NSF issues announcement with limited submissions for MRI

Major Research Instrumentation Program: Instrument Acquisition or Development
Program Solicitation# 11-503

The National Science Foundation has issued the following program announcement for Major Research Instrumentation Program: Instrument Acquisition or Development.

The Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) serves to increase access to shared scientific and engineering instruments for research and research training in our Nation’s institutions of higher education, museums, science centers, and not-for-profit organizations. This program especially seeks to improve the quality and expand the scope of research and research training in science and engineering, by providing shared instrumentation that fosters the integration of research and education in research-intensive learning environments. Development and acquisition of research instrumentation for shared inter- and/or intra-organizational use are encouraged, as are development efforts that leverage the strengths of private sector partners to build instrument development capacity at academic institutions.

As a result of the limited number of proposals that can be submitted, UND will conduct an internal review of preproposals. Preproposals should consist of the following sections:


Cover page listing the project name, collaborators, contact person, total budget amount
Instrument(s) to be purchased or developed and its (their) function(s)
 Impact on the research program of the collaborators, department(s), and college(s)
 Impact on the university’s mission as a whole
 Detailed budget.

Preproposals should be no more than 3 pages in length using a reasonable format (1 inch margins, font size 11, single-spaced). Preproposals are due in Research Development and Compliance (RD&C) by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, December 1, 2010. Criteria used for reviewing preproposals will include appropriateness to the goal of the program; probability for funding by NSF; reasonableness of budgetary requests; and impact of the request on the university and the academic units involved. Investigators will be notified of the review results as soon as possible in order to provide as much time as possible to prepare a final proposal for submission.

Available Formats:
HTML: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11503/nsf11503.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click

— Barry Milavetz, Associate Vice President for Research.