1 Introduction

When creating a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), the solicitation owner may choose whether applicants will need to submit a presubmission. One type of presubmission is called a Letter of Intent (LOI). The solicitation will provide guidance on required content and deadline for the LOI submission.

The purpose of this document is to provide step-by-step instructions for users to follow to submit an LOI to an SBIR solicitation.

2 Prerequisites

Before an LOI can be submitted, the following criterion must be met:

• The user must be registered to a Small Business in PAMS.

3 Submitting a Letter of Intent

Use the following steps to access a solicitation and submit an LOI.

3.1 Finding a Solicitation

Use the following steps to find an appropriate solicitation.

3.1.1 Before Login

Use the following steps to access a list of solicitations prior to logging in to PAMS.

1. On the PAMS Login page, click the Search Solicitations link under the New User Registration section in the column on the right (Figure 1).

Figure 1. PAMS Login Page – Search Solicitations

2. PAMS will load the Select a Solicitation List page, which contains links to FOAs and DOE National Laboratory Announcements (Figure 2). Click View a list of Funding Opportunity Announcements to view a complete list of active FOAs.

Figure 2. Select a Solicitation List

3. PAMS will display a list of active FOAs for you to choose from. Browse the list or use the filters or advanced search above the grid to find an appropriate solicitation (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Funding Opportunity Announcements – List – Search

4. Click the Actions/Views dropdown for the solicitation you would like to respond to, and select Submit Letter of Intent (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Funding Opportunity Announcements – List – Submit Letter of Intent

3.1.2 After Login

Use the following steps to access a list of solicitations after logging in to PAMS.

1. Log in to your PAMS account at https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/

2. Navigate to the Proposals tab, and click View Funding Opportunity Announcements (Figure 2).

3. PAMS will display a list of active FOAs for you to choose from. Browse the list or use the filters or advanced search above the grid to find an appropriate solicitation (Figure 3).

4. Once you’ve chosen a solicitation, click the Actions/Views dropdown and select Submit Letter of Intent (Figure 4).

3.2 Creating a Letter of Intent

An LOI has six sections: Solicitation Information, PI Information, SRO/BO/AO Information, Subcontractor/Consultant Information, Project Information, and Letter of Intent (Figure 5).

Use the following steps to create and complete an SBIR LOI.

Figure 5. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI)

3.2.1 Solicitation Information

1. The Solicitation Number field will prepopulate with the number of the solicitation you selected on the previous page (Figure 6).

2. Click the Institution field dropdown. This list will populate with all of the Small Businesses you are registered to in PAMS. Select the Small Business that you are submitting the LOI on behalf of.

Figure 6. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Solicitation Information – Institution

3.2.2 PI Information

1. The PI Information section will populate once you select a PI. Click Select PI to generate a list of users registered to your Small Business in PAMS (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – PI Information – Select PI

2. If the user you wish to assign appears in the generated list, click the Actions/Views link and then Select PI (Figure 8).

Figure 8. Select PI – Select PI, Invite PI

3. If the user you wish to assign as the PI is not listed, click the Invite PI link located at the top of the page. This will allow you to send your desired PI an invitation to register to PAMS. Once the user creates an account and registers to your institution, he/she will appear in the list of registered users. You may then select the user as the PI for your LOI.

4. Once you have selected a PI, his/her information will auto-populate in the PI Information section. If you wish to change the assigned PI, click Change PI (Figure 9) and follow the steps above.

Figure 9. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Change PI

3.2.3 SRO/BO/AO Information

1. The SRO/BO/AO Information section will populate once you select an SRO/BO/AO. Click Select SRO/BO/AO to generate a list of users registered to your Small Business in PAMS (Figure 10).

Figure 10. Submit Letter of Intent – SRO/BO/AO Information

2. If the user you wish to assign appears in the generated list, click the Actions/Views link and then Select SRO/BO/AO (Figure 11).

3. If the user you wish to assign as the SRO/BO/AO is not listed, click the Invite SRO/BO/AO link located at the top of the page. This will allow you to send your desired SRO/BO/AO an invitation to register to PAMS. Once the user creates an account and registers to your institution, he/she will appear in the list of registered users. You may then select the user as the SRO/BO/AO for your LOI.

Figure 11. Submit Letter of Intent – Select SRO/BO/AO

4. Once you have selected an SRO/BO/AO, his/her information will auto-populate in the SRO/BO/AO Information section. If you wish to change the assigned SRO/BO/AO, click Change SRO/BO/AO (Figure 12) and follow the steps above.

Figure 12. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Change SRO/BO/AO

3.2.4 Subcontractor/Consultant Information

1. This section is optional. If you intend to contract a subcontractor or consultant on the award, you can include that information in the Subcontractor/Consultant Details field (Figure 13).

Figure 13. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Subcontractor/Consultant Information

3.2.5 Project Information

1. Enter a title in the Letter of Intent Title field (Figure 14).

Figure 14. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Project Information – Title

2. Click the SBIR Phase dropdown, select a phase, and click the "Populate SBIR Phase" button (Figure 15).

     a. If you select "Phase I" or "Fast-Track", PAMS will display the "Topic Information" section. The first dropdown in the "Topic/Subtopic" field contains the Topics for the SBIR announcement to which you are submitting an LOI. Select a Topic from the list and click the "Populate Subtopic" button. This will populate the second "Topic/Subtopic" dropdown with Subtopics specific to the Topic you selected. (Figure 16)

     b. If you select "Phase II", "Phase IIA", "Phase IIB", or Phase IIC, PAMS will display the "Award Information" section. Enter the Award Number as it appears on the Assistance Agreement and click the "Populate Topic/Subtopic" button. PAMS will populate the "Topic/Subtopic" field with the Award's Topic and Subtopic. (Figure 17)

Figure 15. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Project Information – SBIR Phase

Figure 16. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Project Information – Topic

Figure 17. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Project Information – Populate Subtopic

5. Click the Select Subtopic dropdown and select a subtopic (Figure 18).

Figure 18. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Project Information – Select Subtopic

3.2.6 Letter of Intent

1. You must attach your LOI as a separate file in the Letter of Intent section. Click Attach file and then Browse to search for the document you wish to submit (Figure 19).

Figure 19. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Letter of Intent – Browse

2. Once you have selected a document, click Upload to upload the file to PAMS (Figure 19).

3. To update the optional description, click Update Description in the Actions menu (Figure 20).

Figure 20. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Letter of Intent – Update Description

4. Click Save when you are finished to save any edits, or Cancel to cancel any edits (Figure 21).

Figure 21. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Letter of Intent

5. To delete your attachment, click Delete in the Actions menu (Figure 22).

Figure 22. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Letter of Intent – Delete Attachment

6. You will receive a Confirmation message asking if you are sure you want to delete the file. Click Confirm to delete the file, or Cancel to cancel deletion (Figure 23).

Figure 23. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Letter of Intent – File Delete – Confirmation

7. Begin at step 1 above to reattach an LOI.

3.2.7 Additional Attachments

Some Solicitations require the user to attach additional documents, such as current or pending support, bio-sketches, review COI listing, and others. Use the Additional Attachments section to attach those documents to your LOI.

Refer to section 3.2.6 Letter of Intent for guidance on attaching files.

Figure 24. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Additional Attachments

3.2.7 Other Information

1. Click the Where did you learn about the DOE SBIR/STTR Program? dropdown and select the appropriate response. If you select "Other", specify where you learned about the SBIR/STTR Program in the If ‘Other’, Please specify box to the left of the dropdown. (Figure 25)

Figure 25. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Other Information

3.3 Submitting a Letter of Intent

Use the following steps to submit your LOI to DOE.

1. When all of the required fields are complete, you can submit your LOI. Click Submit to DOE in the bottom right corner to submit your completed LOI, or click Cancel in the bottom left corner to cancel any progress and return to the Funding Opportunity Announcements – List page without submitting an LOI (Figure 5).

2. After clicking Submit to DOE you will receive a Success Message confirming that your LOI was submitted successfully (Figure 26).

Figure 26. My Letters of Intent (LOI) – Success Message, List

3.4 Reopening a Letter of Intent

Use the following steps to reopen an LOI.

1. To reopen a submitted LOI, navigate to the Proposals tab and click My Letters of Intent (Figure 27).

Figure 27. Proposals – View My Letters of Intent

2. PAMS will load the My Letters of Intent page. Browse the list or use the filters or advanced search above the grid to find an LOI (Figure 28).

Figure 28. My Letters of Intent (LOI) – Search

3. Choose the LOI you would like to reopen, click the Actions/Views link, and select Reopen Letter of Intent (Figure 29).

Figure 29. My Letters of Intent (LOI) – Reopen Letter of Intent

4. PAMS will display a Warning message (Figure 30). Read the message carefully. Click Yes to continue and edit the LOI. Click No to return to the My Letters of Intent (LOI) page without editing the LOI.

Figure 30. Edit Letter of Intent (LOI) – Warning

5. PAMS will load the Edit Letter of Intent (LOI) page, populated with all of the information you entered on the Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) page (Figure 5). Make any necessary edits, and then click Submit to DOE in the bottom right corner to resubmit the LOI.

6. PAMS will reload the My Letters of Intent (LOI) page with a Success message confirming that the LOI was submitted successfully (Figure 26).