Research equipment grants program

Section I-PROJECT NARRATIVE

On the following (up to) three pages, using the above header and page numbering, provide a narrative description of the equipment, and the projects you intend to carry out.  It is critical that this portion of the application be written in a manner so that someone outside your field will be able to understand the capabilities of the proposed instrumentation and the research enabled by this equipment. TYPE THE NARRATIVE IN A 12 POINT FONT WITH ONE INCH MARGINS.

Please utilize the following format.

A. Equipment Details (limit: one page).

• 1. Equipment Overview: Provide a description of what the equipment is used for.
  2. Location: State where the equipment will be housed, and if any renovations are required.
  3. Similar or Related Equipment on Campus: Describe existing equipment at NAU and why the proposed equipment complements or replaces such instrumentation.

B. Project Summaries (limit: one page total, minimum 2 projects).

1. Project Overview: Provide a clear statement of the goals and objectives of the currently funded or proposed project that would make use of the proposed equipment; describe the work to be undertaken and the types of activities that would result if the equipment were available.
2. Justification for Proposed Equipment: Describe why/how the proposed equipment is needed for the project, and why any existing current equipment is limiting or inadequate.
3. Outcomes/Deliverables: if successful, what deliverables will be obtained?
4. Funding Sources: Grant number, title, PI, dates, and direct costs for any active funding that will be used to support the research that will be conducted with the proposed equipment.

C. Management Plan (limit: one page).

1. Personnel: List the individual(s) responsible for training and maintenance of the equipment.
2. Consumables: List estimated costs of consumable items required for full use of the equipment.
3. Scheduling: Describe the procedures that will be used for allocating instrument time.
4. Service Contracts: Describe any service or maintenance required for full and continued use of the equipment. Provide estimate of current service contract, and indicate if any service contract is included in the purchase price of the equipment.

D. Bibliography / Literature Citations – do not count as part of the page limitation.

Section II – ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION (does not require above header)

1.  Student Impact Statement (limit: 1 page): Concisely describe the expected impact of the proposed investment on student learning and success in their degree programs or in career preparation.  If any overlap of the proposed instrument with existing or proposed coursework exists, please include this information.
2. Facility and Infrastructure Requirements Statement (limit:1 page): Concisely describe the specifications of the location required by the manufacturer to enable functionality of the proposed instrument for functionality.  This includes both requirements of the physical space (electrical requirements, ventilation needs, environmental dampening floors or walls) and requirements associated with auxiliary needs of the instrument (i.e. proper areas for chemical use or storage, required ventilation for use or storage of compressed gasses).  If no unique requirements are identified, include a brief statement that affirms the equipment has no requirements that are not met by space to which the PI has access.
3. Biographical Sketches: Provide for the PI and co-PIs (limit: five pages for NIH format; two pages for NSF format). Note that the NIH format includes Ongoing and Completed Support as section D.
4. Recent, Current, and Pending Support: Provide for PI and co-PIs, if using the NSF format; provide listing of pending support if using the NIH format.
5. Vendor Equipment Quotes: (no page limit). Please attach a quote representing all requested costs for the preferred instrument.  Only one quote is needed for evaluation by the Research Equipment Grants committee, but if selected for funding, NAU purchasing may require further quotes in order to complete the instrument order. Please note that requests to purchase equipment over $100,000.00 will require a competitive sealed bid unless a waiver of bidding is approved (meeting the criteria for sole source justification or matching existing equipment).
6. Budget Justifications: Provide a justification for the project costs requested in this application. For each participant, provide start/end dates, total salary amount for key personnel, hourly rates for student wages, and explain the participant’s role in the project and how they are qualified to fulfill their role. Include a brief description for any materials, supplies, or travel requests. Applications requesting summer salary for Principal Investigators must describe what will be worked on during the summer and what it is necessary to meet the goals of the projects.