Frequently Asked Questions

Non-R1 emerging research institutions (ERIs) and non-R1 minority serving institutions (MSIs) are eligible to lead an application. National labs, Office of Science user facilities, R1 MSIs, and R1 ERIs may partner with the lead applicant. Institution designations/classifications are posted here.

No. Each PI may submit one application. Applicant institutions are limited to three applications for each Office of Science program listed in Section I of the FOA.

There is general information on the Applicant FAQs page. See also Guidance for Application Budget and Costs in Section I of the FOA.

Both initiatives aim to increase the diversity of institutions participating in Office of Science (SC) research and to build relationships with institutions historically underrepresented in the SC research portfolio. The primary differences between the two initiatives are the goals of each. Training is the primary goal for RENEW, and applications to RENEW must include training activities beyond conduct of research. Whereas training is not the primary goal of FAIR which supports fundamental research to build research capacity, including infrastructure and expertise, at institutions historically underrepresented in the SC portfolio. However, research supported by FAIR may include support for students or postdoctoral researchers. Applicants may apply to one or both funding opportunities. However, the same application is unlikely to be relevant to both solicitations.

Eligible institutions can select which institution to partner with based on the focus of the research. There is no preference for partnership with any particular institution.

We have posted points of contact (POCs) for all DOE national laboratories and all 28 Office of Science User Facilities here. Eligible lead applicants (non-R1 emerging research institutions and non-R1 minority serving institutions) may contact the POCs to explore partnership opportunities for the FAIR FOA. When doing so, include a short description of the proposed research and potential partner investigator(s), if known.

A national laboratory is an institution that conducts research across a wide range of topics, working with different government agencies and industry. A user facility is a federally sponsored research facility available to external users to conduct experiments to advance scientific or technical knowledge.

Questions regarding the specific program areas/technical topics can be directed to the technical contacts listed within the FOA. If you are unsure if your research is applicable to a particular program, please reach out to the technical contact that your research most closely aligns with to discuss.

Applications requesting more than the budget ceiling ($800,000 total over three years) may be declined without further review.

Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are neither eligible to submit applications under this FOA nor to be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application. FFRDCs that permit unfunded collaboration may participate as unfunded team members.

All applications must be submitted on behalf of a lead institution and include a single partnering team institution. There are no limits on the number of investigators at the lead or partner institution.

Questions about budgets, eligibility, and similar topics should be directed to sc.fair@science.doe.gov.

PIs with multiple appointments are eligible to apply if their affiliated institution is eligible. If a PI has affiliation with multiple eligible institutions, they may select whichever they prefer to apply, but they are still restricted to one application. Work must be performed at the institution submitting the application.

For all applications the budget narrative should go beyond stating the costs of the proposal and should provide an explanation and justification for the funding requests from all participants, including subawards to the non-lead institution, if relevant. This should include high level descriptions of the work being carried out and the level of effort needed to accomplish it at each institution in each year. Direct and indirect charges may be separated out for easier explanation. It should be clear to reviewers why in each budget period the work being done requires the budget being requested.

Partner institutions must request between 15% and 25% of the total funding.

Yes. PIs should budget and request support for any travel necessary to carry out the proposed research. Additionally, applicants should anticipate travel to attend an annual PI meeting and request appropriate funding.

PIs should discuss options for student support with their Office of Sponsored Research, taking into consideration different employment categories, benefits, overhead rates, and financial aid restrictions associated with each option.

Please review the detailed eligibility requirements at https://science.osti.gov/wdts/scgsr/Eligibility. If a FAIR award includes funding for extended travel for graduate students to do research at a DOE laboratory/facility, that same work cannot be supported by SCGSR. However, graduate students may apply to conduct thesis research at a different DOE laboratory/facility. Please contact SC.SCGSR@science.doe.gov if you have further questions.