Information for Reviewers

Projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen Program will be reviewed for their merit at the 2024 Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting (AMR). DOE will use the results of this merit review and peer evaluation, along with additional review processes, to make funding decisions for upcoming years and help shape future strategies and work plans to accelerate progress in the field of hydrogen and fuel cells.

See a general overview of the review process.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I receive my review assignments?

Reviewers will receive their initial assignments from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) AMR team beginning in March. Invitation and assignment emails will come from [email protected]. We recommend adding this email address to your list of approved/safe senders to ensure you receive emails from the AMR team. Please note that due to unforeseen conflicts, reviewer assignments may change. Reviewers will receive any updates to their assignments by email but are welcome to check in on site at the PeerNet reviewer lab for their final review schedule.

Where can I access the presentations to support my review?

Presentations for projects under review will become available beginning in mid-April, about three weeks before the meeting. Reviewers will access the presentations through PeerNet, a web-based peer review application. Reviewers will receive an email message from the ORAU AMR team with instructions for accessing PeerNet.

Where do I enter my evaluation?

Evaluation comments and scores are entered directly into PeerNet. Reviewers will receive an email message from the ORAU AMR team with instructions for accessing PeerNet.

When are my evaluations due?

Evaluations must be entered into PeerNet by 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Friday, May 24, 2024. The deadline is two weeks following the review meeting. Reviewers are strongly encouraged to access PeerNet prior to the review to familiarize themselves with their assigned projects and the review criteria and enter initial comments and scores. Reviewers are encouraged to complete their evaluations of projects the week of the AMR.

Will there be a reviewer training session?

Reviewer training webinars will take place before the AMR. Reviewers will receive emails detailing the logistics. You are strongly encouraged to participate in one of the sessions. Topics include the review process, evaluation expectations, evaluation criteria, what constitutes a conflict of interest, and more. We anticipate that each session will last approximately 30 minutes.

Do I bring my own laptop to the review?

You are encouraged to bring your own laptop; ORAU will not provide laptops in the panel rooms. There will be reserved space at the front of the panel room for reviewers needing electrical outlets to charge their own computers. There will also be a reviewer lab with several laptops in the hotel. PeerNet will be readily accessible in each panel room and in the reviewer lab. The reviewer lab will be open for extended hours daily during the AMR.

What is the process for conflicts of interest?

As a reviewer, you will be prompted within PeerNet to agree or disagree with whether you have a specific conflict of interest (COI) for each individual project assigned to review. If you indicate that you have a conflict, PeerNet will block your access to that project evaluation and redirect you to your other assigned projects.

Upon disclosure of a potential COI, DOE makes the determination whether a reviewer must be recused from the review of that project. To notify ORAU about a COI, please send an email to [email protected].

How do I evaluate projects?

The purpose of the review is to evaluate DOE-funded projects for their contributions to the mission and goals of the Hydrogen Program. Reviewers are asked to provide numeric scores for well-defined criteria and meaningful comments to support the scoring using either the general project evaluation form or the HydroGEN seedling project evaluation form. The recommendations of the reviewers are taken into consideration by DOE in generating future work plans and comments are published in the Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Report (names are not linked to comments).

I have questions not answered here. Who do I contact?

For questions about the review process, email the ORAU AMR Team at [email protected].