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Office of Research and Innovation
Research Development Office

National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program

The NSF's MRI Program serves to increase access to multi-user scientific and engineering instrumentation for research and research training in institutions of higher education and not-for-profit scientific/engineering research organizations. An MRI award supports the acquisition or development of a multi-user research instrument that is, in general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs.

Program Details

MRI awards provide support to acquire critical research instrumentation without which advances in fundamental science and engineering research may not otherwise occur. MRI also provides support to develop next-generation research instruments that open new opportunities to advance the frontiers in science and engineering research. Additionally, an MRI award is expected to enhance research training of students who will become the next generation of instrument users, designers and builders.

An MRI proposal may request up to $4 million for either acquisition or development of a research instrument.

Please Note: Cost sharing requirements for new awards in the MRI Program are waived for a period of 5 years beginning with the FY 2023 MRI competition. Institutional submission limits for Track 1, Track 2 and Track 3 proposals remain.

NSF Limit

Each performing organization is limited to a maximum of three proposals in Tracks 1 and 2, with no more than two (2) submissions in Track 1 and no more than one (1) submission in Track 2. One (1) additional submission is permitted in the newly defined Track 3. As a result, it is now possible for an institution to submit up to four MRI proposals within these Track limits. Any MRI proposal may continue to request support for either the acquisition or development of a research instrument.

  • Track 1: MRI proposals that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $100,000 and less than $1,400,000
  • Track 2: MRI proposals that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $1,400,000 up to and including $4,000,000
  • Track 3: MRI proposals that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $100,000 and less than or equal to $4,000,000 for requests that include the purchase, installation, operation and maintenance of equipment and instrumentation to reduce consumption of helium

Important Dates

Please note:  NSF has introduced a new October/November Deadline for the MRI Program.

  • Internal Letter of Intent (LOI) deadline: April 18, 2024 (Must be submitted by the College Research Office or Core Facility Director. Your college may impose additional deadlines.)
  • Internal pre-proposal deadline: May 9, 2024 (only those PIs listed on the internal LOI will be invited to submit a pre-proposal to the Office of Research and Innovation)
  • Notification of internal selection: June 2024
  • NSF proposal deadline: October 16, 2024 – November 15, 2024

NC State Internal Selection Process

The MRI program is a tremendous opportunity for NC State to acquire and/or develop cutting-edge instrumentation that serves to expand the pool of shared research resources available to the NC State research community as well as the broader research enterprise in North Carolina. New equipment acquired or developed should: (a) focus on a university priority by addressing a real need not met currently and (b) provide maximum benefit to the university by serving many researchers. The Office of Research and Innovation (ORI) facilitates the process of internal submission, with the oversight of the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research.

Before submitting an internal pre-proposal to ORI’s Research Development Office (RDO), PIs must receive approval from the Associate Dean for Research (ADR) from the lead NC State college and be named on the internal LOI. Proposal teams that request similar instruments will be encouraged to collaborate and consolidate their proposals. Each NC State college is limited to three Track 1 internal pre-proposals and one Track 2 internal pre-proposals, as lead college. Each college will be responsible for ranking their planned proposals prior to submitting internal LOIs. Interested applicants should contact their ADR and College Research Office (CRO) as early as possible to discuss the college’s vetting process, as well as costs and logistics.

Although prior approval from a CRO is not required, discussions with the respective ADR are recommended. Each NC State Shared Core Research Facility is limited to one internal pre-proposal — independent of Track.

Letter of Intent (LOI)

An internal LOI is required prior to the submission of a pre-proposal to help ORI identify proposal teams with overlapping instrumentation requests. LOIs must be submitted to limited-submission@ncsu.edu at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, 2024.

LOIs must specify:

  • The college or core facility that will be submitting the pre-proposal
  • The name and affiliation of the principal investigator(s)
  • The proposal track (Track 1, Track 2 or Track 3)
  • The name and model of the equipment of interest
  • Preliminary budget including amounts (Please note: though this is a preliminary budget, it should be as comprehensive as possible. A budget and justification will be required as part of the pre-proposal submission to ORI. Any and all unexpected costs are expected to be borne by the relevant department/college).

LOIs originating from a college must be submitted by the principal investigator’s CRO. LOIs submitted directly by a principal investigator will not be accepted. Each NC State college is limited to three Track 1 internal pre-proposals and one Track 2 internal pre-proposal, as lead college. There are no college limits for Track 3 pre-proposals. Along with the LOIs, CROs must rank their pre-proposals, based on the college’s equipment priorities.

LOIs originating from a Shared Core Research Facility must be submitted by the facility’s director, regardless of who the principal investigator (PI) is. The PI must be an eligible PI at NC State. LOIs for no more than one pre-proposal per core facility should be submitted for consideration.

Pre-Proposal Submission and Review

Pre-proposals submitted to ORI for consideration as part of NC State’s internal selection process must include detailed information regarding projected renovations and/or facilities modifications that will be required prior to instrument installation, as well as estimated costs for such renovations/modifications.  A pre-proposal template and accompanying facilities requirements questionnaire will be required as part of the submission package to ORI.

Please use template and questionnaire documents to plan a submission as well as identify projected costs and renovations and/or facilities needs for installation and operation of instruments. Please keep in mind that financial commitments for all estimated costs of facilities renovations/modifications must be approved by the department/college or core facility that is responsible for the proposed site of installation. Unforeseen installation and operational costs beyond those detailed in pre-proposals and full proposals submitted to NSF will be the responsibility of the department/college of the PI. 

Pre-proposal packages must be submitted to the MRI Smartsheet Dashboard by 5 p.m. Thursday, May 9, 2024. 

Pre-proposals will be reviewed by ORI and college ADRs based on the following criteria:

  • The potential of the equipment to impact research and research training at NC State
  • The size of the potential user base at NC State
  • The potential impact of the equipment on external university partners

Principal investigators will be notified of a decision regarding their pre-proposals in June 2024.

Contact

Questions about your college’s selection process should be directed to your CRO.

Other questions about this program can be directed to limited-submission@ncsu.edu.