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This article walks users through the steps of completing Concept Paper during the application process.

If a Letter of Intent is applicable to an announcement, the Concept Paper is the second submission type to complete when applying to an opportunity. If a Letter of Intent is not applicable, then the Concept Paper will be the first submission type required to complete when applying to an opportunity.

The Navigation Wizard, the list of links that comprise the left-hand navigation, includes the Sections that are in the Concept Paper and provides users the flexibility to complete the sections in any order by selecting them in the Wizard.

Note: Information you enter in the Concept Paper automatically carries forward to populate in the appropriate sections of the Full Application.

STEP 1: NOFO/NOTA: Concept Paper (CP) - General Details

Basic Applicant Information: The Basic Applicant Information section displays the Application Initiator, Organization Name, and Organization type as read only. The Project Title however can be edited if needed and will carry into the Full Application.
Period of Performance: The Period of Performance section allows you to provide the Proposed Project Start and End Dates.
- The period of performance begins with the start date of the proposed project and continues while the recipient is performing work and invoicing.
- Here is where you will identify the Budget Periods within the project period by selecting the +.
- A budget period is the interval of time that a project is divided for budgeting and funding purposes. Typically, budget periods are established on an annual basis; however, in some cases, shorter or longer budget periods may be established for compelling programmatic or administrative reasons.
- When adding an additional budget period the start date auto-populates based on the previous periods end dates. It is ok if this information is not well-defined at the Concept Paper stage, it is editable in Full Application as needed.
Technology Readiness Level (TRL): Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is a widely used indicator of development of a technology toward deployment. The Technology Readiness Levels section allows the applicant to capture the proposed technology readiness level at the beginning of the project and the end of the project. The expectation is that the project would advance, so the starting TRL must be lower than the ending TRL. A link is also available to view the definitions for each TRL.

STEP 2: NOFO/NOTA CP - Contact Information

The Contact Information section is where you will enter the Business Point of Contact and Technical Point of Contact. Only one contact can be entered for each. The next section, Team Members, allows the applicant to add additional people to the application.
Note: Both the Business and Technical POCs entered on the Concept Paper will carry forward to the Full Application where they can be edited if needed.

Business Point of Contact: The Business POC is the individual responsible for the administrative aspects of an application and the resulting award. The Business POC is pre-populated with the Point of Contact from the Letter of Intent (if applicable) but can be edited.
Technical Point of Contact: The Technical Point of Contact is typically the Principal Investigator associated with the proposed project.
There are three different ways to add a point of contact:
- Option 1 – Select add yourself as the point of contact link to add yourself as the POC. Selecting this option will populate your contact information that currently exists in the EERE Program Information Center.
- Option 2 – Search for existing users. After entering at least 3 letters, the search bar will drop down displaying results of registered users showing their first/last name, email, and organization. You may select from those results and the selected user's information will populate. If any information for that user is missing, you may use Manual Entry to complete the contact information. Note: When searching, please enter at least 3 letters of either the name or the email of the registered user you are searching for (do not include spaces).
- Option 3 – Select Add Unregistered Contact. This option should be used if you want to invite a user who doesn't have an account in the system. This option displays when you search for a user and the user is not in the search results, meaning they do not have an account in the system. After clicking on Add Unregistered Contact, you will then manually enter the person's information.
  - After entering user information, click Save, and the Send Invitation link is enabled. Click on Send Invitation. This action sends the individual an email with a link to register in the system and access this application.
Once a contact is added, this application will now appear on this user's My Application page.

STEP 3: NOFO/NOTA: CP - Team Members

The Team Members section is where you will enter the organizations and individuals who will be participating in the project.

In the Organizations section:

The Lead organization is listed by default. If you are adding additional organizations that will be participating in the project, you will need to edit the percent of project being performed by the lead organization as this defaults to 100%.
Additional organizations can be added by selecting Add Organization and either searching for an organization registered in the system or by manually adding an organization.
- To add an organization that is not in the system, you may select Add New and manually input the organization name.
- The Project Role will need to be selected for each organization. Here you will indicate whether the organization is participating as a Sub-Recipient on the project or a Vendor. Also, the Percent of Project will need to be entered to provide each organization's expected contribution to the project.
- A Sub-Recipient is an organization that will share in the award with the Lead Organization.
- A Vendor is an organization that will provide materials or services to the Lead Organization.
- If a registered organization is entered, the Organization Type will populate with information from SAM.gov.
- The organization type will need to be manually selected if the organization is not in the system.
- An organization can also be deleted by clicking the delete icon on the right.

In the Key Participants section:

Add Key Participant by either searching for a registered user or manually adding in an unregistered contact.
Select the organization the individual is associated with by selecting from a drop down of the organizations that are added in the Organizations Section. At least one Key Participant is required for each organization, to include the lead organization.

STEP 4: NOFO/NOTA: Concept Paper (CP) - Funds and Costs

The Funds and Costs section allows you to provide the proposed Federal and Non-Federal Share for each budget period of the proposed project. The budget periods displayed on the Funds and Costs section are those added in the General Details section. If you need to add or delete budget periods, please do so in the General Details section. The information entered here carries forward to the Full Application.

The published announcement document will detail any specific cost share requirements.
The system will calculate the Total Estimated Costs and the Proposed Cost Share Percentage based on the entered Federal Share and Non-Federal Share.
To submit the Concept Paper, the requested Federal Share must be greater than $0 for each applicable budget period.

STEP 5: NOFO/NOTA: Concept Paper (CP) - Upload Documents

The Upload Documents section lists the required documents to submit the Concept Paper for review. Document requirements details, as well as content requirements, are also provided in the Announcement document.

There are three sections under which document types will be listed: Required, Conditionally Required, and Optional. Documents listed in the Required section must be uploaded in order to submit the Concept Paper. For each document type, you will see the allowable file types (e.g. PDF, Excel, Word, etc.), any page limits, and if additional documents are allowed. If the Technology Office provided a template for a particular document type, the user can download it and use it to create their document. Documents listed in the Conditionally Required section may be applicable depending on the project.

Paper wizard. The applicant may access each of these sections either by the navigation wizard or by the Edit icon at the top of each section summary.
Prior to submitting, the applicant should enable Show Validation Warnings (left bottom navigation wizard) to ensure all required elements have been completed and any errors have been corrected.
If there are any validation errors on the application, the applicant will see the Needs Attention status indicator next to the applicable section and an orange text box will appear at the top of applicable sections with the fields that need attention.
Once all required fields are completed without validation errors, there are 2 confirmation check boxes:
- A check box indicating that the applicant agrees to the terms and conditions as described in the announcement document.
- A checkbox certifying that you are authorized to submit the application on behalf of your organization.
Checking those boxes enables the Submit button.
After clicking the Submit button a pop-up confirmation window, titled Submit Concept Paper - Request Received, appears letting the submitter know that their request has been received and is being processed and that they will be notified when their submission request is completed.
A confirmation email is sent to the individual who started the application, the Authorized Organization Representative, the Point of Contact on the application, and the individual who submitted the application.

STEP 6: NOFO/NOTA: Concept Paper (CP) - Reviewer Comments

When the Reviewer Comments are posted, a link appears on the My Applications page for applicants to view the Concept Paper Reviewer Comments. The applicant will have the ability to address the reviewer comments in the full application.

Upon submitting the Concept Paper, applicants are invited to take the submission survey through a pop-up window.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the purpose of the Concept Paper in the application process?

A. The Concept Paper serves as either the first or second submission type when applying for an opportunity. If a Letter of Intent is applicable, it's the second step; otherwise, it's the initial submission. Information entered in the Concept Paper automatically populates the appropriate sections of the Full Application.

Q. Can I complete the sections of the Concept Paper in any order?

A. Yes, the Navigation Wizard, located on the left-hand side, lists all the sections within the Concept Paper and allows users the flexibility to complete them in any order they choose.

Q. How do I add contacts to the Concept Paper, especially if they are not registered users?

A. There are three options: you can add yourself, search for existing registered users (by entering at least 3 letters of their name or email), or add an unregistered contact. If adding an unregistered contact, you will manually enter their information, save it, and then send them an invitation to register and access the application.

Q. What is the difference between a Sub-Recipient and a Vendor in the Team Members section?

A. A Sub-Recipient is an organization that will share in the overall award with the Lead Organization, while a Vendor is an organization that will provide materials or services to the Lead Organization.

Q. How do I know if my Concept Paper has validation errors before submitting?

A. Before submitting, you should enable "Show Validation Warnings" in the left bottom navigation wizard. If there are errors, a "Needs Attention" status indicator will appear next to the problematic section, and an orange text box will highlight the fields that need attention.