Equipment Grants

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.

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.

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)


NSF Equipment Grant Resources

NSF MRI - Major Research Instrumentation Grant

About the NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Grant