Federal Recovery Act Grants Being Announced; Proposal Deadlines Loom Near

[Kathryn_McGinney]

The first waves of federal stimulus grants are starting to be announced and many have near-term proposal deadlines. For the biosciences, NIH is leading with several opportunities related to research challenge grants, high-end instrumentation, extramural research facilities, and core facilities renovation, repair and improvement. Details on the RFPs can be found at the Grants.gov Recovery Act web page. Searching outside of regular business hours may be necessary due to the large volume of users on the site.

Featured Grant:

Recovery Act Limited Competition: High-End Instrumentation Grant Program (S10)

Purpose. 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. Mechanism of Support. This funding opportunity will use the NIH S10 mechanism. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The NCRR intends to commit approximately $160M in FY2010 to fund approximately 40 new awards. Since the cost of the instruments varies, it is anticipated that the size of the award will also vary. The total amount awarded and the number of awards will depend on the funds available for the HEI program.

Current Closing Date for Applications

May 06, 2009

Eligible Applicants

Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Private institutions of higher education
Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

Link to Full Announcement

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-09-118.html