Research Equipment Grants

Award Information

The Research Equipment Grant program aims to fund a portfolio of small, medium and large-scale instrument purchases at NAU. The anticipated funding range for the majority of successful applications is between $10,000 and $150,000 however applicants may request up to $250,000 through this program with appropriate justification.

Matching contributions are allowed for within this program, and are required for any instrumentation requests that exceed the maximum amount.

Proposals that demonstrate commitment from other units through provision of a matching contribution are encouraged.

The selection committee reserves the right to prioritize requests where limited other sources of funding are available to support the purchase.

Award Period

Funds are awarded annually with instrument purchase by January 30 and receipt of the instrument by June 1 of the fiscal year in which the program funding is awarded, unless otherwise negotiated.

The TRIF Research Equipment Grants awards will not fund:

• Used or refurbished equipment.
• Requests for general-purpose software or lab equipment.
• Renovation costs or building systems (e.g., HVAC, electrical or plumbing systems).
• Requests for equipment/software not used primarily for research.
• Requests to duplicate equipment or software that exists elsewhere on campus are permitted with appropriate justification.

• Submission due date: Annual submissions are accepted from faculty by October 19 at 5 p.m.  Ad hoc submissions may be evaluated after this time (pending the availability of funds) on a case-by-case basis.
• Award notification: Awardees will be notified each year beginning November 22. Off-cycle submissions will be evaluated and decisions returned approximately four weeks after receipt.

Application guidelines

The body of the proposal must be written using the Narrative Template provided, and the document must be saved as a PDF. The PDF document must be saved as follows: REGYEAR_Last name of applicant_First name of applicant, e.g., REG2023_Smith_John.

• REG Narrative Template
• Submission portal 

Applications for funding must be submitted electronically through the submission portal. Applicants must complete all informational sections in the portal (I: Applicant Information, II: Abstract (200 words), III: Budget and Budget Justification, IV: Research Compliance checklist and V: Intellectual Property checklist) and attach the completed Narrative Template as a PDF. Please direct any questions regarding this process to ovpr@nau.edu.

Priority will be given to meritorious proposals most clearly demonstrating that:

• The equipment/software will be shared by multiple independent research programs.
• The research projects/programs that will benefit from the equipment/software are aligned with the goals of the FY2022-2024 TRIF initiatives (see above).
• Infrastructure exists to house and maintain the equipment, and to provide training to cross-campus users including students. For instrumentation requests that require specialized infrastructure (HVAC requirements, compressed gas storage, electrical inputs, environmental dampening, etc), independent review of the proposal by representatives of NAU Facility Services or Environmental Health and Safety may be required to affirm the appropriateness of the identified space.  Submissions that propose to locate specialized instruments into rooms with insufficient infrastructure to house them will be rejected without review.
• The research that will be conducted using the equipment/software will enable and be supported by extramural research grants.
• Matching contributions can be provided at the investigator, department, or college level to support instrumentation, maintenance, and/or supplies.  A support letter authorized by an appropriate official (department head/director, Dean) outlining the commitment to provide matching funds must be included for matches at the department or college level, respectively.
• The proposed equipment/software will increase NAU’s research capacity.
• Priority for major instrumentation ($150,000 or greater) awards will be given to applicants who clearly and convincingly demonstrate the request addresses a critical or strategic need for the university, or that the proposed instrument will have a large user base. The selection committee may elect not to award major instrumentation proposals in any given year.