Support Letters from DIII-D for Use in Proposals
Summary
As applicants prepare funding proposals for submission to government agencies, those funding opportunities may require a support letter from any facilities at which the applicant will conduct part of the proposed scope of work. These support letters go by many different names, including Letter of Collaboration and Letter of Access. The DIII-D program cannot provide support letters for proposals. Alternatives are detailed below.
DIII-D Policy Concerning Proposal Support Letters
As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC) user facility, DIII-D cannot provide support letters because they may be interpreted by referees as preferential support for the proposed work. SC user facilities are, by definition, open to all interested parties so long as those users agree to program policies. No support letter is necessary, therefore, because it could only repeat the very definition of user facilities, as shown here.
Alternatives to Facility-provided Support Letters
While the DIII-D program cannot provide support letters, it is possible to obtain such a letter from individual DIII-D users. The applicant can obtain letters from any colleagues who wish to provide support. Each institution might have limits on what their personnel can provide.
The applicant may also identify a way to record that they are already a user within the DIII-D program and therefore have awareness and existing capabilities for performing research and accessing data within the program.
Record of Discussion: Required for All Proposals Involving DIII-D Research
When proposals involve research at DIII-D, then it is required that the applicant complete a Record of Discussion (ROD). Details on the ROD process and a downloadable template are available on the Become a User page.