Equipment Funding Opportunities

A proposal for specialized equipment may be submitted by an organization for: individual investigators; groups of investigators within the same department; several departments; organization(s) participating in a collaborative or joint arrangement; any components of an organization; or a region. One individual must be designated as PI. Investigators may be working in closely related areas, or their research may be multidisciplinary. See Chapter II.D.10 of the NSF PAPPG for more information.  

The Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation for the Astronomical Sciences (ATI) program provides individual investigator and collaborative research grants for development of new technologies and instrumentation for astronomy and astrophysics. The program supports overarching science objectives of the Division of Astronomical Sciences. Development of innovative, potentially transformative technologies are encouraged, even at high technical risk. Supported categories include but are not limited to: advanced technology development, concept feasibility studies, and specialized instrumentation to enable new observations that are difficult or impossible to obtain with existing means. Proposals may include hardware and/or software development and/or analysis to enable new types of astronomical observations. Access to the ATI supported technology and instrumentation development efforts by the US astronomical community is viewed as an important metric of success. An annual Principal Investigators meeting is planned to disseminate information between the funded research efforts. 

Deadline (submission window): October 1 to November 15 (annually)

The Instrumentation and Facilities Program in the Division of Earth Sciences (EAR/IF) supports meritorious requests for infrastructure that promote research and education in areas supported by the Division  EAR/IF will consider proposals for: 

1. Acquisition or Upgrade of Research Equipment that will advance laboratory and field investigations and student research training opportunities in the Earth sciences.  The maximum request is $500,000. The maximum request for upgrade of research group computing facilities remains $75,000. 
   
2. Development of New Instrumentation, Techniques or Software that will extend current research and research training capabilities in the Earth sciences.  The maximum request is $500,000. 
   
3. Community Facility Support to make complex and expensive instruments, systems of instruments or services broadly available to the Earth science research and student communities. There are no maximum request limitations but potential proposers of new Community Facilities must contact cognizant Program Officers before submission. 
   

Planned research uses of requested instruments, software, and facilities must include basic research on Earth processes supported by core programs or special programs of the division of earth sciences. Human resource development and education are expected to be an integral part of all proposals submitted to EAR/IF. Efforts to support participation of underrepresented groups in laboratory and/or field instrument use and training are encouraged. Proposals from early career (tenure track but untenured) lead investigators are also encouraged. Such proposals will be given due consideration as part of the Broader Impacts merit review criterion. 

Oceanographic facilities and equipment are supported by the Integrative Programs Section (IPS) of

the Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE), Directorate for Geosciences (GEO). These awards are made for the procurement, conversion and/or up-grade, enhancement or annual operation of platforms in the ocean, coastal, near-shore and Great Lakes. Awards are generally directed specifically to support facilities that lend themselves to shared use within the broad range of federally-supported research and education programs. Most of these platforms and facilities also receive partial support from federal agencies other than NSF. This includes state and local governments and private sources on a proportional basis usually through a daily rate mechanism. The primary objective of these awards is to ensure the availability of appropriate facilities for federally-funded investigators and educators. Individual project-based facilities and instrumentation, limited to one, or a small group of investigators, should be supported through appropriate research programs as opposed to the IPS programs listed herein.  

The individual programs covered within this solicitation include:  
1. Ship Operations (Ship Ops)  
2. Oceanographic Technical Services (OTS)  
3. Oceanographic Instrumentation (OI)  
4. Shipboard Scientific Support Equipment (SSSE)  
5. Ship Acquisition and Upgrade (SAU)  
6. Other Facility Activities (OFA)  

Estimated Number of Awards: 10 to 75  

Anticipated Funding Amount: $5,000 to $8,500,000

The minimum funding threshold applies to awards under all programs but most typically takes effect for individual proposals for Oceanographic Instrumentation and Shipboard Scientific Support Equipment, such that annual amounts below the minimum would be covered under the respective Ship Operations or Technical Services programs, as stated in the solicitation. The maximum funding threshold also applies to awards under all programs but is expected to most typically relate to individual, annual proposed amounts for Ship Operations. 

Deadline: January 10 (annually)

The Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program serves to increase access to multi-user scientific

and engineering instrumentation for research and research training in our Nation's institutions of higher education and not-for-profit scientific/engineering research organizations. An MRI award supports the acquisition or development of a multi-user research instrument that is, in general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs. MRI provides support to acquire critical research instrumentation without which advances in fundamental science and engineering research may not otherwise occur. MRI also provides support to develop next-generation research instruments that open new opportunities to advance the frontiers in science and engineering research. Additionally, an MRI award is expected to enhance research training of students who will become the next generation of instrument users, designers and builders. Cost sharing of precisely 30% of the total project cost is required for Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education and for non-degree-granting organizations. National Science Board policy prohibits voluntary committed cost sharing. 

The Infrastructure Capacity for Biology (ICB) supports the development, expansion, or improvement of infrastructure that will enable fundamental research within the biological sciences. Infrastructure supported under this solicitation may include cyberinfrastructure, instrumentation, biological collections, living stocks, field stations, marine labs, or other resources that are shared and openly accessible. Proposals submitted to the ICB solicitation must make a compelling case that the proposed infrastructure will advance or transform research in areas of science that are supported by the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) at the National Science Foundation. While other programs in the Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI) focus on innovative research leading to new infrastructure or sustained operation of mature infrastructure, this solicitation focuses on supporting projects that seek to deliver, enable access to, or substantially improve infrastructure that will advance the capacity today scientific community to conduct leading edge research. The impacts of the activities funded by awards made through this solicitation will be reflected not just in the quality of their products, but by the novel and transformative science outcomes that will be achieved by the users of these resources. Infrastructure projects that will advance any field of research supported by the Directorate for Biological Sciences are eligible for support.

The Infrastructure Innovation for Biological Research Program (Innovation) supports research to design novel or greatly improve research tools and methods that advance contemporary biology in any research area supported by the Directorate for Biological Sciences at NSF. The Innovation Program focuses on research infrastructure that is broadly applicable to researchers in three programmatic areas: Bioinformatics, Instrumentation, and Research Methods. Infrastructure supported by this program is expected to advance biological understanding by improving scientists’ abilities to manipulate, control, analyze, or measure critical aspects of biological systems, which can be essential for addressing important fundamental research questions. Proposals submitted to these programmatic areas can do one of three things to advance or transform research in biology: develop novel infrastructure, significantly redesign existing infrastructure, or adapt existing infrastructure in novel ways. Projects are expected to have a significant application to one or more biological science questions and have the potential to be used by a community of researchers beyond a single research team. 

Approximately $18-20 Million is expected to be available for new awards in FY21. The size and duration of any individual request should be justified by the amount and complexity of the work to be accomplished. As a rule, the larger the budget, the greater the expected impact on the biological research community.

The National Facilities program supports the operation of national user facilities: National Facilities are research facilities with specialized instrumentation available to the scientific research community in general and the materials research community in particular. These facilities provide unique research capabilities that can be located at only a few highly specialized laboratories in the Nation. They provide open user service for scientists and engineers from a broad range of disciplines including biology, chemistry, geosciences, materials research. and physics. They include facilities and resources for research using high magnetic fields, ultraviolet and x-ray synchrotron radiation, neutron scattering, and nanofabrication. They serve as science and technology-related resources and experiences for students. They conduct student and teacher education, general public awareness activities, curriculum development, and educational research. 

Deadline: Full proposals accepted anytime

The Facility and Instrumentation Request Process (FIRP) solicitation describes the mechanism by which the research community can propose projects that require access to instrumentation and facilities sponsored by the Facilities for Atmospheric Research and Education (FARE) Program in the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS). FARE provides funding to a variety of organizations to make specialized instrumentation and facilities available to the atmospheric science research community through the Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities (LAOF) and the Community Instruments and Facilities (CIF) programs. FIRP allows for parallel evaluation of intellectual merit and broader impacts along with the feasibility of the proposed project. See the full solicitation (linked above) for more details.

Deadline: Full proposals accepted anytime

The Community Infrastructure for Research in Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CIRC) program drives discovery and learning in the core disciplines of the three participating CISE divisions [Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF), Computer and Network Systems (CNS), and Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS)] of the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) by funding the creation and enhancement of world-class research infrastructure. This research infrastructure will specifically support diverse communities of CISE researchers pursuing focused research agendas in computer and information science and engineering. This support involves developing the accompanying user services and engagement needed to attract, nurture, and grow a robust research community that is actively involved in determining directions for the infrastructure, as well as management of the infrastructure. This should lead to research infrastructure that can be sustained through community involvement and community leadership, and that will enable advances not possible with existing research infrastructure. Further, through the CIRC program, CISE seeks to ensure that researchers from a diverse range of institutions of higher education (IHEs), including minority-serving and predominantly undergraduate institutions, as well as researchers from non-profit, non-academic organizations, have access to such infrastructure.

The Sustaining Infrastructure for Biological Research (Sustaining) Program supports the continued operation of existing research infrastructure that advances contemporary biology in any research area supported by the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) at NSF. The Sustaining Program focuses primarily on sustaining critical research infrastructure that is cyberinfrastructure or biological living stocks and that is broadly applicable to a wide range of researchers. Projects are expected to ensure continued availability of existing, mature resources that will enable important science outcomes achieved by users representing a broad range of research supported by BIO and its collaborating organizations. 

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Instrumentation Program encourages applications from NIH-funded investigators to purchase or upgrade a single commercially available instrument or a group of components to create an instrument that is not commercially available. Examples of instruments that might be submitted under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) include light microscopes, electron microscopes, spectrophotometers, and biomedical imagers. The goal of this FOA is to provide instruments to collect data rather than components for further instrument/technology development. Instrument development applications should be submitted to other FOAs on which NIMH participates or to appropriate BRAIN Initiative FOAs. Applications will be accepted with an award budget between $200,000 and $600,000. There is no maximum limit on the cost of the instrument, but the maximum award is $600,000. S10 awards are only for the cost of the instrument, so indirect costs cannot be requested. NIMH intends to commit a total of $5,000,000 to fund 11 awards in fiscal year 2023. Future year amounts will depend on annual appropriations. 

Deadline: September 9, 2024  

The Shared Instrument Grant (SIG) Program encourages applications from groups of NIH-supported investigators to purchase or upgrade a single item of high-priced, specialized, commercially available instruments or integrated systems. The minimum award is $50,000. There is no maximum price limit for the instrument; however, the maximum award is $600,000. Types of instruments supported include, but are not limited to: X-ray diffractometers, mass spectrometers, nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers, DNA and protein sequencers, biosensors, electron and light microscopes, cell sorters, and biomedical imagers. 

Deadline: June 3, 2024. 

The High-End Instrumentation (HEI) Grant program encourages applications from groups of NIH-supported investigators to purchase or upgrade a single item of high-end, specialized, commercially available instruments or integrated systems. The minimum award is $600,001. There is no maximum price limit for the instrument; however, the maximum award is $2,000,000. Types of instruments supported include, but are not limited to: X-ray diffractometers, mass spectrometers, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers, DNA and protein sequencers, biosensors, electron and light microscopes, cell sorters, high throughput robotic screening systems, and biomedical imagers. 

Deadline: June 3, 2024 

The Basic Instrumentation Grant (BIG) Program encourages applications from groups of NIH-supported investigators to purchase a single high-priced, specialized, commercially available instrument or an integrated instrumentation system. The BIG Program is limited to institutions that have not received S10 instrumentation funding of $250,001 or greater in any of the preceding 3 Federal fiscal years (FY). The minimum award is $25,000. There is no maximum price limit for the instrument; however, the maximum award is $250,000. Instruments supported include, but are not limited to, basic cell sorters, confocal microscopes, ultramicrotomes, gel imagers, or computer systems. 

These grants are not for a specific research project, but rather for resources to allow more research to be done. They support institutions with the potential for more participation in childhood cancer clinical trials, but which currently lack necessary resources (primarily support for Clinical Research Associates). Preference is given to institutions with high needs and low philanthropic support in geographical areas where St. Baldrick's funds are raised. Institutions which do not currently receive other St. Baldrick's grants are also given preference. For infrastructure grants, the typical deadline for LOIs is early July, decisions are made by August, and full applications may then be submitted by late August or early September.

Average grants are $25,000 to $50,000.