1 Introduction
When a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) or a National Lab Announcement is created, the solicitation owner may choose whether the applicants will need to submit a presubmission. One type of presubmission is called a Letter of Intent (LOI). The solicitation will provide guidance on 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 a Non-SBIR solicitation.
2 Prerequisites
Before an LOI can be submitted, the following criteria must be met:
- The user is registered to an institution in PAMS.
- A Non-SBIR FOA or National Lab Announcement with an LOI submission request is available.
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.
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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. Choose an appropriate solicitation list from the Proposals > Search Solicitations tab (Figure 2). You can view FOAs by clicking the View a list of Funding Opportunity Announcements link or Lab Announcements by clicking the View a list of DOE National Laboratory Announcements
| If you are responding on behalf of a National Lab, you will only be able to submit to an FOA if no Companion Lab Announcement exists. Submitting to an FOA on behalf of a National Lab when a Companion Lab Announcement is available will result in an error. |
Figure 2. Proposals – Search Solicitations Tab
3. PAMS will display a list of active solicitations for you to choose from. Click the Actions/Views dropdown for the solicitation you would like to respond to, and select Submit Letter of Intent (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Funding Opportunity Announcements – List Page – Submit Letter of Intent
3.1.2 After Login
Use the following steps to access a list of solicitations after logging in to PAMS.
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3. PAMS will display a list of active solicitations for you to choose from. Click the Actions/Views dropdown for the solicitation you would like to respond to, and select Submit Letter of Intent (Figure 3).
3.2 Creating a Letter of Intent
Use the following steps to create and complete an LOI.
1. An LOI has four sections: Solicitation Information, PI Information, Project Information, and Letter of Intent (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) Page
3.2.1 Solicitation Information
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2. Click the dropdown menu for the “Institution” field (Figure 5). This list will populate with all of the institutions you are registered to in PAMS. Select the institution that you are submitting the LOI on behalf of.
Figure 5. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) Page – 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 institution in PAMS (Figure 6).
Figure 6. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) Page – 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 7).
Figure 7. 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 individual creates an account and registers to your institution, the new user 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, contact information will auto-populate in the PI Information section. If you wish to change the assigned PI, click Change PI (Figure 8) and follow the steps above.
Figure 8. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) Page – Change PI
3.2.3 Project Information
1. Enter a title for your LOI in the “Letter of Intent Title” field (Figure 9).
Figure 9. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) Page – Project Information – Letter of Intent Title
2. Click the dropdown menu in the “Program Manager” field, and select a DOE Program Manager for your project (Figure 10).
Figure 10. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) Page – Program Manager Manager
3.2.4 Letter of Intent
1. You must attach your actual LOI in the Letter of Intent section. Click Attach file and Browse to search for the LOI you wish to submit (Figure 11).
| Always make sure that your preproposal file complies with the instructions in the FOA or National Lab Announcement before submitting. |
2. Once you have selected a document, click Upload to upload the file to PAMS.
Figure 11. Submit letter of Intent (LOI) Page – Letter of Intent – Attach File, Browse
3.3 Submitting a Letter of Intent
Use the following steps to submit your LOI to DOE.
1. To complete and submit your LOI, click Submit to DOE in the bottom right-hand corner of the page (Figure 12).
Figure 12. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) Page – Letter of Intent – Submit to DOE, Save
2. You will receive a Success message indicating that your submission was successful (Figure 13).
Figure 13. My Letters of Intent (LOI) Page – Success Message, List
| You may save your LOI at any time during the presubmission process. To do so, click the Save button in the bottom right corner next to the Submit to DOE button. |
3.4 Reopening a Letter of Intent
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2. Choose the LOI you would like to reopen, click the Actions/Views link, and select Reopen Letter of Intent (Figure 14).
Figure 14. My Letters of Intent (LOI) Page – Reopen Letter of Intent
3. To resubmit your LOI, click Submit to DOE (Figure 12).
| You may reopen a submitted LOI at any time prior to the LOI deadline. However, reopening an LOI removes it from consideration. As such, if you do not resubmit an LOI prior to the deadline, it will not be considered in response to that solicitation. |
