Pre-award costs, as long as they are otherwise allowable costs of the project, may be charged to an expenditure-based TIA only with the specific approval of the contracting officer. All pre-award costs are incurred at the recipient's risk (e.g., DOE is not obligated to reimburse the costs if, for any reason, the recipient does not receive an award, or if the award is less than anticipated and inadequate to cover the costs).