Institutional Matching Instrumentation Award

Award Amount $50,000 to $200,000 ~ Fall Cycle Only

Up to five awards will be made

Description

These awards are intended to provide matching funds for any source of extramural or internal funding, for example they can be used as institutional matching towards NIH Shared Instrumentation Grants (SIG) and High-End Instrumentation (HEI) Grants, Howard Hughes Medical Institute funds, or to match internal funding from UCSF departments. NOTE: This award will not be offered in the Spring 2024 RAP cycle, so to obtain matching funds for 2024 SIG and HEI grants please apply to this Fall 2023 cycle. To promote cost effectiveness, to encourage optimal sharing among individual investigators, research groups and departments, and to foster a collaborative multidisciplinary environment, the instrument must be managed by a UCSF Campus Core. In addition to Campus Core status, the core must be implemented or scheduled to begin implementation of the UCSF Core Management System, iLab. For assistance in identifying a Campus Core partner or to be scheduled for iLab implementation, please contact the Research Resource Program (RRP).

Funds can be used towards the cost of equipment or to fund essential personnel or maintenance costs during the equipment validation period. Awards are conditional on obtaining matching funding. The funds must be spent within 3 years of receiving the award.

Eligibility

Eligibility requirements need to be met as of date of submission; no waivers are allowed. 

Awards will be made to UCSF Campus Cores and a letter from the Research Resource Program certifying Campus Core Status should be included in the application. PI1 must be a Core Director, Core Manager or Core Technical Director who oversees a Certified Campus Core and holds a faculty appointment in any rank (Instructor, Assistant, Associate and Full Professors) and in any series (Ladder Rank, In Residence, Clinical X, Health Science Clinical, Adjunct) or a non-faculty academic appointment (Professional Research Series, Specialist, Academic Coordinator) or be a Lab Research Supervisor 1 or 2 in the Research and Laboratory Career Tracks Family. PI2, if relevant, should be a UCSF Faculty in any Series (Ladder Rank, In Residence, Clinical X, Health Science Clinical, Adjunct) in all ranks (Instructor, Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor) including Appointees to the Professional Research Series and Librarian Series. If PI1 is not eligible to be the PI on the intended extramural application, PI2 must be eligible to serve in this role.

Submission Rules

Application Process

Step 1) Applications must be from approved campus cores, cores can apply for approval at any time but must apply before submitting the application and include certification from the Research Resource Program.

Step 2) Complete the RAP electronic application

Step 3) A subcommittee of the Research Resource Program Strategic Advisory Committee will select awards with fundable scores for funding. The selection process may include a face-to-face presentation with the applicant.

Criteria for Review/Evaluation of Applications

  • Demonstration of scientific need for the technology by funded investigators. Both quantity and quality of anticipated users for the shared equipment
  • Justification for the equipment as a novel technology which is not otherwise available on campus and/or needed due to capacity issues
  • Shared sources of funding for the purchase cost for the equipment
  • Management plan for the sharing of the equipment within a campus core resource

The proposal will be evaluated based on the following questions: click here to view the review form for this grant mechanism.

TO APPLY:

STEP 1) Complete the electronic application form.  Please note there are several pieces of information that need to be provided directly via the electronic application form (selecting the appropriate grant mechanism, providing demographic information, uploading an abstract, etc.).

Click here to preview an inactive template of the electronic application form.

STEP 2) Upload your proposal as a SINGLE PDF that includes all the things listed in numeric order in the instructions below.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROPOSAL PDF 

Please write your proposal following the instructions listed below and create one single pdf file. Do not include form fields in your pdf document.

Proposal Length: Recommend no more than 6 pages, including figures and tables, excluding table of contents and literature cited.


Format Requirements: Arial font; 11 pt; minimum 0.5 inch for all margins; no appendices; include page numbers and table of contents.

RESUBMISSIONS
Definition: same instrumentation request with an amended application rather than request for different instrumentation.
Requirements: Please use up to one extra page to introduce your revised proposal, addressing the issues raised in the review, and any additional changes to your proposal. Make sure the new edits are highlighted in bold or italic font so the reviewers can easily see where and how the proposal has changed. Do not use "track changes". A new letter of support from the Department Chair or other Unit Head is required in all cases.

1. P.I. Name(s) - Optionally, you may apply with two PIs. PI1 must be a director, manager or technical director of a Campus Core. If funded, PI1 will be the primary contact for the award set up and management. Only one application is permitted per cycle.

2. Project Title

3. Name of Campus Core

4. Other Source of Funding – Name the source of funding that this award will be used to match. If extramural provide date of application deadline, if internal name the School or Department or other source.

5. Proposal (recommend no more than 6 pages, including figures and tables, excluding literature cited)

  1. Description - Describe the instrument/technology, and its suitability for shared use.
  2. Justification - Provide a clear description of other similar pieces of equipment on campus that are currently available and justify the need for the proposed equipment, for example need for additional capacity or additional technological capability.
  3. Users Table – List Major Users and Minor Users - A minimum of 3 Major users must be identified, but it is highly recommended to identify more. For each Major user list (1) the relevant funding sources that will support research using proposed instrumentation, and (2) the anticipated approximate hours of usage for the first year. For Minor users list only the approximate hours of usage. PI1 and PI2 should be included in this table if they qualify as Major or Minor users. 
  4. Management Plan - Describe: (1) Location of instrument and suitability of location; (2) Expertise and training - Describe the expertise of staff that will provide oversight and maintenance, how users will be supported, and indicate if training will be available; (3) Users - who will have access to the instrument and who has priority for access; (4) Scheduling tracking and billing - how will usage be scheduled, tracked and billed; (5) Describe any services that will be provided in relation to the instrumentation, for example, operation of equipment on behalf of users or as part of a larger process or service.
  5. Financial Plan - Submit a detailed financial plan for long-term operation and maintenance of the instrument. Include a table that for year one lists approximate dollars for anticipated expenditures and anticipated income; for years 2 - 5 show approximate amounts. Include a description of the five-year financial plan that describes:
    Operation: Include salary support of expert personnel to operate the instrument and provide its routine care and standardization.
    Maintenance: Typically, maintenance costs are fully covered by manufacturer's warranty during year one. In subsequent years, maintenance costs may include a service contract, or funds for local technical personnel (and parts) who will maintain the instrument if such personnel are qualified to do so. If maintenance costs are requested for year 2 or beyond explain why they will not be covered by recharges to users, and how and when sustainability will be reached.
    Supplies: Necessary supplies for operating the instrument such as chemicals, cryogenics, and other expendable items.
    Anticipated Income: Enumerate the sources of income such as recharge structure, grants, or institutional support.
  6. Research Areas. Include a very brief (1 short paragraph) description from each of the Major users listed in the Users table and optionally for Minor users. Focus on how their research program will benefit from the requested equipment do not include details of the research program.
  7. Clinical and Translational Research - Please state whether your proposal should be considered Clinical/Translational Research and justify (1 paragraph)
  8. Literature cited (not included in page limit)

6. Detailed Budget

The maximum award amount is $200,000. Please round up to the nearest thousandth (i.e. instead of $197,869 list $198,000). If you have already received seed funding from RRP within 1 year related to this current request, subtract that amount from your requested budget. Matching funds for large pieces of equipment may be shared among several sources, including departmental funds and individual research grants, all sources of funding should be listed in the budget including the amount to be requested from NIH or other external sources. All related costs including personnel effort and supplies needed for instrument validation should be included in the budget.

Use the following form: PHS 398 Form Page 4, "Detailed Budget for the Initial Period": http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html Add the network recharge rates to your budget.

Note: If your Other Support references projects that may appear to have scientific or budgetary overlap with this proposal, please clearly identify and explain why this proposal is unique and non-overlapping.

7. Budget Justification
Clearly state and justify each item in the budget including why this model was selected. A quote from the manufacturer is required for review. This award may be used towards cost of equipment or to fund maintenance costs or personnel during the validation period. In most cases the funding period will be one year, however for innovative technology that requires development as well as validation this period may be extended. Budgets of more than one year must be well justified and will not be granted for instruments that do not require a development phase.

8. Equipment Disposition
If the PI leaves UCSF, title to the equipment purchased using these award funds (in whole or in part), remains with UCSF.

9. NIH BioSketch of Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator(s) and UCSF Faculty Mentor(s) (if applicable), (5 page format):

   Other support pages of Principal Investigator(s) and Co-Investigator(s) and UCSF Faculty Mentor(s)

10. Letter(s) of Support:

  • Provide a letter from the Research Resource Program certifying the Core’s status as a Campus Core.
  • If the budget includes matching funds from other sources provide a letter of support from each entity that will provide support.
  • Provide a letter of support from the Department Chair or other unit head. If there are two PIs, a letter of support is required for both, but if from the same department, the chair can vouch for both with a single letter. If the Department Chair will provide matching funds this can also be included in a single letter.