Important Dates

• October 15, 2024 - Submissions deadline
• December 1, 2024 - Funding announced, pending availability of funds
• February 15, 2025 - Submissions deadline
• April 1, 2025 - Funding announced, pending availability of funds

Program Purpose

The Office of Research and Innovation (OR&I) has always invested in shared research infrastructure to advance MSUs research priorities. This Shared Research Infrastructure Program (SRIP) has been created to make strategic investment decisions that best enable cutting-edge research. Although this program is new, it will be funded through existing budget allocations to OR&I made possible through the generosity of the MSU Research Foundation. ORI will consider requests that are out of cycle if they are of unexpected and significant in nature (such as an unexpected breakdown of major equipment or an unexpected opportunity involving external partners). However, the requestors must submit the same materials described below and will be evaluated using the same criteria.

Expectations if funded:

If funded, the resource is expected to be listed on MSU websites, including OR&I’s website, which lists MSU SRIs. In addition, annual reports that include metrics of utilization, outreach efforts, and other items will be expected. 

Request Types

This call will support one-time, non-recurring purchases or investments in specialized research infrastructure, such as equipment, large databases, and other resources that support and advance cutting-edge research at MSU. It will not support resources that will be used primarily for teaching or an individual researcher’s lab. If you are unsure whether your request applies, please contact proposal@msu.edu before submission.

Track 1: Requests up to $100,000 for a single entity (equipment or other resource)

• Requests up to $100,000 for a single entity (equipment or other resource). 
• Cost sharing of some form from the college of the submitting unit is required.
• This track is for disciplines for which other funding sources (such as start-up funds or external federal programs) are unavailable. In other words, only MSU colleges and other units that receive less than $7 million in annual research grant expenditures are eligible for this track. For 2025 and until further notice, this includes the College of Arts and Letters, Eli Broad College of Business, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, College of Law, College of Nursing, James Madison College, and Lyman Briggs College.

Track 2: Requests of $100,000 to $4,000,000 for total cost of the equipment or resource

• Requests of $100,000 to $4,000,000 for total cost of the equipment or resource (OR&I portion not to exceed 50%).
• Cost sharing is required, and letters of support from all units with agreed cost-sharing are required at the time of submission.
• Applicants are expected to identify whether a requested resource is already available on campus and, if it is, explain why another similar resource is needed. Further, applicants must partner with existing shared research resources on campus except in exceptional circumstances.

Track 3: Planning grants (maximum of $20,000)

• This track is for developing larger federal agency instrumentation proposals (i.e., NSF Midscale R1 or R2; NSF MRI Track 2; NIH S10 HEI)
• Cost-sharing is not required.
• Applicants are encouraged to include project participants who have successfully competed in such programs in the past. In addition, successful applicants will be expected to have milestones and target submission dates and will be required to work with OR&Is research development team when drafting the planned proposal to the external agency. Note: the requested amount (maximum $20,000) for this planning grant should be commensurate with the size of the future proposal award amount. Allowable costs must be well justified to enable the submission of an upcoming proposal.

SRIP requires a cost share for track 1 and track 2, and encourages a cost share for track 3. Each college has their own process and timeline for acquiring their support. Please speak with your Associate Dean for Research for more details, at least one month in advance of the deadline.

Eligibility

Any MSU faculty (tenure-track or faculty with multi-year, fixed-term appointments) or staff may submit to this program. However, the proposed resource must be shared among many researchers and letters of support from appropriate MSU units at multiple levels must be provided (such as department and college; see below). Proposals will be returned without review if the required letters are not included. 

Cost-sharing (from associated colleges and other relevant units)

Specific to each track, see above. Letters are required from each unit providing cost-sharing (see below). The Office of Research and Innovation will require the administering unit to create a new GR account to allocate funds if awarded. It is preferred that all funding partners allocate general funds to the newly created account for tracking. Other fund types may be allowable for cost share and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Review Criteria 

Priority will be given to proposals that: 

1. Are likely to have a far-reaching impact related to MSU’s and the relevant colleges’ strategic priorities.
2. Meet the needs of a broad range of university researchers.
3. Help to position MSU as a leader in existing or emerging research areas.
4. Help to position future proposals to external programs that support research or research infrastructure.
5. Have a clear and sustainable funding model that ensures the operation and maintenance of the resource and has sufficient matching funds.
6. Provide evidence that the request could not be funded elsewhere.

Background 

Applicants to this MSU-OR&I program should be familiar with the federal programs that support the development and purchase of research instrumentation and infrastructure and must address why such programs would not support the proposed request. These programs include (but are not restricted to): the NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI), the NIH S10 Instrumentation Programs (BIG, SIG, HEI), USDA NIFA Equipment Grant Program (USDA EGR), NSF Infrastructure Innovation for Biological Research (INNOVATION); the Infrastructure Capacity for Biological Research (CAPACITY); NSF Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation for the Astronomical Sciences (ATI); NSF Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation (CSSI); NSF Science and Technology Centers (STC); and, NSF Mid-scale Research Infrastructure (RI-1, RI-2).

Proposal Preparation Instructions

Please create a single PDF that contains the following document in this order (single space, 11 pt font, 1-inch margins, with maximum page limits described below. Any images or figures must be embedded within the page limits):

Track 1 and Track 2 Proposal Preparation

1. Justification of request (maximum 1 page):
   1. Describe the need for this request and how it will advance research at MSU.
   2. Describe the alignment with MSU priorities described in its current strategic plan.
   3. Describe the potential impact of this resource to MSU’s research capacity.
2. Description of the resource or item to be purchased and technical expertise needed (maximum 1 page):
   1. Name of the item or requested resource and cost (for equipment requests, include the model number, company, URL of the item or resource).
   2. Description of where the resource will be located and discussion of space. Proposers are encouraged to partner with existing shared research services or cores and leverage existing space and staff. If they do not, they must indicate why and how they will provide future users access to the resource and handle the required financial, HR, and other services needed for shared research infrastructure.
   3. Description of costs related to operations and/or maintenance (such as what is needed for equipment for service contacts, length of service, and the plan for covering service beyond the length of the contract).
   4. Description of any physical or security restrictions needed in the placement or use of this item or resource.
   5. Description of the expected lifespan of the purchase and the need or plan for future replacement and how those costs will be covered.
3. Evidence for potential use of the resource beyond the applicants (maximum 2 pages):
   1. Provide evidence that this resource will be used beyond a single laboratory or a single group of researchers.
   2. At a minimum, provide a list of MSU researchers who have used a resource like this in the past, along with usage rates, departments and colleges represented, and numbers of external users. In addition, if applicable, describe those who have agreed that this is needed for conducting current research on campus and whether it is limiting their ability to submit proposals to external funding bodies due to a lack of this resource. Provide other evidence as is available.
   3. Expected instrument capacity and likely usage at the annual scale (total unit of time: Instrument use (# hours used per year), % Utilization (instrument use/instrument capacity).
4. Description of the business plan, expected user fees, budgeting data, and  the plan for annual operations and maintenance (maximum 2 pages):
   1. Historical budgetary data, including metrics from prior years, if available--such as expenses (#s and % change) and revenue (#s and % change).
   2. Business Plan (including annual expenses and revenue, cost-sharing from OR&I, college, and department, as relevant). Include rates and user fees (internal, external, or industry).
   3. Annual Operations and Maintenance. Provide a description of the responsible parties for the item related to ensuring use of researchers beyond the individual investigators, maintenance, and oversight and the source of the salary support (indicated as proportional FTEs needed and source funding).
5. Alignment of the request with existing federal infrastructure programs (maximum 1 page):
   1. For resources that could be funded by existing federal programs that support research infrastructure, such as for large equipment and instrumentation, describe past experience with submissions to such programs including documentation of  past submissions to either the NSF MRI and/or the NIH S10 programs at a minimum. If submissions have not been made to these programs, proposers need to explain why. Arguments related to funding rates and flat budgets for these programs are not a sufficient justification.
   2. If applicable, describe how this investment may lead to future submissions to existing federal programs  supporting this research area at MSU. If relevant, describe the relationship to future larger investments in research infrastructure that establish MSU as a national leader in advanced research resources such as what is supported through the NSF Mid-scale Research program, the NSF Science and Technology Program, or other such programs.

For all applicants, Letter(s) of Support are required for (do not include in the single PDF):

• The entity(s) committing to cost share. Be sure to indicate the total cost of the item and the amount committed from each entity.
• The entity committing to housing the resource (i.e., an existing Shared Research Resource (such as a research core facility)).
• The Dean for the relevant college(s) that indicates: support for this purchase, agreement to cost share along with the exact amount (if applicable), and how it aligns with the college (or unit) priorities relative to other potential investments. If a college/unit is involved in multiple submissions, they must prioritize their requests.

Please upload the letter(s) of support separately and do not include them in the single PDF.

Track 3 Proposal Preparation

1. Justification of request (maximum 1 page):
   1. An overview of the proposed resource that describes what it is and how it will advance research nationally and at MSU as required in the program.
   2. Describe the potential impact of this resource to MSU’s research capacity.
2. Evidence for potential use of the resource beyond the applicants (maximum 1 page):
   1. Describe an approach for gathering evidence that this resource will be used beyond a single laboratory or a single group of researchers. 
   2. Describe an approach for bringing together researchers from MSU and the nation (if relevant) who would use this resource. 
3. Description of how the funds will be used to support the development of a future proposal (maximum 1 page):
   1. Name of the external funding RFP, and planned date of submission.
   2. Individuals who will likely participate.
   3. Description of the requested resource and cost estimate.
   4. Project timeline and milestones for development of the proposal, with the end goal being a submission to a specific funding RFP on a specific date.
   5. Description of where the resource will be located and discussion of space. Proposers are encouraged to partner with existing research facilities or cores for space and staff.
4. Description of the approach to managing multiple users of the resource, ensure broad access, and describe the cost structure and business plan (maximum 2 pages):
   1. Describe how the information will be gathered for aspects of the request, such as: utilization (number of internal and external users, MSU colleges, departments, etc.), instrument capacity, and life cycle. Use of specific quantifiable metrics is expected, although qualitative metrics will also be considered if well justified.
   2. Describe how the business plan and annual operations and maintenance plan will be developed and the individual(s) with expertise in these areas.