Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) Program (S10) | PAR 17 074

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 17 074

The Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) Program (S10) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity designed to help NIH-supported researchers gain access to high-cost, specialized scientific instruments that are needed for biomedical and behavioral research. Rather than funding individual research projects, this program focuses on strengthening research infrastructure by supporting the purchase or upgrade of a single major, commercially available instrument or an integrated instrumentation system that will be shared by a group of investigators. The core idea is that expensive equipment can be used more efficiently and broadly when multiple NIH-funded researchers rely on it, improving the quality, speed, and scope of research across an institution or a research community.

The program supports instruments or systems that have a purchase price of at least $50,000, reflecting its focus on equipment that is typically out of reach for single-lab budgets. While there is no upper limit on the instrument’s total cost, the maximum amount NIH will award through this opportunity is $600,000, meaning applicants may need to provide additional funds if the chosen instrument exceeds that level. The types of instruments that can be supported are wide-ranging and generally include advanced, specialized platforms used in modern biomedical research. Examples listed in the opportunity include X-ray diffractometers; mass spectrometers; nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers; DNA and protein sequencers; biosensors; electron and light microscopes; cell sorters; and biomedical imaging systems. The list is not exhaustive, signaling that NIH is open to other comparable high-end instruments as long as they are specialized, commercially available, and justified by strong shared research needs.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based research and higher education organizations. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (both with and without 501(c)(3) status), and other organizations as allowed under NIH rules. The opportunity explicitly highlights that a range of minority-serving and tribal-serving institutions are included among eligible applicants, such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs). At the same time, the program places strict limits on foreign participation: non-U.S. (foreign) institutions cannot apply, non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed under this opportunity.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity in the health category administered by NIH, associated with CFDA number 93.351. The specific opportunity number is PAR-17-074, and the source information indicates an original closing date of May 31, 2017, with an expectation of about 75 awards. Overall, the SIG (S10) program is best understood as an NIH mechanism to expand shared access to essential, high-cost instrumentation so that multiple NIH-funded investigators can conduct more advanced, competitive, and efficient research using state-of-the-art tools.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) Program (S10)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.351.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-12-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-05-31. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 75 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, 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.

Apply for PAR 17 074

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