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 preproposal. The solicitation will provide guidance on content and deadline for the preproposal submission.

The purpose of this document is to provide step-by-step instructions for users to follow to submit a preproposal to a Non-SBIR solicitation.

2 Prerequisites

Before a preproposal 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 a preproposal submission request is available.

3 Submitting a Preproposal

Use the following steps to complete and submit a preproposal to a Non-SBIR FOA or National Lab Announcement.

3.1 Finding a Solicitation

Use the following steps to find an appropriate Non-SBIR 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. 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

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 Preproposal (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Funding Opportunity Announcements – List Page – Submit Preproposal

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 > Guide Me tab. You can view FOAs by clicking the View Funding Opportunity Announcements link or Lab Announcements by clicking the View DOE National Laboratory Announcements

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 Preproposal (Figure 3).

3.2       Creating a Preproposal

Use the following steps to create and complete a preproposal.

1. A preproposal has four sections: Solicitation Information, PI Information, Project Information, and Preproposal (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Submit Preproposal Page

3.2.1        Solicitation Information

1. The Solicitation Number field will prepopulate with the number of the solicitation you selected.

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 preproposal on behalf of.

Figure 5. Submit Preproposal 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 Preproposal 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 Page – 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 preproposal.

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 Preproposal Page – Change PI

3.2.3        Project Information

1. Enter a title for your preproposal in the Preproposal Title field (Figure 9).

Figure 9. Submit Preproposal Page – Project Information – Preproposal 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 Preproposal Page – Project Information – Program Manager

3.2.4        Preproposal

1. You must attach your actual preproposal in the Preproposal section. Click Attach file and Browse to search for the preproposal you wish to submit (Figure 11).

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

Figure 11. Submit Preproposal Page – Preproposal – 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)

Figure 12. Submit Preproposal 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.

3.3       Submitting a Preproposal

Use the following steps to submit your preproposal to DOE.

1. To complete and submit your preproposal, click Submit to DOE in the bottom right corner of the page (Figure 13).

Figure 13. Submit Preproposal Page – Submit to DOE, Save

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

Figure 14. My Preproposals Page – Success Message, List

3.4       Reopening a Preproposal

Use the following steps to reopen a preproposal.

1. To reopen a submitted preproposal, navigate to the Proposals tab and click My Preproposals. A list of all of your preproposals will display (Figure 14).

2. Choose the preproposal you would like to reopen, click the Actions/Views link, and select Reopen Preproposal (Figure 15).

Figure 15. My Preproposals Page – Reopen Preproposal

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