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EBI Research Preproposal Solicitation

Preproposal Deadline: Submission process is now closed.

Tentative Timeline:

• Call for Preproposals: May 1
  
• Preproposal Deadline: June 8
  
• Full Proposal Invitations: Due to the large number of submissions, there has been a delay in the review process. Invitations will likely be issued the week of July 2.
  
• Full Proposal Deadline: August 17
  
• Award Announcements: Week of October 1, 2007
  

Eligibility: Tenure-track faculty members and individuals who hold academic appointments with PI status at the University of California, Berkeley or University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and staff scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Funds: Anticipated funds for first funding cycle are $15M. Awards will vary in size based on scope of project. Most grants awarded by the EBI are expected to provide support for one or two researchers (graduate students, post docs, technicians, etc.). For topics that are considered of high priority to the EBI, significantly larger levels of support may be possible.

Award Notification: It is anticipated that notifications will be sent by June 21, 2007 to those invited to submit full proposals and that final funding decisions will by made September 30, 2007.

Page Limit: Maximum 3 pages total.

Preproposal Content: Preproposals should focus on outlining the questions that would be addressed in a full proposal and the rationale for asking those questions. A short statement about the number of people that will be supported, their level (e.g., graduate students, postdocs, technicians, etc.), any unusual expenses anticipated (e.g., capital costs or extensive travel), and the proposed timetable should be included, together with estimated direct costs. If the project would benefit from support for a collaborator at another institution, a short rationale for the collaboration should be included.

PI Bio(s): Upload one PDF containing all PI bios.

Preproposal Submission: All preproposals must be submitted online at the EBI submission site. (The submission process is now closed.)

Additional Information: Topics of particular interest are outlined in the EBI research scope. The EBI will allocate financial support to principal investigators (PIs) at the three EBI-partner institutions through a competitive peer-reviewed process each year. All interested faculty from UCB and UIUC and staff scientists from LBNL are invited to submit short preproposals, which will be reviewed by a selection committee for relevance to the research mission of the EBI. PIs who submit preproposals that are considered to be a good fit to the goals of the EBI will be invited to submit a more detailed proposal, including a detailed budget. These proposals will be peer-reviewed by colleagues from outside the partner institutions with expertise in the subject matter of the proposals. Proposals that are reviewed favorably for technical merit will then be considered for funding by the Executive Committee of the EBI.

For projects that would involve multiple PIs, please follow these guidelines. The preproposal should be submitted by one lead PI, and should still adhere to the three-page limit. In the body of the preproposal, list the additional PIs who would participate in the project, and include their bios when submitting the preproposal.

The principal investigators of supported projects will be expected to provide annual progress reports similar to those requested by some federal agencies. Additionally, individuals supported in whole or in part by EBI grants will present seminars describing their research in public meetings, including a series of meetings organized by the EBI to encourage communication among researchers interested in bioenergy.

Review Process: Preproposals will be reviewed for interest by a selection committee (listed below) composed of colleagues from the participating institutions. Members of the committee who have submitted preproposals will recuse themselves from discussions of their preproposals as is the practice on federal agency study sections.

Following the review of the preproposals, a representative of the selection committee will contact each of the PIs to invite or decline full proposals. The committee will provide guidance about the content of the full proposal (e.g., perhaps some aspects may be considered more promising than others, or perhaps the committee would like to encourage work on a topic that is complementary to that proposed) and the level of support that is considered feasible.

Full proposals will be sent out for technical peer-review. The executive committee will evaluate the proposals in light of the technical reviews and will make final decisions as to the amount of awards based on the availability of funds. Finally, the executive committee will request approval to distribute funds from the governing board of the EBI.

Grantee Responsibilities: The EBI wishes to help create an academic environment at the participating institutions that facilitates interdisciplinary studies in the general areas of biofuels, sequestration, and fossil fuel bioprocessing. To facilitate attainment of this goal, it is expected that individuals who receive support from the EBI will participate in public workshops and seminars and will publish the results of research supported by the EBI. Additionally, individuals who receive major funding from the EBI will be expected to establish research groups that are housed within the space allotted to the EBI in order to facilitate the flow of ideas between disciplines.

Preproposal Selection Committee: