Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0000937
Apply for DE FOA 0000937
- The Headquarters in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Support for Crowdsourcing Vehicle Design Competitions" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.135 Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jun 7, 2013 and posted on Jun 7, 2013.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 5, 2013. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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Opportunity Summary:
This opportunity (DE-FOA-0000937), titled "Support for Crowdsourcing Vehicle Design Competitions," comes from the Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and centers on helping ARPA-E run a prize-based, crowdsourced vehicle design challenge. The underlying policy driver is the outsized role of transportation in U.S. petroleum use and emissions: in 2011, petroleum supplied about 94 percent of U.S. transportation energy, and light-duty passenger vehicles were the largest single consumer at roughly 68 percent of transportation petroleum use. Passenger vehicles also contribute more than one billion metric tons of CO2 per year, representing over 10 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. ARPA-E frames lightweighting as a key lever for improvement, citing estimates that a 10 percent reduction in vehicle weight can yield about a 6 to 8 percent reduction in fuel consumption. In that context, the agency is exploring how a well-run competition could surface better vehicle concepts and, just as importantly, practical manufacturing and assembly pathways that could enable future lightweight vehicles without requiring high capital investment, especially for low-volume production.
Rather than directly funding the construction of vehicles, the focus is on organizing and administering a competition that can generate high-quality conceptual designs and credible production/assembly approaches. The competition is intended to do two main things: first, produce conceptual vehicle designs that demonstrate promising weight reduction and efficiency strategies; second, propose cost-effective ways to manufacture and assemble those designs, with an emphasis on approaches that keep both capital costs and operating costs low when manufacturing at low volumes. ARPA-E is also explicit about the broader value of the effort: the submissions and the resulting analysis are meant to help identify optimal design directions, highlight critical candidate technologies, and inform future research investment decisions by ARPA-E, other government agencies, and stakeholders in industry and academia. In other words, the competition is envisioned as a structured way to identify innovation trends and technology gaps that deserve follow-on R&D support.
ARPA-E uses this announcement as an outreach and partner-identification effort, seeking organizations that can collaborate with the agency to leverage an existing or buildable crowdsourcing community for an automotive design challenge. The organization ARPA-E wants is not just a passive host; it is expected to provide the infrastructure, staffing, and operational capability to run the community and the competition end-to-end. The described support activities include developing and distributing technical briefs to participants, handling communications from the community, tracking projects and submissions, supporting or executing judging processes, managing intellectual property considerations, and providing expert analysis of technical developments that emerge during the challenge. The agency also stresses execution discipline: the partner should have proven ability to advertise and disseminate challenges of this type, attract qualified participants, and deliver results under tight time constraints. A strong preference is indicated for an organization with deep technological knowledge of the subject matter, since the goal is not simply to collect ideas but to evaluate them credibly and translate them into actionable insights for research planning.
From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is categorized under Science and Technology and other Research and Development, with CFDA number 81.135 (ARPA-E). The listed funding instrument types include cooperative agreement, grant, procurement contract, though the main thrust of the description reads like cooperative support for running a prize-style challenge and producing analysis. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning essentially any type of entity may respond, subject to any clarifications in the full text. Notably, the public listing shows estimated total funding and award floor/ceiling as $0, which typically signals that the notice may function as a request for information (RFI) or planning step rather than a traditional funding commitment at the time of posting, and that the details of any eventual financial assistance could depend on subsequent decisions and a later formal solicitation. No cost sharing or matching requirement is indicated.
Key dates in the listing show it was posted June 7, 2013, with an original and current closing date of July 5, 2013, and an archive date of June 5, 2014. The point of contact provided is Krystal Paige, Contracting Officer, with the email ARPA-E_RFI_Challenge@hq.doe.gov, and an additional information link directing applicants to FedConnect for the full announcement and any updates.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the title and ID of this opportunity?
This opportunity is titled "Support for Crowdsourcing Vehicle Design Competitions" and is identified as DE-FOA-0000937.
Which agency is offering this opportunity?
The opportunity is from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), specifically the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).
What is the main purpose of this opportunity?
The purpose is to support ARPA-E in running a prize-based, crowdsourced vehicle design competition. The emphasis is on organizing, administering, and analyzing a challenge that can generate strong conceptual vehicle designs and credible manufacturing/assembly approaches.
Is this opportunity intended to fund building or prototyping vehicles?
No. The description emphasizes that the focus is not on directly funding the construction of vehicles. Instead, it centers on administering a competition that produces conceptual designs and practical production/assembly pathways.
What are the two main outcomes ARPA-E wants from the competition?
ARPA-E intends the competition to: (1) produce conceptual vehicle designs that demonstrate promising weight reduction and efficiency strategies; and (2) propose cost-effective manufacturing and assembly approaches, especially approaches that keep capital and operating costs low for low-volume production.
Why is ARPA-E focusing on lightweight vehicle design concepts?
ARPA-E frames lightweighting as a major lever to reduce fuel use and emissions. The provided context includes estimates that a 10 percent reduction in vehicle weight can yield about a 6 to 8 percent reduction in fuel consumption.
What broader transportation problem is this effort responding to?
The opportunity is motivated by transportation's large role in U.S. petroleum use and emissions. The description notes that in 2011 petroleum supplied about 94 percent of U.S. transportation energy, light-duty passenger vehicles consumed roughly 68 percent of transportation petroleum use, and passenger vehicles contribute more than one billion metric tons of CO2 per year (over 10 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions).
What kind of organization is ARPA-E looking for as a partner?
ARPA-E is seeking an organization that can collaborate with the agency to leverage an existing (or buildable) crowdsourcing community for an automotive design challenge and that can run the community and competition end-to-end.
What does "run the competition end-to-end" include?
The listed support activities include developing and distributing technical briefs, handling communications from the community, tracking projects and submissions, supporting or executing judging processes, managing intellectual property considerations, and providing expert analysis of technical developments that emerge during the challenge.
How important is subject-matter expertise for the administering organization?
The listing indicates a strong preference for an organization with deep technological knowledge of the subject, since the goal is not only to collect ideas but also to evaluate submissions credibly and translate results into actionable insights for research planning.
What does ARPA-E mean by "crowdsourcing community" in this context?
Based on the description, it refers to a participant community that can be engaged at scale for an automotive design challenge, where participants submit conceptual designs and related manufacturing/assembly approaches through a structured competition process.
What types of deliverables or results are expected beyond the submissions themselves?
Beyond receiving designs and approaches, ARPA-E expects expert analysis of technical developments and results that help identify optimal design directions, highlight candidate technologies, and inform future research investment decisions by ARPA-E and other stakeholders.
How will ARPA-E use the outputs of the competition?
The submissions and resulting analysis are intended to identify innovation trends, technology gaps, and critical candidate technologies that could guide follow-on R&D and inform future investment decisions by government agencies, industry, and academia.
What is the opportunity category and CFDA number?
The opportunity is categorized under Science and Technology and other Research and Development. The CFDA number listed is 81.135 (ARPA-E).
What funding instrument types are listed?
The listing includes cooperative agreement, grant, and procurement contract as possible instrument types.
Is eligibility limited to certain types of applicants?
Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning essentially any type of entity may respond, subject to any clarifications in the full announcement.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No cost sharing or matching requirement is indicated in the provided listing information.
How much funding is available under this opportunity?
The public listing shows estimated total funding and award floor/ceiling as $0. This commonly indicates the notice may function as an outreach or information-gathering step (such as an RFI) or planning step rather than a traditional funding commitment at the time of posting, with any eventual funding depending on later decisions and possibly a later solicitation.
Does the $0 funding listing mean there will be no awards?
Not necessarily. Based on the description provided, the $0 entries typically signal that the posting is not yet a standard funding announcement with defined award amounts, and that any financial assistance could depend on subsequent actions and a later formal solicitation.
When was this opportunity posted and when did it close?
It was posted on June 7, 2013. The original and current closing date listed is July 5, 2013.
When was the opportunity archived?
The archive date listed is June 5, 2014.
Where can applicants find the full announcement and updates?
The listing directs applicants to FedConnect for the full announcement and any updates.
Who is the point of contact for this opportunity?
The point of contact listed is Krystal Paige, Contracting Officer.
What email address is provided for inquiries?
The email address provided is ARPA-E_RFI_Challenge@hq.doe.gov.
What does the opportunity suggest about time constraints and execution expectations?
The description emphasizes execution discipline and notes that the partner should be able to advertise and disseminate the challenge, attract qualified participants, and deliver results under tight time constraints.
What kinds of competition operations are explicitly mentioned?
The opportunity explicitly mentions: technical briefs, community communications, project/submission tracking, judging support or execution, intellectual property considerations, and expert analysis of technical developments.
Does ARPA-E describe the competition as prize-based?
Yes. The opportunity describes the effort as a prize-based, crowdsourced vehicle design challenge.
Is the opportunity primarily about research and development or about program administration?
Based on the description provided, it is primarily about program and competition administration (plus expert technical evaluation and analysis) to generate and interpret crowdsourced design concepts and manufacturing/assembly pathways.
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