200 h. Other • Other expenses include …Examples: Poster printing for Expo, shipment of prototypes, etc. • Other total = $ 500 i. Total Direct Costs = $6,400 j. Total Indirect Costs Calculated at negotiated rate for Institution ___ of 40.5%. = $2,592 k. TOTAL BUDGET REQUEST FROM EPA = $8,992

21. Criteria for Reviews • Criteria for External Peer Review (Section V.A.2) • Three equally-weighted categories of evaluation • Project Description, Novelty and Evaluation Method (5 bullets) • Overall Sustainability of Proposed Project (2 bullets) • Educational and Teamwork aspects (2 bullets) • Criteria for Internal Programmatic Review (Section V.A.3) • Relevance to EPA (research priorities, statutory authority) • Past performance of PI U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

22. Human Subjects • Institutional Review Board (IRB) clearance is required from for any research dealing with human subjects, including surveys. • This doesn’t need to be obtained prior to proposal submission. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

23. Questions and Contacts • Questions regarding Eligibility, Contact: • James Gentry at gentry.james@epa.gov ; 703-347-8093 • Questions regarding Electronic Submissions via Grants.gov, Contact: • Todd Peterson at peterson.todd@epa.gov ; 703-308-7224 • Questions on Technical Issues, Contact: • Cynthia Nolt-Helms at nolt-helms.cynthia@epa.gov ; 703-347-8102 • Greg Lank at lank.gregory@epa.gov ; 703-347-8128 • Barbara Levinson at levinson.barbara@epa.gov We look forward to seeing your application. Good Luck! U.S. Environmental Protection Agency