RFP 2010- Questions & Answers

As you prepare your proposal, you may submit questions to NIREC and we will do our best to answer them in this forum. The last day to submit questions is :

NIREC is offering a series of workshops that discuss the RFP documents.

TO SUBMIT A QUESTION
To submit a question, send email to: rfp@nirec.org

ANSWERS:

1. For the Early Stage Company funding track, can “equipment or labor in-kind” (donated labor or equipment) be considered for cost sharing.

Good news...cost share is not required on this RFP.

2. If I am applying for venture funding, does my company still qualify to apply for the NIREC RFP?

Yes. As long as your company is still a pre-seed company prior to the submission of the documents, you are eligible to submit a proposal. For the purposes of this RFP, a pre-seed company is defined as a company that has not received outside private investment from angel investors, venture capital or private equity companies and normally, has not yet achieved profitability.

3. Our company is currently located outside the state of Nevada. Can we apply for the NIREC funding?

The Early-Stage Company Track is open to all pre-seed companies registered in the United States. Companies incorporated outside the state of Nevada must propose to perform the projec tin conjunction with a Nevada entity. This could take the form of:

• a portion of the scope of work performed by the University of Nevada, Reno; the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; or Desert Research Institute
• a portion of the scope of work performed by a private company with operations based primarily in Nevada
• a physical presence set up by the pre-seed company in Nevada to perform all or a portion of the scope of work

NIREC encourages you to contact Li Han Chan, NIREC's director of operations, (775-881-7516) and the directors of the eligible research institutes to discuss collaboration opportunities:

Desert Research Institute
(www.dri.edu)
Dr. Alan Gertler
Alan.Gertler@dri.edu
(775) 673-7061

Renewable Energy Center
University of Nevada, Reno
(www.unr.edu/energy/)
Dr. Manoranjan Misra
Director.REC@unr.edu
(775) 784-1603

Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
(hrc.nevada.edu)
Dr. Oliver Hemmers
hemmers@unlv.edu
(702) 895-3742

4. Our idea focuses on an important aspect of moving an innovation to market: worker readiness and training. Does this seem like a good fit with your RFP? As far as I know the technology is developed but there may be additional later stage work being done at this time.

If the project is focused solely on worker readiness and training, then it would be outside of the remit of the RFP. However, if there are also technology/product  development elements of the project that need to be de-risked, then it would be suitable for the RFP, together with the business problems that need to be addressed.

5. If one is an individual with an idea, do you / would you help that person develop the idea so to be able to submit it for consideration for funding or at least aim that person to a company or group that would help out?

NIREC focuses on the commercialization of renewable energy innovations. To apply to the U.S.-based Early-Stage Company Track, the principal investigator should have formed a start-up company or be an owner or employee of a pre-seed company. The formation of a start-up company indicates the principal investigator’s commitment to commercializing the innovation, which is a key goal of funding through NIREC.

For individuals in the idea phase of an innovation, we do not have capacity currently to assist. We recommend contacting the Nevada Small Business Development Center at the University of Nevada, Reno (http://www.nsbdc.org), and networking with others in the field to find potential partners that you might want to work with and help you take the idea forward. These activities provide easy accessibility to companies and organizations in an informal environment where companies/individuals interested in your innovation idea can be identified.

If you happen to be a science or engineering doctoral student, postdoctoral researcher or faculty member of a university, the Green Technology Entrepreneurship Academy (http://entrepreneurship.ucdavis.edu/green/) is an ideal opportunity to recognize, develop and being the steps needed to bring to market a business built on your research.

We would be happy to sign you up for our mailing list where you will find additional information about funding opportunities. Join our mailing list.

6. May I include illustrations or photos with the proposal?

Yes, you may include illustrations or photos in your proposal (placed into the Word document). But, do make sure the proposal stays within the maximum page limit.

7. How do I know when I've reached the word count specified on the Statement of Intent for the abstract text?

 Be sure to conduct a word count on the abstract text you submit on the Statement of Intent. For instructions indicating how to conduct a word count in Microsoft Word, please refer to the Help instructions in your version of Word. Following below are the instructions for Microsoft Office Word 2007:

Count the words in a selection or selections

You can count the number of words in a selection or selections, rather than all of the words in a document. …

Select the text that you want to count.

The status bar displays the number of words in the selection. For example, 100/1440 means that the section accounts for 100 words of the total number of words in the document, 1,440.

8. I am a university researcher that is not located in Nevada and is not a partner with NIREC. I assume the recent RFP is for Nevada institutions only?

The RFP is not limited to Nevada Institutions. Preference is given to projects with a meaningful scope of work conducted in Nevada and/or that demonstrate favorable future economic impact on Nevada. We recommend 20% of the R&D budget apply to a Nevada entity.
 
As a university researcher, you may partner with one of NIREC’s partner institutions in Nevada (University of Nevada, Reno; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; or Desert Research Institute) and apply through the research partner track. Or, you may apply through the early-stage company track if you will be spinning-out a company. Through this track, your scope of work in Nevada may take the form of:  

• • a portion of the scope of work performed by the University of Nevada, Reno;
    the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; or DRI
  • a portion of the scope of work performed by a private company with operations based primarily in Nevada
  • a physical presence set up by the pre-seed company in Nevada to perform all or a portion of the scope of work

NIREC encourages you to contact the directors of the eligible research institutes to discuss collaboration opportunities:

Clean Technology and Renewable Energy Center (CTREC)
DRI (www.dri.edu/rec)
Dr. Alan Gertler    Alan.Gertler@dri.edu    (775) 674-7061

Renewable Energy Center
University of Nevada, Reno   (www.unr.edu/energy/)
Dr. Manoranjan Misra    Director.REC@unr.edu     (775) 784-1603

Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies
University of Nevada, Las Vegas   (hrc.nevada.edu)
Dr. Oliver Hemmers     hemmers@unlv.edu      (702) 895-3742

9. Would I be able to keep my existing company separate and establish a new LLC for the new technology, should it be selected for funding?

Yes.