**This Funding Opportunity is Now Closed**
Education & Workforce Development Request For Proposals
Earlier this year, Education and Workforce Development (EWD) project proposals were requested for projects that align with the EWD Roadmap and were sought to develop short courses that can be used to educate, train, and develop the incumbent workforce for careers in the circular economy.
Proposal Submission Topics INCLUDED:
Advanced Materials Separation Technologies
Design for Remanufacturing, Recycling, and/or Reuse
Condition Assessment for Remanufacturing
Cleaning for Remanufacturing
Reverse Logistics for Remanufacturing
Simulation Techniques to Optimize Material Use in Manufacturing and Recycling
Short courses can be taken individually and are stacked together with other relevant short courses to form a Tiered Certificate Pathway. Each individual short course and Tiered Certificate Pathway addresses one of three distinct competency levels:
Awareness level training is intended to provide participants from a broad audience a high-level introduction to the subject matter. Individual Awareness level short courses may last 1- 2 hours.
Practitioner level training is intended for incumbent workers that currently work with Circular Economy technologies or in adjacent technology domains who wish to broaden their knowledge. Individual Practitioner level short courses may last 4-8 hours.
Expert level training is intended to provide in-depth coverage of advanced Circular Economy concepts or technology and is targeted toward engineers or scientists trying to deepen their expertise. Individual Expert level short courses may last 1-2 days.
What is the Circular Economy?
Timeline of Events
Additional Resources
Click on the links below for additional resources to assist in developing a REMADE Proposal.
Info Session Webinar Recording
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a question that is not answered in the FAQs, please email it to REMADE@remadeinstitute.org, with the subject line: REMADE EWD RFP Q&A.
Information Session Logistics FAQs
Q: Is the Information Session being recorded and made available?
A: Yes, the information session recording and slides will be made available after the live stream session located on the RFP page in the “Additional Resources Section”.
BUDGET FAQS
Q: Usual budget periods are annual, running from January to December. What will the budget period be for my project?
A: Project budget periods will coincide with the REMADE approved budget periods. Please work with your REMADE Project Manager to ensure your project starting budget period aligns with the current REMADE budget period. Note that the 1:1 minimum cost-share must be maintained within each budget period and the project as a whole.
Q: What is the expected range of project values?
A: REMADE will allocate up to $100,000 per EWD project with a requirement of a minimum of 1:1 cost-share from proposal teams. There is no minimum budget.
Q: What are REMADE’s cost-share requirements for Proposals?
A: Please see Section 4 and membership agreement materials. All projects require a minimum of 1:1 cost- share (i.e. every dollar of REMADE funding must be matched by at least one dollar of project team cost- share). Cost-share may be in-kind or cash but must be incurred within the project Period of Performance. Cost-share must come from non-federal sources - Regulation 2 CFR 200.306.
Q: Do all participants in a project need to fill out a Budget Justification Template?
A: Yes, all participants in a project must fill out the Budget Justification Excel Template provided in the RFP package that will roll up into the Lead Organization Workbook. Please make sure to fill out the header on the first page identifying which budget belongs to which team.
Q: What can I add as a cost for the project?
A: All costs must be directly related to the project and if applicable should include fringe rate agreement letters.
Q: Does the whole form need to be filled out?
A: Yes, all fields must be filled out in the form with as much detail as possible. If you have additional questions please reach out to Michele Gibson, Finance Director or Bonnie Schiffmaker, Senior Accountant.
Alignment to rfp topics FAQS
Q: If I am informed that my submission is ineligible based on the compliance criteria listed in Section 5 of the RFP, can I still submit a proposal?
A: No. However, if a proposal team submits their LOI and Project Abstract prior to the 5:00PM ET, January 6th deadline and are informed they are non-compliant, they can re-submit a modified LOI and Project Abstract by the deadline.
Q: If I am informed that my Project Abstract is not consistent with the goals of the RFP Topic, can I still submit a proposal?
A: Yes. Proposal teams may still submit a proposal based on the feedback they receive. The final proposal submission deadline is 5:00PM ET, January 27th.
membership FAQS
Q: How do I become a member?
A: Please visit our membership page for more information about membership tiers and benefits and to fill out the inquiry form.
TERMS & CONDITIONS FAQS
Q: What are the Terms and Conditions?
A: Please read the Terms & Conditions here.
Tiered Certificate Pathways FAQs
Q: What are Tiered Certificate Pathways?
A: See Chart below for Descriptions and Details
Q: What are the competency levels for each short course and certificate pathway?
A: See Chart below for Descriptions and Details
PROPOSAL ELIGIBILITY FAQS
Q: Who is eligible to lead proposal teams?
A: Education & Workforce Development projects can be submitted by any organization including industry, trade associations, universities, or national laboratories.
Q: Do all members of a proposed project team need to be REMADE members?
A: Membership in the REMADE Institute is not a requirement to submit a proposal for the Education and Workforce Development Request for Proposal, however all final proposed project team members must be members by the date the subaward becomes effective. Please refer to Section 3 of the RFP.
Q: Can a foreign company serve as a project lead?
A: For additional information regarding membership and/or foreign entity participation, contact John Kreckel Director of Membership and Workforce Development at jkreckel@remadeinstitute.org.
Q: Can a company or university submit more than one letter of intent?
A: Yes, we recognize that companies and universities have diverse capabilities and therefore are not limited to a single letter of intent.
Q: Can a single principal investigator submit more than one letter of intent?
A: Yes, though it is not recommended due to the resource requirements for proposal development. We encourage teams to be thoughtful about the proposals they submit.
Q: Do all members of a proposed project team need to be REMADE members?
A: Membership in the REMADE Institute is not a requirement to submit a proposal for the Education and Workforce Development Request for Proposal, however all final proposed project team members must be members by the date the subaward becomes effective. Please refer to Section 3 of the RFP.
Q: What are some examples of strong team and management capabilities for Education & Workforce Development Projects?
A: Education & Workforce Development Projects can be led by any type of organization. This includes industry, trade associations, academia, and national laboratories. The actual lead member of the team would typically be the team member who will champion the project and who will have a meaningful role (taking into consideration both their technical and their cost-share contribution) in executing project. Team are highly encouraged to include both academic and industry representation.
The principal investigator is expected to have a track record of conducting and leading training related to the education and workforce development focus of the proposed project. The Principal Investigator must also have the relevant technical expertise that would support their role as the project Principal Investigator.
Q: Is information in proposals kept confidential?
A: Yes, all reviewers complete a conflict of interest form and sign a declaration not to disclose any information included in proposals. No proprietary information should be included in project abstracts, as these descriptions will be used to describe funded REMADE projects.
Q: Can I submit a proposal if I did not submit a letter of intent?
A: No, only applicants who have submitted a LOI and Project abstract will be eligible to submit an EWD Proposal.
Q: Are the team members included in letters of intent binding?
A: No. We recognize that team members may need to be replaced with other team members with comparable capabilities following the letter of intent. Letters of Intent will allow REMADE to identify needed reviewers in advance of proposal submissions.
Q: I have an idea for a project but am not sure which Topic Area it best addresses. How do I decide?
A: Feel free to reach out to John Kreckel, Director of Membership and Workforce Development at jkreckel@remadeinstitute.org.
Q: Are metals, polymers, e-scrap, and fibers the only materials of focus?
A: Yes, these materials classes are the focus of REMADE.