Infrastructure and Instrumentation Opportunities
US Geological Survey
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Recovery Act - Crustal Deformation Monitoring USGS will support the replacement of outdated GPS and strainmeter equipment and facilities used to monitor and report on crustal deformation due to earthquake activity in the U.S. These upgrades will further the integration of geodetic and seismic networks and the development of real-time and near-real-time geodetic earthquake products. Systems to be upgraded will include existing urban and regional geodetic networks. Support for objectives to be completed by the resulting assistance awards will utilize funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. All applications must be submitted through Grants.gov. Applications submitted through any other means will not be accepted. Complete instructions are included in the full program announcement. The closing date for receipt of applications is October 20, 2009, 3:00pm, EST. ARRA-SE0006.
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NIST
Recovery Act NIST Construction Grant Program The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) (Public Law 111-5) appropriated $180 million to NIST "for a competitive construction grant program for research science buildings." Additional information on the program was provided on page 418 of the Conference Report to accompany House Report 111-16 (Feb. 12, 2009): ". . . $180,000,000 shall be for the competitive construction grant program for research science buildings, including fiscal year 2008 and 2009 competitions." Consistent with the Conference Report language NIST intends to issue grant awards for approximately $60 million to unfunded meritorious proposals submitted under the fiscal year 2008 competition and issue grant awards for approximately $120 million under a new fiscal year 2009 competition.
The goals and objectives of the program are to provide competitively awarded grant funds for research science buildings through the construction of new buildings or expansion of existing buildings. For purposes of this program, "research science building" means a building or facility whose purpose is to conduct scientific research, including laboratories, test facilities, measurement facilities, research computing facilities, and observatories. In addition, "expansion of existing buildings" means that space to conduct scientific research is being expanded from what is currently available for the supported research activities. Consistent with Section 3 of the Recovery Act, the projects undertaken through this program will result in the preservation of jobs and the promotion of economic recovery; the provision of investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances; and the investment in infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits.
NIH
Recovery Act Limited Competition: Core Facility Renovation, Repair, and Improvement (G20)
This FOA issued by the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health, solicits applications from institutions that propose to renovate, repair, or improve core facilities. For the purpose of this FOA, a core facility is defined as a centralized shared resource that provides access to instruments or technologies or services, as well as expert consultation to investigators supported by the core. The major objective of this FOA is to upgrade core facilities to support the conduct of PHS supported biomedical and/or behavioral research. Support can be requested to alter and renovate (A&R) the core facility as well as to improve the general equipment in the core facility or to purchase general equipment for specialized groups of researchers. Specialized equipment over $100,000 in cost cannot be requested as part of this FOA. In situations when similar core facilities exist in different departments at an institution, funding can be requested in support of centralizing these core facilities.
Recovery Act Limited Competition: Extramural Research Facilities Improvement Program (C06)
This FOA issued by the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health, solicits applications from institutions that propose to expand, remodel, renovate, or alter biomedical or behavioral research facilities. The major objective of this FOA is to facilitate and enhance the conduct of Public Health Service-supported biomedical and behavioral research by supporting the costs of improving non-Federal basic research, clinical research, and animal facilities to meet the biomedical or behavioral research, research training, or research support needs of an institution. Since the funds for this FOA come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act), Pub. L. No. 111-5, it is expected that all awards will be expended expeditiously and that applicants will consider green/sustainable technologies and design approaches.
Recovery Act Limited Competition: High-End Instrumentation Grant Program (S10)
The NCRR High-End Instrumentation Grant (HEI) program encourages applications from groups of NIH-supported investigators to purchase a single major item of equipment to be used for biomedical research that costs at least $600,000. The maximum award is $8,000,000. Additionally, it is expected that the funds will be expended expeditiously, within 18-24 months from the date of award. Instruments in this category include, but are not limited to, structural and functional imaging systems, macromolecular NMR spectrometers, high-resolution mass spectrometers, cryoelectron microscopes and supercomputers.
Shared Instrumentation Grant Program (S10)
The NCRR Shared Instrument Grant (SIG) program solicits applications from groups of NIH-supported investigators to purchase or upgrade commercially available instruments that cost at least $100,000. The maximum award is $500,000. Types of instruments supported include confocal and electron microscopes, biomedical imagers, mass spectrometers, DNA sequencers, biosensors, cell sorters, X-ray diffraction systems, and NMR spectrometers among others.
NSF
Major Research Instrumentation Program The Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) serves to increase access to shared scientific and engineering instruments for research and research training in our Nation's institutions of higher education, museums and science centers, and not-for-profit organizations. This program especially seeks to improve the quality and expand the scope of research and research training in science and engineering, by providing shared instrumentation that fosters the integration of research and education in research-intensive learning environments. Development and acquisition of research instrumentation for shared inter- and/or intra-organization use are encouraged, as are development efforts that leverage the strengths of private sector partners to build instrument development capacity at academic institutions. To accomplish these goals, the MRI program assists with the acquisition or development of shared research instrumentation that is, in general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs.
Academic Research Infrastructure Program: Recovery and Reinvestment In 2005, NSF estimated that academic institutions then had at least $3.6 billion in deferred projects to repair and renovate science and engineering research facilities (FY05 Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities.) As a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, NSF will invest $200 million in the Nation's research facilities and research training infrastructure. This investment will advance the science and engineering research enterprise at many institutions. The purpose of this program is to enhance the Nation's existing research facilities where sponsored and/or unsponsored research activities and research training take place to enable next-generation research infrastructure that integrates shared resources across user communities.
Consistent with NSF's mission to strengthen the U.S. science and engineering enterprise, the program will: Update existing research facilities at institutions of higher education (including graduate and undergraduate institutions, among which are included community colleges) and other non-profit research organizations (e.g., independent research museums, independent research laboratories, and research consortia) in order to support research that can address the challenges of the 21st century. Enable academic departments, disciplinary and cross-disciplinary units, or multi-organization consortia to renovate research facilities through the addition or augmentation of cyberinfrastructure, other than general-purpose computing systems or data storage systems, to create environments that enhance research and integrate research with education. Improve access to and increase use of next-generation research facilities for researchers, educators and students. Assist research organizations, including those that have historically received limited Federal research and development funds, to improve their science and engineering research environments