Funding Opportunities, PONs, RFPs, RFQs

NYSERDA’s various programs (such as residential, commercial, transportation, environmental) outline broad energy and environmental challenges, and then publicly request proposals, from any private or institutional entity, to submit project plans addressing those issues. To see individual opportunities, see:

Current Funding Opportunities Closed Funding Opportunities

Competitive Solicitations

NYSERDA uses these four types of competitive solicitations:

• Program Opportunity Notice (PON) which is appropriate for soliciting projects to meet technical, economic, environmental, and other goals and objectives within a particular program area; multiple awards and cost sharing generally are expected.
• Request for Proposals (RFP) which is appropriate for a specific area of interest, when it is possible to describe in a Statement of Work to a high degree of specificity the work contemplated; can result in single or multiple awards and cost sharing is not generally expected. 
• Open Enrollment PON which is appropriate for subscription, incentive-based program offers; multiple awards and cost sharing are expected.
• Requests for Quotation or Qualifications (RFQ) which is appropriate for procuring contracts based specifically on cost or a contractor’s qualifications; can result in single or multiple awards and cost sharing is not generally expected.

Unsolicited Proposals

NYSERDA’s policy is to award contracts on a competitive basis to the maximum extent possible. However, NYSERDA does consider unsolicited proposals for funding.

If NYSERDA receives an unsolicited proposal that relates to an upcoming competitive solicitation, the proposer will be asked to resubmit the proposal when the competitive solicitation is issued.

At times, unsolicited proposals may call NYSERDA’s attention to particular research topics where a competitive solicitation should be issued to draw in multiple approaches, in which case the submitter of the unsolicited proposal will be asked to resubmit its proposal under the competitive solicitation’s guidelines.

To be considered by NYSERDA, unsolicited proposals should be for superior work relevant to NYSERDA’s programs as expressed in the multi-year program plan. In addition to being technically sound and providing for experienced personnel and the facilities needed to perform the work, the proposal must present a cost-effective solution to the energy problem being addressed.