Equipment and Instrumentation Grants
Many federal agencies offer specific funding opportunities to support the acquisition or development of instrumentation or equipment. Some agencies fund the construction of new research facilities.
All About Equipment Grants: Supporting Research Infrastructure Presentation
To learn more about equipment grants, details about common funding opportunities, and tips for applying, check out this recording of the PDS team's presentation from January 2025!
Research Facilities Support
The Research Core Facilities Program helps to support the operation and maintenance of many multi-user instruments on campus by promoting and developing best practices for instrument and facility operation and management.
Before applying for funding for a new instrument, review the dynamic inventory of shared campus resources in our searchable database.
Contact RCFP Director Isabelle Girard for more information.
Research Facilities Grant Application Support
The Proposal Development Services team, in collaboration with the Research Core Facilities Program, have resources available to help with proposal preparation for equipment grants, including templates and samples of proposal components.
There are a number of university policies surrounding how equipment should be budgeted, purchased, and tracked. If you plan to apply for an equipment grant please review the information offered by the UC Davis Equipment Management office to ensure that the instrument meets the definition of equipment (whether it is acquired or developed), all of the capitalizable costs are included in the budget, and the proper tax rate is applied. The answer to these questions and more can be found here.
In addition to the cost of the equipment itself, most grants allow you to budget for tax, delivery, installation, calibration, and a limited service contract. Some grants allow personnel expenses related to installation and calibration.
Equipment Funding Opportunities
Common funding opportunities to support the acquisition and development of equipment and facilities can be found below. Many of these programs are Limited Submissions. Please review the sponsor guidelines carefully or contact limsubmissions@ucdavis.edu for more information.
- NIH Division of Construction and Instruments
- NIH R24 Equipment Program for equipment for biomedical research facilities
- NIH S10 Instrumentation Grant Programs for major equipment related to NIH missions (requires campus coordination)
- NIH C06 Extramural Construction Programs to construct, renovate or modernize research facilities
- NSF Major Research Instrumentation program (MRI) for development to acquisition of multi-user research instrument in NSF-funded areas (Limited Submission)
- Many NSF directorates also offer instrumentation and facilities grants specific to those areas of research
- NSF Facilities and Infrastructure grants support mid- and large-scale infrastructure projects.
- USDA NIFA Equipment Grants Program for shared-use instruments that go beyond the needs of individual labs or projects (Limited Submission)
- USDA NIFA Research Facilities Act Program for construction, renovating or modifying agricultural research buildings.
- DoD Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) for infrastructure essential to high-quality DoD-relevant research. Each DoD department (e.g., Office of Naval Research, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Army Research Lab) offers their own DURIP program
Equipment Grant Preparation Resources
Important: Many equipment grant funding opportunities are Limited Submissions. Please review the sponsor guidelines carefully or contact limsubmissions@ucdavis.edu for more information
NIH Equipment Grant Resources
Shared Instrumentation Grant (S10)
About the NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant (S10)
Be sure to follow the checklist carefully because there have been significant changes since prior versions of the NOFO.