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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

Follow Use the following steps mentioned below to create and submit a letter of intent:

  1. Click on the Actions/Views link and then click on Submit Letter of Intent link.
  2. Provide the required information on the Submit Letter of Intent. To choose a PI click on the Select PI button.
  3. Search for the PI using the search criteria. Click the Action link against the PI record and then click Select PI. If the PI is not registered to the institution in PAMS, click the Invite PI link.
  4. Complete the form by entering the required information. Note that fields marked by a red asterisk are mandatory. Click Attach File and select your file. Click the Attach button to attach the Letter of Intent document. Click Save to save the document in the My Letters of Intent list page for later completion. Click Submit to DOE to submit the Letter of Intent.

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).

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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


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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.


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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).

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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.

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

2. Click the Proposals tab. You can view FOAs by clicking the View Funding Opportunity Announcements link or Lab Announcements by clicking the View DOE National Laboratory Announcements link (Figure 2).

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).

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Figure 4. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) Page


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  • If your institution does not have a user with the “Submit to DOE” privilege, PAMS will display the following Note at the top of the Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) page: "There are currently no users with Submit to DOE privilege at your institution. If one is not identified at the time of submission of this Preproposal, the PAMS Helpdesk will be notified and will seek to identify the appropriate institutional contact. The PAMS Helpdesk can be reached at (855) 818-1846 (toll-free number) or (301)-903-9610 (Available 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM Eastern Time (ET) Monday-Friday)."
  • If a Solicitation is marked as an Early Career Research Program, PAMS displays the following Note at the top of the Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) page: "If a PI is listed on multiple Letters of Intent submitted to the same Solicitation, the PECASE eligibility for that PI is determined by the selection made on the Letter of Intent most recently submitted to DOE."

3.2.1 Solicitation Information

1. The “Solicitation Number” field will prepopulate with the number of the solicitation you selected (Figure 4).

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.

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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).

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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).

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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.

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Figure 8. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) Page – Change PI


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If a Solicitation is marked as an Early Career Research Program, PAMS displays the following additional fields below the "Address" field in the PI Information section:

  • Is the PI PECASE eligible?
  • Year Doctorate Awarded (YYYY)

The "Is the PI PECASE eligible?" field is required. Complete the field(s) before moving on to the next section.


3.2.3 Project Information

1. Enter a title for your LOI in the “Letter of Intent Title” field (Figure 9).

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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).

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Figure 10. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) Page – Program 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).


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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.

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Figure 11. Submit letter of Intent (LOI) Page – Letter of Intent – Attach File, Browse

3.2.5   Additional Attachments

1. Some FOAs require additional documents, such as current or pending support, biosketches, and Review COI listings. To attach these documents, click Attach File on the right in the Additional Attachments header. (Figure 12)

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Figure 12. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) Page – Additional Attachments


2. PAMS will expand the section. Click Browse to search for the file you would like to attach.

3. Click Upload below the Description field to upload the file to PAMS.


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The Additional Attachments section accepts a maximum of three files. If you attempt to upload more than three files using the Hold Ctrl method, PAMS will upload the first three files only.

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 13).

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Figure 13. Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) Page – Letter of Intent – Submit to DOE, Save


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  • If you do not have the “Submit to DOE” privilege, PAMS will display a dropdown with the following options instead of a Submit to DOE button:
    • Save Letter of Intent
    • Save Letter of Intent and Submit for Countersignature
  • 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.


2. You will receive a Success message indicating that your submission was successful (Figure 14).

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Figure 14. My Letters of Intent (LOI) Page – 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. A list of all of your LOIs will display (Figure 14).

2. Choose the LOI you would like to reopen, click the Actions/Views link, and select Reopen Letter of Intent (Figure 15).

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Figure 15. My Letters of Intent (LOI) Page – Reopen Letter of Intent

3. To resubmit your LOI, click Submit to DOE (Figure 13).


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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.

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