DOE Guidance

Faculty Disclosure Guidance for DOE submissions

Sponsor-specific tools and resources for submissions to the Department of Energy (DOE)

DOE Fiscal Year Funding Opportunity Announcement

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC) issued the FY 2024 Continuation of Solicitation for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program, DE-FOA-0003177 (DOE provided PDF), on September 29, 2023.  This broad open solicitation provides general proposal preparation guidelines covering all required sections of full research proposals submitted to DOE. In addition to the programs outlined in the FY 2024 Continuation of Solicitation, DOE may also issue Funding Opportunity Announcements for specific programs.  Please note, when applying to a specific program solicitation, the preparation instructions provided in the specific funding announcement may deviate and will supersede the guidance outlined in the broad open solicitation.

DOE Uniform Guidance and Prior Approvals

Refer to DOE Standard Research Terms and Conditions (NSF Website).

Harvard Submission Process

Submissions of proposals and progress reports are due to your School’s submitting office according to their internal deadline for review.  Submission deadlines vary by the submitting office; for Harvard Chan SPA submit 7 business days before the sponsor’s due date; for OSP and HMS ORA submit 5 business days before the sponsor’s due date.  Please use the links listed below for more information on each submitting office’s deadline policies:

• For submissions to OSP
• For submissions to HMS ORA
• For submissions to Harvard Chan SPA

Disclosure Guidelines for DOE submissions

On June 1, 2022, DOE issued a new FAL 2022-04 (DOE provided pdf) outlining DOE’s approach to standardize disclosure requirements and develop model application forms and instructions per the requirements of the January 2021 National Security Presidential Memorandum-33 (NSPM-33), the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and the 2022 NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance.  DOE outlines their approach in two phases: 1) an initial step to mandate all DOE and NNSA offices incorporate consistent current and pending support disclosure requirements across all open FOAs; and  2)  a second phase that will begin after building consistency throughout the DOE offices and making available model forms, and during which DOE will take additional steps to update its current and pending support disclosure requirements to provide greater consistency across the Department and to better align with the model forms of other agencies.

According to the DE-FOA-0003177, the DOE requires the use of the format approved by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which may be generated by the Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv), a cooperative venture maintained at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv/. The fillable PDFs provided by the National Science Foundation at https://nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/nsfapprovedformats/ are no longer available. If an interagency common format for a biographical sketch has been promulgated, that format must be used in an application. The use of a format required by another agency is 115 intended to reduce the administrative burden to researchers by promoting the use of common formats.  Please read the FY 2024 DE-FOA-0003177, the FAL 2022-04, and the applicable FOA for the specific program carefully to determine the requirements and organization of the application package. 

DOE Biographical Sketch (Biosketch) (at proposal stage)

Section A: Education and Training (Professional Preparation)

List of the individual’s undergraduate and graduate education and postdoctoral training. Information listed must include location, Major (Area), and Degree & Year or Years in role. Undergraduate Institution(s), Location, Major, Degree & Year Graduate Institution(s), Location, Major, Degree & Year Postdoctoral Institution(s), Location, Major, Inclusive Dates (years).

Section B: Research and Professional Experience (Appointments)

DOE specifies that the list must include the following, whether or not remuneration is received and whether full-time, part-time, or voluntary (including adjunct, visiting, or honorary).  List in reverse chronological order with a brief description: All positions, both domestic and foreign; All scientific appointments, both domestic and foreign; All affiliations with foreign entities or governments; All titled academic, professional, or institutional appointments; Any relevant academic and professional achievements and honors.

Section C: Publications (Products)

Provide a list of up to 10 publications most closely related to the proposed project. For each publication, identify the names of all authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the publication), the article title, book or journal title, volume number, page numbers, year of publication, and website address if available electronically. Patents, copyrights and software systems developed may be provided in addition to or substituted for publications. An abbreviated style such as the Physical Review Letters (PRL) convention for citations (list only the first author) may be used for publications with more than 10 authors.

Section D:  Synergistic Activities

List no more than five professional and scholarly activities related to the effort proposed.

DOE Current and Pending Support

Prepare an Inventory of In-Kind Support and Other Resources

All Harvard individuals who are designated as Key Personnel on a DOE award/subaward are required to report all their research support to DOE via the Current and Pending Support form, which is required at JIT and with each RPPR if their support has changed since the last submission. To provide a complete list of resources and support, all Key Personnel must take inventory of all resources provided or otherwise supported externally and available in support of their research.  This may include:  Supplies and Equipment, including high value material that is not broadly available.   Facilities, including any office/lab space or other facilities that are not Harvard owned or leased, and not otherwise made broadly available. *Note that institutional resources, including core facilities or shared equipment, should not be included as Other Support, but instead listed under Facilities and Other Resources within the proposal application.  Personnel, including postdoctoral researchers, students, and other lab personnel, paid from an external source or self-funded and working on the research of the reporting Key Person.  Other In-Kind Resources, including Research Collaboration Agreements (RCAs) or other agreements or commitments that may involve the performance of research or exchange of resources in support of your research endeavors. This includes DUAs and MTAs if the exchange covers high value data/materials that are not broadly available.  Outside Funding Support, including funding received directly or through another entity at which you have an affiliation (including the Harvard Affiliates). This includes external start-up packages.  Gifts, that are provided with terms or conditions.

Collect information from Harvard Systems

Harvard systems may contain information pertaining to potential sources of in-kind and other resources. Please note, the first two options are only available to individual Key Personnel; no one else has access to the OAIR report or the GMAS Other Support* and Activities report:  Download the GMAS report (which includes data from OAIR and Agreements Modules) through a direct link to your Other Support and Activities (Link to GMAS for automatic download of Excel report).   Export your current activities separately OAIR: Exporting Current Outside Activities from OAIR (Harvard provided PDF) DUA Exporting Data Use Agreements from the DUA module (Harvard provided PDF)  Gifts may be listed on PI dashboard *Note: “Other Support” is sometimes referred to as “Current and Pending Support”.  The Other Support download and GMAS resources were originally developed to assist with NIH “Other Support” disclosures and may be used as a resource for NSF “Current and Pending Support”.

Certify with Electronic Signature

In accordance with Section 223(a)(1) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (42 U.S.C. § 6605(a)(1)), each individual identified as a senior/key person is required to certify in SciENcv that the information provided in the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support documents are accurate, current, and complete.  Pursuant to Section 10632 (42 U.S.C. § 19232), each individual identified as senior/key person must certify prior to proposal submission that they are not a party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program and annually thereafter for the duration of the award. The statements provided in SciENcv are as follows: I certify that the information provided is current, accurate, and complete.  This includes but is not limited to information related to domestic and foreign appointments and positions.  I also certify that, at the time of submission, I am not a party in a malign foreign talent recruitment program. Misrepresentations and/or omissions may be subject to prosecution and liability pursuant to, but not limited to, 18 U.S.C. §§ 287, 1001, 1031 and 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733 and 3802.  I further understand and agree that (1) the statements and representations made herein are material to DOE’s funding decision, and (2) I have a responsibility to update the disclosures during the period of performance of the award should circumstances change which impact the responses provided above.

Supporting Documentation upon Request

Notify your Grants Manager of any DOE requests for supporting documentation.  Details of any obligations, contractual or otherwise, to any program, entity, or organization sponsored by a foreign government must be provided on request to either the applicant institution or DOE.  Supporting documents of any identified source of support must be provided to DOE on request, including certified translations of any document.

Undisclosed Other Support

Immediately notify your Grants Manager of any information that is missing and undisclosed in your Current and Pending Support.

Roles and Responsibilities Pertaining to DOE Grant Disclosure

Principal Investigators and Key Personnel

Principal Investigators and Key Personnel are expected to be forthright and transparent about relationships, resources, and activities.  Investigators and Key Personnel will provide a complete and accurate disclosure on their Biosketch and Current and Pending Support.  This includes:

1. Collecting their disclosure information from GMAS.

• Follow the link below to go directly to the Other Support* download in GMAS:

https://gmas.harvard.edu/gmas/othersupportdownload (Harvard provided link to automatic GMAS download of xls spreadsheet)

• For assistance, refer to the Job Aid: GMAS Other Support and Activities Download (Harvard provided PDF)

2. Working with their Grant Manager to complete your submission

• *Note: “Other Support” is sometimes referred to as “Current and Pending Support”.  The Other Support download and GMAS resources were originally developed to assist with NIH “Other Support” disclosures and may be used as a resource for all federal “Current and Pending Support”.

Grant Managers

Grant Managers will assist PIs and Key Personnel in organizing, formatting, and completing their submission.  This may include:

1. Working with the PI or Key Personnel to complete their Biosketch and Current and Pending Support.
2. Formatting and reviewing for completeness and accuracy.

School or Central Reviewers

School or Central Reviewers will coordinate with Grant Managers and PIs or Key Personnel to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the submission.  This includes:

1. Reviewing Biosketch and Current and Pending Support for completeness and accuracy.
2. Submitting finalized Biosketch and Surrent and Pending Support to DOE.

School Contacts

Use the links below to contact your Research Administrator:

General Current and Pending and Biosketch

School	Main Contact	Email Address
FAS	RCP	rcp_outsideactivities@harvard.edu
GSE	Tiffany Blackman	tiffany_blackman@harvard.edu
HMS	Kelly Evans	Kelly_Evans@hms.harvard.edu
HSDM	Kelly Evans	Kelly_Evans@hms.harvard.edu
SPH	Melissa Francis	mjfrancis@hsph.harvard.edu
HKS	Carrie Kachoria	carrie_kachoria@hks.harvard.edu
SEAS	RCP	rcp_outsideactivities@harvard.edu
HLS	Jason Calieri	jacalieri@law.harvard.edu
Wyss	Katrin Duevel	katrin.duevel@wyss.harvard.edu
Other Schools	Contact your OSP Rep with Questions

Definitions

DOE, NIH and NSF Definition of Research:

A systematic study directed toward fuller scientific knowledge or understanding of the subject studied.

Harvard University Definition of Scientific Appointment:

Any academic or research appointment, including visiting, adjunct or temporary academic appointments, with a university, college, governmental or non-profit research institution and any fiduciary or executive level appointment with a for-profit entity engaged in commercial or research activities of a biomedical nature.

Harvard University Definition of Research:

Adheres to the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (known as the “Common Rule” as defined in HHS regulation 45CFR46).  Teaching/training in research methods may also constitute Research for the purposes of NIH’s definition.

The Common Rule defines research as a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. (45CFR46.102(l))

Harvard University Definition of Conducting Research:

To be a Project Director, Principal Investigator or to otherwise be responsible for the design, conduct or reporting of research regardless of title or position (e.g., an Investigator). This definition does not normally include service on scientific or clinical advisory boards or more general scientific consulting unless it is anticipated that the individual will make a direct and significant intellectual contribution to a specific research project for the entity.

Harvard University Definition of Research as Part of Consulting:

To be responsible for the design, conduct or reporting of Research regardless of title or position.  This does not normally include service on scientific or clinical advisory boards or more general scientific consulting, unless the Principal Investigator or Senior/Key Personnel is anticipated to make a direct and significant intellectual contribution to a specific Research project for the entity.  Such an activity may result in earning authorship on a publication describing or supporting a research activity, or any consulting activity that otherwise meets the definition of Research.

Harvard University Definition of Support:

Any resources (i.e., financial, in-kind, personnel, provision of high-value materials that are not freely available) made available to a Principal Investigator or Key Personnel for use by this individual to pursue their Research. This includes in-kind resources directly provided to the individual (e.g., office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies or employees or students funded by outside sources). This does not include institutional resources, such as core facilities or shared equipment, that are made broadly available.