Sept 2001 Rough Draft OFFM Policy Letter 02-1 - Office of Research ...

A. Merit Review Criteria
SECTION V - APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION
1. Technical Merit and Rationale for the Proposed Project (40%)
The extent to which the application convincingly demonstrates technical merit and provides a
credible approach for the proposed project by:
1. Demonstrating that the proposal adequately meets all the technical requirements of the
FOA, as listed in section I.C., with specific attention to:
a. Adequately addressing all three (3) priority areas described in the FOA Section I.B.;
b. Presenting a reasonable approach toward generating measurable outcomes for each
performance period and progressing toward the FOA objectives;
c. Providing adequate characterization of target biofuel intermediate(s) that justifies their
suitability for use as petroleum replacements;
d. Providing appropriate descriptions of available facilities and/or plans to partner to
secure access to facilities that will enable the applicant to meet the FOA objectives of 1
acre cultivation equivalent.
2. Proposing a sensible and realistic work plan that can be implemented within the project’s
cost and schedule and that is responsive to the FOA option for continuation strategy.
3. Presenting a technically feasible pathway that integrates the processes and outcomes of the
first two priority areas such that the project is able to demonstrate progress towards the third
priority area and the overall FOA goal.
4. For each proposed technology improvement, identifying technical targets, providing
adequate preliminary data to support the proposed technical targets, and linking the
achievement of the technical targets to the overall goal of the FOA, as well as to the
applicant’s target downstream product(s).
5. Demonstrating that the proposed technology is supported by underlying scientific principles
and relevant experimental results, and is likely to contribute to the Programmatic objective
by 2018.
6. Sufficiently identifying the key technical risk areas and proposing appropriate mitigation
strategies to address them.
2. Project Management (35%)
The extent to which the application demonstrates knowledge and experience in project management
techniques, methods, and practices, and describes how the applicant will use them to successfully
manage the project proposed by:
1. Implementing a Project Management Plan that contains a clear and detailed Work
Breakdown Structure that is aligned with the performance period structure of the project, the
Stage Gate decision point, and the budget.
2. Adequately describing the proposed approach to the Stage Gate review process, including
identifying the key technical and economic milestones that will need to be demonstrated to
justify scale-up.
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