Proposal Criteria
Please refer to proposal guidelines, required content and review criteria below.

Funding and Timeframe
Proposal awards could span activities ranging from a few hundred dollars up to a maximum of about $40k/year and can span time ranges from one day up to one year. Please refer to Table 1. in the proposal guidelines for more details. Please note, these will be Georgia Tech Foundation (GTF) funds which mean no overhead will be charged against your proposed budgets. Fringe and tuition will apply. Specific details are included in the proposal preparation guide section of this document. We encourage proposal submissions to include cost share, joint funding, or waived overhead from external collaborating parties, although this is not a requirement.

Proposal Preparation Guidelines
It is the intent of the program to accept proposals of $2,500 or less at any time throughout the year. Proposal submissions with budgets greater than $5,000 will be accepted twice per year. During the FY2017 - 2018 cycle, the RFP solicitation period will take place in the May and November timeframes. The maximum funding available from EPICenter for any given proposal is given by the following table and is subject to revision or change on an annual basis.

Table 1. Funding Categories, Typical Award Ranges, and Notional Center Award Pool

Proposal Category

Typical Estimated Award Range

Annual Center-wide Total Funding Pool (est.)

1.  Study Support

$10,000 - $20,000

 

$125,000

2.  Scholarly Exchanges

$100 - $10,000

3.  Hosted Events

$100 - $3,000

$10,000

4.  Education Development/

Workforce Development

$100 - $10,000

$10,000

5.  General Fund Support

$100 - $10,000

$20,000

NOTE: Estimated Ranges and Funding Limits are Approximate and Subject to Availability of Funds

Individual proposals seeking to fund more than one category should prioritize based upon greatest need, and indicate how the award is expected to be allocated among the categories.

All proposals must support the EPICenter mission and objectives described on page 1 of the RFP document.

All proposals must also include the following:

• EPICenter Open RFP Application Cover Sheet (include summary/abstract)
• Project Description (two-page maximum, 12-point font) must include:
  • Project purpose and need in keeping with the program goals
  • Evidence of a collaborative approach
  • Deliverables: Tangible outcomes from the project and explanation of how these deliverables will advance the objectives of this RFP. Examples of deliverables could include written documents including summaries of workshops, project report, whitepaper, written testimony presented, transcript, policy brief, and social media.
  • Strategy for accomplishing proposed work, including proposed personnel activities.
  • Proposed schedule
  • If applicable, other opportunities for how these funds will enable leveraging of other resources, and/or how these funds help facilitate regional innovation or ecosystem objectives and meet a need that is currently unmet.
• Project Budget Sheet and budget justification

Projects will be selected based on their compliance with the guidelines and fulfillment of key criteria as outlined in the following table.

Table 2: Review criteria for award selection, in priority order.

Review Criteria

Purpose aligned with EPICenter goals

Evidence effective partnering (within GT and regional partners)

Leveraging of existing programs; potential to foster new programs

Perceived impact of the deliverables and/or outcomes

Reasonableness of approach, schedule, and budget

Along with the above criteria, selection of a proposal for awards may also depend upon a range of program factors including availability of funds, strategic goals, competing proposals, regional diversity, previously funded proposals, and others.
The RFP process will take place twice a year according to the following tentative schedules:

Table 3. Summer RFP Cycle

Milestone

Approximate Date

RFP Issued

   April 24, 2017

Proposals Due

   May 25, 2017

Award Decisions Expected

   June 30, 2017

 

Table 4. Winter RFP Cycle

Milestone

Approximate Date

RFP Issued

   October 23, 2017

Proposals Due

   November 23, 2017

Award Decisions Expected

   December 31, 2017

Completed proposals (application cover sheet, project description, and project budget information) should be sent via email to proposals@energy.gatech.edu

Please address questions to Rich Simmons, EPICenter Director at richard.simmons@me.gatech.edu