[All_staff] Message from Hugh Montgomery - FY17 LDRD Program: Call For Proposals

[Pat Stroop]

All,

An important element of Jefferson Lab’s Strategic Plan is the 
implementation of a Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) 
program. The lab began such a program in FY14 and it has already 
provided a substantial return on the investments made.We are now 
soliciting proposals for new LDRD projects that would begin in October 
2016 (and continuation proposals from projects underway that will not be 
completed this year).

A draft calendar for the FY2017 program, which provides deadline 
information and outlines the LDRD evaluation process, is posted on the 
LDRD website (http://www.jlab.org/div_dept/ldrd/). The due date for 
formal proposals is April 29. If desired, you may submit an optional 
Letter of Intent (LOI) briefly outlining your plans for a proposal no 
later than March 1, and the lab will provide feedback no later than 
March 21. In addition to the calendar, the LDRD website provides 
templates and instructions for both proposals and LOIs, as well as a 
budget spreadsheet template and a Frequently Asked Questions section. 
The remainder of this note describes the LDRD program briefly. If you 
have further questions please contact either the associate director of 
your Division or LDRD Program Manager Larry Cardman; Cardman at jlab.org 
<mailto:Cardman at jlab.org>.

The Laboratory Directed Research and Development at JLab enables the lab 
to respond to timely scientific and technological opportunities that 
also support DOE's research and development mission. This program will 
be a critical tool for directing the lab's forefront scientific research 
capabilities towards vital, excellent and emerging scientific 
challenges. The program provides the resources for JLab scientists to 
make rapid and significant contributions to critical national science 
and technology problems of mission relevance to JLab and the DOE. LDRD 
also can advance the lab's core scientific capability, and permits 
seeding and exploration of exciting new opportunities.

Areas eligible for support will include:

  * Advanced study of new hypotheses, new concepts and innovative
    approaches to scientific or technical problems;
  * Experiments directed towards "proof-of-principle" or early
    determination of the utility of new scientific ideas, technical
    concepts or devices; and
  * Conception and preliminary technical analysis of experimental
    facilities or devices.

Within these eligible research areas, the LDRD program is conducted with 
a scale of effort typically utilizing existing research facilities. The 
projects can be characterized as:

  * Small-scale research and development activities or pilot projects;
  * Bench-scale research projects; or
  * Computer modeling, conceptual design and feasibility studies, or
    computer algorithm or methodology development.

Consistent with DOE policy, funding cannot be used for construction 
line-item projects, maintenance projects or general purpose equipment 
acquisition. Projects may not substitute for, or increase the budget of, 
projects or tasks already funded at JLab by DOE or other sponsors.

JLab's LDRD program will provide an opportunity to advance the lab's 
mission as described in the JLab Strategic Plan. This year, the lab has 
made a decision to increase the overall funding level for LDRD from 
$0.75M to $1.0M (including overhead).We are now aiming at a sustainable 
program within that increased overall budget envelope and including 
continuing support for two of the three projects underway in FY16 
(assuming their continuation is judged to be merited).The exact level 
will also be subject to the realities of the final FY17 budgets. 
Proposals may request a single year of funding or up to three years, 
with an upper bound of $0.25 M/year in direct funding. Proposers are 
encouraged to consider this in developing their proposals and should 
consult with the cognizant AD(s) at a very early stage. Proposals that 
are cross-cutting, engaging and leveraging the core capabilities across 
multiple divisions are welcomed, and the relevant ADs each participate 
in the review of such proposals.

-Mont



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mailman.jlab.org/pipermail/all_staff/attachments/20160211/b3b00071/attachment.html>