SC Guidance for Making an Exception to the 3-Page Limits for PIER Plans

Since the implementation of the required PIER Plan proposal element in FY 2023, SC Program Offices have encountered circumstances where applicants have requested an exception to the established 3-page limit for PIER Plans due to the larger scale or complexity of the proposed research and/or the number of partnering institutions and/or key personnel on the proposal. Programs have offered exceptions to the 3-page limit on an ad hoc basis.

The following guidance is being established to create consistency and transparency when an exception to the 3-page limit to PIER Plans will be allowed. PIER Plans must still be submitted as an appendix to the proposal narrative. Applicants always have the flexibility to submit PIER Plans that are shorter than the established page limit.

Program Offices may also elect to request that requirements for related plans such as substantial mentoring plans or field safety plans, be addressed in the proposal narrative and outside of the PIER Plan. In those circumstances, increasing the PIER Plan page limit may not be necessary, and applications should be encouraged to reference the mentoring/field safety plans in the PIER Plan.


General Guidance

The following three conditions must be met to establish an exception to the 3-page limit for PIER Plans for SC Notices of Funding Opportunity, DOE National Laboratory Announcements, and invitational proposals by DOE Laboratories:

  1. Exceptions to the 3-page limit for PIER Plans must adhere to the following requirements:
    1. Any exception to the 3-page limit for PIER Plans must be decided at the solicitation level.

      2. That is:

      1. The new page limit must apply to all applications received under the NOFO/Lab Call, AND
      2. The new page limit must be the same for all applications received under the NOFO/Lab Call (or invitational request to a DOE lab).

      AND

    2. The page limit may not exceed 5 pages. That is, the new page limit may be 4 pages or 5 pages.
  2. Exceptions to the 3-page limit for the PIER Plans may be considered for a solicitation when one or more of the following criteria apply to the NOFO/Lab Call:
    1. The anticipated typical total award size for awards from the solicitation is expected to exceed $6 million.
    2. The total number of partner institutions on all proposals is expected to be greater than four (4).
    3. The total number of collaborating institutions (for collaborative proposals) is expected to be greater than four (4).

      4. AND/OR

    4. The total number of Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs is expected to be greater than five (5).

    The criteria above may not need to apply to all proposals expected in response to the solicitation.

  3. Exceptions for the 3-page limit for PIER Plans must be approved by the Associate Director/Office Director for the lead Program Office for the NOFO/Lab Call, or the Deputy for Science Programs for SC-wide NOFO/Lab Calls.