With this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), ORIP continues the Basic Instrumentation Grant (BIG) Program. The Program targets institutions that have not received a substantial S10 shared instrumentation award funding of a total of $500,001 or greater in proceeding 3 Federal FYs see Section III.3. Additional Information on Eligibility for eligibility requirements. Use the following to determine applicable funding periods:
- For submission in CY 2025 application due date of June 1, 2025, consider S10 funding in FYs 2022-2024.
- For submission in CY 2026 application due date of June 1, 2026, consider S10 funding in FYs 2023-2025.
- For submission in CY 2027 application due date of June 1, 2027, consider S10 funding in FYs 2024-2026.
Institutions that are not major recipients of NIH research funding are especially encouraged to apply. Often such institutions are in Institutional Development Award (IDeA)-eligible states or from areas that populational, geographic, and regional diversity in biomedical research could be substantively benefited from scientific instrument support. The main objective of the BIG Program is to make available modern scientific instruments that are needed by NIH-funded investigators and other groups of biomedical scientists to advance their research and to broaden access to modern technologies at academic and research institutions nationwide. Typically, state-of-the-art technologies that are indispensable for todays research are too costly for a single investigator to purchase or operate. Their acquisitions can only be justified on a shared-use basis.
The BIG Program supports acquisitions of scientific instruments that are justified by investigators needs to pursue their scientific projects in basic, translational, or clinical fields. The program requires that three Major Users with NIH-funded research projects demonstrate significant need for the requested instrument. Once the requirement of three Major Users with NIH research funding has been met, additional users may be included see Section III.3. Additional Information on Eligibility for the Major User Group requirement. It is expected that the instrument, by augmenting institutional research capabilities, will invigorate current research, contribute to opportunities for novel research projects, stimulate new collaborations, and increase overall research competitiveness. Moreover, a broader research community at the applicant or regional institution(s) should benefit from access to the instrument.
The BIG Program provides funds to purchase a single piece of new, costly, specialized, commercially available instrument or an integrated instrumentation system. An integrated instrumentation system is one in which the components, when used in conjunction with one another, perform a function that no single component can provide. The components must be dedicated to the system and not used independently. Types of instruments supported include, but are not limited to, basic cell sorters, confocal microscopes, ultramicrotomes, gel imagers, or computer systems. Applications for standalone computer systems (supercomputers, computer clusters, and data storage systems) will only be considered if the system is solely dedicated to biomedical research. All instruments, integrated systems, and computer systems must be dedicated to research only.
Foreign-made instruments are allowed.
The BIG Program will not support requests for:
- An instrument with a base cost of less than $25,000;
- Multiple instruments bundled together;
- Purely instructional equipment;
- Instruments used for clinical (billable) care;
- Instruments that are not commercially available and do not have a manufacturer warranty;
- Institutional administrative management systems, clinical management systems;
- Software, unless it is integrated in the operation of the instrument and/or necessary for generation of high-quality experimental data from the instrument;
- Multiple stand-alone workstations for data processing, software licenses, and duplicate software items;
- General purpose equipment (such as standard machine shop equipment), instruments to furnish a research facility (such as autoclaves, hoods, equipment to upgrade animal facilities), equipment for routine sustaining infrastructure (such as standard computer networks or data storage systems);
- Disposable devices, office furniture, and supplies;
- Alteration or renovation of space to house the instruments.
Applicants are advised to discuss with the BIG Scientific/Research Contact (See Section VII) any questions about appropriate types of equipment, eligibility, and Program requirements, prior to submitting an application for an integrated instrumentation system.
To promote cost-effectiveness, to encourage optimal sharing among individual investigators, research groups and departments, and to foster a collaborative multidisciplinary environment, the instrument must be integrated in a core facility, other shared resource, or a shared laboratory space.
Each applicant institution must propose a Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) who can assume administrative and scientific oversight responsibility for the requested instrumentation. See Section III.1 for qualifications for the PD/PI. The PD/PI also will be responsible for:
- Requesting no-cost extensions of the project period, if needed;
- Preparing (and working with the institution to submit) a Final Research Performance Progress Report (Final RPPR) at the end of the project period. See Section VI.4 for the content of a Final RPPR;
- Submitting Annual Usage Reports (AURs) of the instrument to the NIH for a period of four years after the project end date, see Section VI.4.
An Advisory Committee must be named to assist the PD/PI in administering the grant and overseeing the usage of the instrument. For details on the composition of the Advisory Committee, see Section IV.2 under "Administration." The PD/PI and the Advisory Committee are responsible for the development of guidelines for:
- Maximum utilization of the instrument, including time allocation;
- A detailed plan for the day-to-day management and safe operation of the instrument;
- A plan to ensure that access to the instrument is limited to users whose projects have received approval from the Institutional Review Board, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee or the Biosafety Committee, as applicable;
- A financial plan for the long-term operation and maintenance of the instrument during the post-award period;
- A relocation of the instrument within or outside the institution or change(s) of ownership, if such changes are necessary;
- Recommending a new PD/PI, if such a need arises.
The PD/PI and the Advisory Committee should convene meetings and issue annual reports on the instrument status, including their recommendations for the instrument operations.
NIGMS is interested in co-funding S10 applications that include research projects aligned with the mission of NIGMS. NIGMS-supported research may utilize specific cells or organ systems if they serve as models for understanding general systemic principles. NIGMS also supports research in specific clinical areas that affect multiple organ systems.
In parallel, NIGMS is especially interested in promoting participation of Institutional Development Award (IDeA) states and programs in the S10 Program. The IDeA program will provide co-funding for scientifically meritorious applications from IDeA states and encourages sharing and collaboration among institutions, programs, and states.
Applications Not Responsive to this NOFO
An individual application requesting more than one type of instrument (for example, a mass spectrometer and a confocal microscope) is not responsive to this NOFO and will not be reviewed.
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