The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE’s) central point of receipt for all Unsolicited Proposals (USP) is the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) as outlined in the USP Guide link below which includes all DOE Program Research Areas.
The "Guide for the Submission of Unsolicited Proposals" provides more information on the DOE's unsolicited proposal program process.
DOE encourages organizations and individuals to submit self-generated, proposed ideas and technologies that are relevant to DOE's research and development mission.
An unsolicited proposal is an application for support of an idea, method, or approach, which is submitted by an individual, business, or organization based solely on the proposer's initiative rather than in response to a DOE competitive solicitation or funding opportunity announcement (FOA) . Funding of unsolicited proposals is considered a noncompetitive action.
The proposal document should persuade the staff of DOE and other qualified members of the scientific and engineering community who review the proposed work, that the project represents a worthwhile approach to the investigation of an important, timely problem. Each proposal should be self-contained and written with clarity and thoroughness.
At a minimum, your submission shall include the following three (3) separate, clearly identified technical submission criteria sections or it will be returned for re-submittal.
The Unsolicited proposal submissions must present:
A number of regulations relate to criteria governing acceptance and funding of an unsolicited proposal:
DOE considers submissions in all areas of energy and energy-related research and development with emphasis on long-term, high-risk, high-payoff technologies. DOE may accept an unsolicited proposal if it:
For more information on the DOE Unsolicited Proposals Program, please contact Email: DOEUSP@NETL.DOE.GOV