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Grants

Internal Oppportuniites

Internal Grant Program

Fall 2024 Grant / ReLODE Application Cover PageCore Facilities Equipment Funding – Equipment Grant/ReLODE

The Office for Research is inviting Fall 2024 Equipment Grant / ReLODE proposals.

If awarded, all PO’s must be submitted by February 3rd, 2025 and fully received by July 15th, 2025. If purchase orders cannot be submitted by this date, proposals should be submitted for the Spring competition.

To qualify for this program, submitter must be a Director or Manager of a university-sponsored core facility and the core must have submitted a FY24 Annual Report/FY25 Request for Operating Support.  See “Expectations for Core Facilities“. Exceptions require approval prior to submission.

REQUIRED LETTER OF INTENT

Submission of the LOI Form is required to receive a link to upload the full proposal. In addition, LOIs assist us in identifying reviewers.

Deadline: September 22 at 11:59 pm

FULL PROPOSAL

Must be submitted online through the link that you will receive upon submitting of the LOI.

Deadline: October 7 at 11:59 pm

Program Description

The Office for Research (OR) is accepting Equipment Grant and ReLODE proposals for the purchase of equipment or instrumentation to support core facilities that serve the overall research community at Northwestern University. OR accepts requests that are not likely to be eligible for external funding (e.g., because the instrument does not meet the minimum cost guidelines or in some other way does not qualify for external support) or in cases where the timeline for need cannot be met through external funding requests. Two equipment requests per facility will be accepted. Each request must be submitted as a separate proposal and prioritized relative to the other requests.

Types of Funding Requests

  1. Grants for new equipment costing $5,000 to $100,000 will be considered if the proposal includes cost share commitments of at least 10% by key stakeholders (PIs, departments, centers and/or schools). Submitters must justify why the internal funding program is most appropriate and what other options were considered.
  2. Grants for new equipment costing $100,000 or more will be considered if the request from OR is $100,000 or less, key stakeholders provide required 10% cost share, and all funds needed to complete the project are identified in the budget. Proposals for equipment that are currently pending at external agencies will not be considered.
  3. ReLODE – Loans for replacement of old equipment costing less than $500,000 will be considered if the old equipment is heavily used, beyond its expected lifespan, and the equipment is not a candidate for external funding. Documentation of usage data and service reports over the previous three years are required. Cost share is NOT required. The loan will be repaid by installments that reflect the depreciation schedule of the equipment.
  1. ReLODE – Loans for replacement of old equipment costing $500,000 or more will be considered if the total OR request is $500,000, or less, and funds are identified to cover project costs in excess of the OR request. The old equipment must be heavily used, beyond its expected lifespan, and the equipment must not be a candidate for external funding. The loan will be repaid by installments that reflect the depreciation schedule of the equipment.
  2. ReLODE – Loans for duplication of existing equipment costing less than $500,000 will be considered if the existing equipment is oversubscribed and the duplicate is not a candidate for external funding. Cost share is NOT required. The loan will be repaid by installments that reflect the depreciation schedule of the equipment. The minimum annual repayment amount is $5,000.  Duplication of an existing equipment should be thoroughly justified.
  3. ReLODE – Loans for duplication of existing equipment costing $500,000 or more will be considered if the total OR request is $500,000, or less, and funds are identified to cover project costs in excess of the OR request. The old equipment must be oversubscribed and the duplicate is not a candidate for external funding. The loan will be repaid by installments that reflect the depreciation schedule of the equipment. Duplication of an existing equipment should be thoroughly justified.
  4. ReLODE – Loans for new equipment providing new capabilities costing $25,000 to $100,000 will be considered if there is an urgent need for the instrument or if an internal grant request was denied and core leadership view the instrument strategic for the core’s users. The minimum annual repayment amount is $5,000.

  5. Grants for new services: costing $5,000 to $50,000 will be considered if the proposal includes cost share commitments of at least 10% by key stakeholders (PIs, departments, centers and/or schools). Proposals should result in the creation of a new service line, or cross-core service, and meaningful ongoing revenue.  Funds may be used to cover staff time, training, instrument time, and materials for proof-of-concept experiments. Submitters must justify why the internal funding program is most appropriate and what other options were considered.

  6. Not accepted: Requests for operating costs, deficit reduction, new personnel, space renovation, etc will not be accepted under this program.

Urgent requests should be addressed to the Core Facilities Director.

ReLODE Program Procedures

ReLODE Program Accounting Procedure
ReLODE Program Flow Chart
ReLODE Repayment Template

Proposal Preparation Instructions

Fall 2024 Equipment Grant/ReLODE Proposal Instructions

Proposals that do not follow the proposal format and preparation instructions below will be returned for prompt revision or declined without review if unresolved before the review date. – when is the review date?

Proposal Submission

  1. Application documents should be compiled into a single, contiguous PDF file; margins should be one inch on all sides, at least 11-point Times New Roman, and single line spacing. Save the file using a name that indicates the facility name and submission cycle (e.g., IMSERC_Fall_24).
  2. Applications must be submitted online.
  3. A link to the website will be sent to Directors and Managers upon submission of the LOI.

Review Process

  1. Proposals will be reviewed using the following criteria:
    1. Justification of Need
      1. What is impact of the newly added capability or expanding capacity? Who will benefit from it? How are researchers completing work today in its absence?
      2. Does proposed equipment meet technical needs described in the “Justification of Need” section of the proposal? Is the equipment cost reasonable? Are all expenses appropriately justified? Any unjustified expenses included?
      3. Is the new capability unique to Northwestern? If capability is overlapping or duplicative, is the need adequately justified?
    2. Operations and Administration
      1. How will the core provide the researchers access to the new capability? Is adequate space and expertise available? If renovations or training is required, are commitments provided?
      2. Describe operational budget. Will proposed rates deter use? Is expected usage reasonable? Are expected expenses (consumables and repairs) identified and factored into rates?
      3. Is the program (Equipment Grant or ReLODE) the most appropriate program for this submission? What other internal/external sources were considered?
  2. Based on the review, proposals will be prioritized for funding by CFA, school leadership, and representatives from core facilities.

Outcomes

Outcomes will be released in mid-November

Equipment Purchase

If awarded, PO’s must be submitted by February 3rd, 2025 and fully received by July 15th, 2025. If purchase orders cannot be submitted by this date, proposals should be submitted for the Spring competition.

 

Links

2024 Fall Equipment Grant/ReLODE Cover Page CFA Funding Application

Fall 2024 Equipment Grant/ReLODE Proposal Instructions

2024 Fall Equipment Grant Budget

ReLODE Accounting Procedure

ReLODE Flow Chart and Examples

Fall 2024 ReLODE Repayment Template

LOI Form

Past Internal Grant Awards

To view a list of past internal awards, click here. 

Letters of Support

Some instrumentation proposals require letters of support that describe institutional support of core facilities and sometimes cost-sharing on the proposal. If you have questions about the institutional Letter of Support, please contact Andrew Ott, Director of Core Facilities (CoreFacilities-Director@northwestern.edu). More information can also be found here, https://osr.northwestern.edu/proposals/costsharing

Voucher Program

Core Facilities Administration (CFA) and Office for Research (OR) provide financial incentives (vouchers) for faculty who help support core facilities. Support of a core facility can take the form of writing a successful external grant for instrumentation that is placed into a core facility, donating a new instrument to a core facility that is purchased with retention or start-up funds, or assigning a portion of retention or start-up funds for general use of core facilities. Note that if CFA provided funding for the proposal for grant writing or institutional support, the equipment is not eligible for the voucher program. Vouchers take the form of credits to pay for use of instruments and services in core facilities.

  1. Voucher for New Instruments to Core Facilities – this program rewards faculty who donate a new, cutting-edge instrument that can benefit multiple research groups. The voucher is for use of that instrument only, and it is funded by CFA. New instruments can be purchased using either internal (recruitment/retention) or external (grant) funds. Placing an instrument into a core facility allows faculty to share the operating costs and technical support with other investigators while maintaining privileged access to the instrument of up to two weeks in advance of other users.  The core facility and contributing faculty member must agree to a long-term management plan before siting the instrument in the core which includes rates, maintenance strategy and cost accounting study.
  2. Voucher for General Use of Core Facilities – this program allows faculty to use any instrument or service provided by a core facility. It is supported as part of recruitment and retention packages, and it is funded by the Provost, VPR and Schools using the standard cost sharing formula. By ear-marking funds for core facilities, the University encourages these faculty to take advantage of shared resources and services, expanding the user base and contributing to a steady income stream for that core facility.

Federal Opportunities

State and Foundation Programs

Chicago Biomedical Consortium (CBC)

W.M. Keck Foundation