Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001207
Apply for DE FOA 0001207
- The Office of Science in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Systems Biology Research to Advance Sustainable Bioenergy Crop Development" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.049 Office of Science Financial Assistance Program.
- This funding opportunity was created on Oct 1, 2014 and posted on Oct 1, 2014.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 16, 2015. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $15,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 candidate(s).
- 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.
- All types of entities are eligible to apply, except other Federal agencies, Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) Contractors, and nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995. Synergistic collaborations with researchers in Federal Laboratories and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), including the DOE National Laboratories are permitted. Such collaborations should be limited to filling critical voids in expertise and can represent no more than 50 percent of the total budget.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, through the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER), issued this grant opportunity to fund systems biology research that can speed up the development of sustainable bioenergy crops. The work is intended to support DOE's Genomic Science program and focuses on building a deeper, predictive understanding of how bioenergy feedstock plants grow, use resources, and tolerate stress, especially under real-world conditions that are variable or suboptimal. At its core, the opportunity is looking for research that links processes across scales, from genes and molecular networks up through plant physiology and interactions with the surrounding environment, with the practical goal of improving biomass productivity and stability.
The funding call emphasizes two main research directions. The first targets plant-centered systems-level studies that explain the molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying crop vigor, resource use efficiency (such as water and nutrient use), and resilience or adaptability to abiotic stress. Abiotic stresses can include drought, heat, cold, nutrient limitation, and other non-biological constraints that are expected to shift with climate and changing environments. Projects in this area are expected to go beyond single-gene or single-trait studies and instead use systems approaches to uncover how interacting pathways and regulatory networks collectively drive performance in the field or field-like environments.
The second direction expands the scope to include the plant-soil-microbe system and asks for systems biology investigations into the roles of microbes and microbial communities in shaping plant performance, adaptation, and resilience. This includes research on how microbiomes influence plant health and productivity across changing environmental conditions and stressors, and how these relationships play out across multiple spatial and temporal scales in the plant-soil environment. The opportunity also explicitly calls for work that examines ecosystem-level impacts associated with introducing or expanding bioenergy cropping systems, meaning applicants can address how bioenergy agriculture may affect local ecological dynamics, including soil processes and microbial community structure and function.
From an administrative and funding standpoint, this was a discretionary grant funding opportunity in the science and technology/research and development category. DOE expected to make about 8 awards with an estimated total funding level of $15,000,000. Individual awards were anticipated to range from $1,000,000 (floor) to $3,000,000 (ceiling). The opportunity did not require cost sharing or matching funds, which typically lowers the barrier for applicants who might otherwise need to secure non-federal funds to participate.
Eligibility was broadly open to most entity types, with a few explicit exclusions. Other federal agencies were not eligible to apply, nor were Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) contractors, and certain 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995. Collaboration with federal laboratories and FFRDCs, including DOE National Laboratories, was allowed and even encouraged when it filled critical gaps in expertise, but it was capped so that those collaborations could not account for more than 50 percent of the total project budget. This structure signals DOE's intent to support university, nonprofit, and private-sector leadership while still enabling access to specialized national lab capabilities when needed.
Key dates show this was posted on October 1, 2014, with an application deadline of January 16, 2015, and it was later archived on April 16, 2015. The opportunity was managed within the DOE Office of Science financial assistance framework (CFDA 81.049). Program and administrative contacts were provided through DOE, including a grant specialist (Kimberlie J. Laing) and a program manager (Catherine M. Ronning), indicating clear points of contact for both submission logistics and scientific/programmatic fit questions.
Overall, this funding opportunity was designed to push bioenergy crop research toward integrated, predictive biology: understanding plants and their microbial partners as interconnected systems, identifying mechanisms that drive productivity and stress tolerance, and generating knowledge that can inform more sustainable, resilient bioenergy cropping strategies under changing environmental conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What agency is offering this grant opportunity?
This opportunity was issued by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, through the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER).
What program area within DOE does this opportunity support?
The research is intended to support DOE's Genomic Science program and is positioned within BER's systems biology interests for bioenergy-relevant plants and their environments.
What is the overall purpose of the funding call?
The purpose is to fund systems biology research that can accelerate the development of sustainable bioenergy crops by building a deeper, predictive understanding of how bioenergy feedstock plants grow, use resources, and tolerate stress under variable or suboptimal real-world conditions.
What kinds of outcomes is DOE looking for from funded projects?
Projects are expected to generate integrated, predictive biological understanding that can inform strategies to improve biomass productivity and stability. The emphasis is on linking biology across scales (from genes and molecular networks up through physiology and interactions with the environment) to explain and ultimately improve performance in field or field-like conditions.
What are the main research directions emphasized in the opportunity?
The call emphasizes two main directions: (1) plant-centered, systems-level studies of vigor, resource use efficiency, and abiotic stress resilience; and (2) systems biology studies of the plant-soil-microbe system, including microbiome roles and potential ecosystem-level impacts of bioenergy cropping systems.
What does DOE mean by "systems biology" in this context?
Based on the description, systems biology here refers to research that connects processes across biological scales, focusing on interacting pathways and regulatory networks rather than isolated single genes or single traits, and relating those interactions to whole-plant performance and environmental interactions.
Are single-gene or single-trait projects a fit for this opportunity?
The opportunity indicates that projects in the plant-centered direction are expected to go beyond single-gene or single-trait studies and instead use systems approaches that uncover how interacting pathways and regulatory networks collectively drive performance, especially in field or field-like environments.
What plant performance topics are specifically highlighted?
The plant-centered direction highlights crop vigor, resource use efficiency (including water and nutrient use), and resilience or adaptability to abiotic stress.
What types of stress are included under "abiotic stress" for this funding call?
Abiotic stresses described include drought, heat, cold, nutrient limitation, and other non-biological constraints that are expected to shift with climate and changing environments.
Does the opportunity emphasize real-world or field-like conditions?
Yes. The description repeatedly emphasizes understanding performance under real-world conditions that are variable or suboptimal, including field or field-like environments.
What is included in the plant-soil-microbe research direction?
This direction calls for systems biology investigations into how microbes and microbial communities shape plant performance, adaptation, and resilience, including how microbiomes influence plant health and productivity across changing environmental conditions and stressors, and how these relationships operate across spatial and temporal scales in the plant-soil environment.
Does the opportunity allow projects that consider ecosystem-level impacts?
Yes. The call explicitly mentions examining ecosystem-level impacts associated with introducing or expanding bioenergy cropping systems, including effects on local ecological dynamics such as soil processes and microbial community structure and function.
What category of funding opportunity is this?
This was a discretionary grant funding opportunity in the science and technology/research and development category.
How many awards did DOE expect to make?
DOE expected to make about 8 awards.
What was the estimated total funding level for the opportunity?
The estimated total funding level was $15,000,000.
What is the anticipated award size range?
Individual awards were anticipated to range from $1,000,000 (floor) to $3,000,000 (ceiling).
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No. The opportunity states that it did not require cost sharing or matching funds.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility was broadly open to most entity types, with explicit exclusions noted in the opportunity description.
Which organizations are explicitly not eligible to apply?
The opportunity states that other federal agencies are not eligible to apply, Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) contractors are not eligible to apply, and certain 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995 are not eligible.
Are collaborations with DOE National Laboratories or other federal labs allowed?
Yes. Collaboration with federal laboratories and FFRDCs (including DOE National Laboratories) was allowed and encouraged when it filled critical gaps in expertise.
Is there a budget limit on how much of a project can be performed by federal labs or FFRDCs?
Yes. The opportunity caps those collaborations so that federal laboratories and FFRDC participation cannot account for more than 50 percent of the total project budget.
What does the 50 percent cap signal about preferred project leadership?
Based on the description, the structure suggests DOE intended to support leadership from universities, nonprofits, and the private sector while still enabling access to specialized national laboratory capabilities when needed.
When was the opportunity posted?
The opportunity was posted on October 1, 2014.
What was the application deadline?
The application deadline was January 16, 2015.
Was this opportunity later archived?
Yes. It was archived on April 16, 2015.
What CFDA number is associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity was managed within the DOE Office of Science financial assistance framework under CFDA 81.049.
Who were the listed DOE contacts for this opportunity?
The description lists a grant specialist (Kimberlie J. Laing) and a program manager (Catherine M. Ronning) as points of contact for submission logistics and scientific/programmatic questions.
What kinds of questions would the grant specialist vs. the program manager typically handle (as indicated by the posting)?
The posting indicates the grant specialist contact supports submission and administrative/logistics questions, while the program manager contact supports scientific or programmatic fit questions.
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