SUMMARY OF CHANGES TO APPLICATION

• APPLICANTS MUST COLLABORATE WITH THE FACILITY TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATION. USE THE 'MANAGE COLLABORATORS' BUTTON, ON THE TOP-RIGHT CORNER, TO INVITE THE FACILITY TO WORK ON THE APPLICATION.
• SOME QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN UPDATED FOR CLARITY.
• TECHNICAL INFORMATION IS NOW TO BE UPLOADED AS A FILE  ON SPECIFIC QUESTIONS. THESE ARE NOTED IN THE APPLICATION.
• FACILITY MUST COMPLETE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FORM. THIS WILL COME AS A SEPARATE EMAIL FROM SUBMITTABLE TO THE FACILITY PERSONNEL.
• NEW EVALUATION CRITERIA IS LISTED ON THE TEAMER WEBSITE.

SUMMARY OF TEAMER PROGRAM RULES

• The TEAMER Network is capable of providing testing support and expertise to test and validate technologies with the goal of making critical breakthroughs in the MRE sector. The TEAMER Program provides marine renewable energy ("MRE") technology developers and researchers with access to a network of United States ("U.S.") based testing facilities (each a "TEAMER Facility", collectively the "TEAMER Network").
• TEAMER funding is not available for manufacturing or fabrication of marine energy devices.
• For purposes of TEAMER, the term ‘‘marine energy’’ means energy from—waves, tides, and currents in oceans, estuaries, and tidal areas free flowing water in rivers, lakes, streams, and man-made channels differentials in salinity and pressure gradients differentials in water temperature, including ocean thermal energy conversion The term ‘‘marine energy’’ does not include energy from any source that uses a dam, diversionary structure, or impoundment for electric power purposes.
• TEAMER support is not available for offshore wind technologies, however may be available for testing for components(i.e., mooring, anchors, etc.) that could be used as cross-cutting components for marine energy and offshore wind energy.
• Technologies with Powering the Blue Economy applications, including Power at Sea and Resilient Coastal Communities, may apply for TEAMER support provided they are to be powered by MRE
• TEAMER will not provide assistance for activities (numerical modeling, bench/lab testing, tank/flume testing, open water activities) that are already approved and planned using other Federal funding. This includes Federal financial assistance awards resulting from a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), prize, or challenge.
• Applicants may request assistance through TEAMER for activities which may relate to, or whose results and/or outputs may be used to inform, activities that are already approved and planned using other Federal funding. The activities, scope, and reporting for each will remain separate (i.e. TEAMER activities versus other Federally funded activities) and will not be combined.
• TEAMER funding for facility use is provided directly to the TEAMER Facility, not to those seeking assistance, or Technical Support Recipients (TSR).
• Once approved for participation in the TEAMER Program, TSRs must also enter into an agreement with the selected TEAMER Facility and comply with the terms and conditions of use (including provisions related to intellectual property) as required by that Facility, prior to accessing that Facility. Prior to moving to the testing phase of the program, the TSR must work with the Facility to develop a Test Plan, which will be approved by the TEAMER Technical Board.  Once the Test Plan has been approved, the TSR and Facility will move into the Test Access Period phase of the project.
• TSR is required to provide Pacific Ocean Energy Trust ("TEAMER Network Director") with reasonable access to the TSR's work site while testing at a TEAMER Facility, as well as allowing the Network Director to take photographs of the assistance activity for marketing purposes; provided that, prior to such publication, the TSR will be provided with the opportunity to redact, or restrict the publication of, photos that would otherwise disclose confidential intellectual property owned by the TSR.
• Approved applicants, also referred to as Technical Support Recipients (TSRs), may be highlighted on the TEAMER and DOE websites. Highlighted information may include: TSR name, network facility partner, assistance category, project title, and Public Summary provided in application.
• All intellectual property rights related to the TEAMER Program will be governed by the TEAMER Intellectual Property Management Plan.

Eligibility

• TEAMER funding is available to support approved TSR’s, regardless of the TSR's country of origin, provided that (a) all work performed under the TSR award is performed in the U.S., and (b) the TSR understands and agrees to all the terms and conditions of the TEAMER Program and the Network Facility member. TSRs are responsible to ensure that the TEAMER Facility (in which the TSR will be testing) does not have non-US citizen access restrictions.
• Employees of DOE and DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are NOT eligible to apply to TEAMER support.
• Research groups are prohibited from applying for support at a facility within their own institution.
• In order to be considered for participation in the TEAMER Program, applicants must, (a) consult with a pre-approved test facility to determine whether their proposed test is within the capabilities of that facility, and (b) applicants must develop an RFTS application in collaboration with a TEAMER facility. Additional information on “how to apply” can be found here.
• Participation by approved TSRs in the TEAMER Program requires the agreement of the approved TSRs to comply with applicable TEAMER Terms and Conditions. The current TEAMER Terms and Conditions can be found here. TEAMER Terms and Conditions are subject to change. Approved TSRs should consult the TEAMER website frequently.

Post Access Requirements

TSRs are required to complete (within 60 days of the completion of activity at the TEAMER Facility) a series of post access requirements, including, but not limited to:

• Completion of a Post Access Report, which must be reviewed and approved by the TEAMER Facility and TEAMER Technical Board;
• Uploading to the TEAMER DOE Marine and Hydrokinetic Data Repository at: https://mhkdr.openei.org ("MHK-DR") (a) data demonstrating progress towards meeting the objectives identified in  Sections 6 & 8 (Project Summary & Assistance Data) of the TSR application, and (b) scripts and data used to generate all figures, tables, and charts in the final report to the MHK-DR. TSRs are advised that artificially limiting the number of figures in the final report (to avoid disclosing underlying data) will be considered non-compliance with final reporting requirements and will not be approved;
• Review and approval of all Post Access Reports by the TEAMER Facility and TEAMER Technical Board; and
• Completion of a post access questionnaire about the TSR's TEAMER Program experience.

Travel Reimbursement and Shipping Funding

The TEAMER Network Director is authorized to reimburse TSRs up to $1,000/week for certain travel related expenses. Travel reimbursement is contingent upon receipt and approval by the TEAMER Network Director of the TSR's completed Post Access Report. Additional expenses for shipping of test articles and other allowable expenses may be reimbursed, if pre-approved by the TEAMER Network Director. Travel and expense reimbursement is not available to international TSR’s at this time. Please inquire with the TEAMER Network Director for more information.

Certain Restrictions

• RFTS budget proposals exceeding $150,000 are permitted but must demonstrate the scope cannot be reduced into multiple requests. See the FAQ for more detail.
• Applications exceeding $250,000 are not permitted.
• TSRs that are past due on any any TEAMER requirements will not be eligible to apply for participation in additional Request for Technical Support ("RFTS") cycles, nor will their travel/shipping stipends be reimbursed. TSRs that are delinquent in reporting may not be eligible for a travel reimbursement.
• Any publication or scientific paper resulting from assistance received through TEAMER must acknowledge the TEAMER Program.
• Additional requirements and restrictions may be contained in agreements entered into by the TSRs with network facility members and the Network Facility Director.
• An applicant may not submit more than 2 applications per RFTS, and may have no more than 4 active projects at one time.
• Applicants may only apply for assistance in one category (numerical modeling & analysis, bench/lab testing, tank/flume testing, open water activities) per RFTS application. Multiple facility applications are permitted but must demonstrate coordination between facilities to accomplish the RFTS.
• Applicable Special Terms and Conditions, as presented on the TEAMER website, also apply.

Facilities may apply to join the TEAMER Facility Network at any time. Please contact the TEAMER Network Director for more information if your facility would like to join the Network.

TEAMER Facilities are categorized under the following categories:

• Modelling & Analysis
• Lab & Bench Testing
• Tank, Flume, Tunnel or Basin Testing
• Expertise
• Open-Water Testing (Facilities and Capabilities)

If your facility has capabilities in more than one category, please submit separate applications for each category (e.g., one application for Lab & Bench Testing and one for Modelling & Analysis).

All TEAMER Facilities must be located in the United States.

Upon review, the TEAMER Technical Board will make a recommendation of one of the following:

• Accept. Fully accepted and ready to be included in future Request for Technical Support (RFTS) opportunities.
• Accept, with limitations. Only some of the proposed capabilities will be accepted to be included in future RFTS opportunities.
• Follow-up required. The Technical Board may request additional information or evidence from the facility in order to qualify for acceptance.
• Decline, upgrades required. Facility does not qualify at this time but with certain upgrades or experience the facility may qualify in the future.
• Decline. Facility will not qualify under any circumstance to participate.

Once a decision has been made, the TEAMER Network Director will work with the facility to finalize its role in the TEAMER Facility Network.

All facilities in the TEAMER Facility Network will be reviewed annually. Those out of compliance may be removed from the Network or required to meet compliance before continuing their participation.

If a facility is conditionally approved as a TEAMER open water facility and starts to incur costs for site modifications, then elects not to fulfill all requirements for final approval, TEAMER is not liable for any costs incurred by the facility.

Facility Evaluation Criteria

New Facility Applications will be reviewed against the following criteria.

• Existing recognition: Peer reviewed publications in application area
  Previous work or interest in field
  
• Science/Engineering infrastructure capacity: Proof that facility infrastructure can deliver a broad range of technical support.
  Proof that facility has sufficient capabilities to record and process R&D data.
  Proof that facility has appropriate equipment and/or software to complete any modelling requests.
  Please include software licenses and certifications when necessary.
  
• Science/Engineering personnel capacity: Facility staff have sufficient knowledge and experience to provide technical support.
  
• Facility availability: The facility will have sufficient availability to support TEAMER RFTS’s within the allotted timeframes.
  Facility has ability to negotiate and execute agreements with the Network Director and Technical Support Recipient (TSR) in a timely manner.
  
• Aspects of Facility: Unique aspects of facility infrastructure, personnel, and/or recognition that would be unique within the TEAMER network