Small Equipment Grants

Proposals for equipment based on the following principles will be entertained:

• Co-funding of 1:1 is required. If units/faculty can overmatch, that will be considered as a positive factor should all other aspects of competing proposals be equal.
• Impact on multiple faculty is required; tangible evidence that more than a single individual will use this equipment for research (including graduate education aspects) is mandatory.
• This fund is not designed to leverage start-up packages. Preference will be given to positive impact on established faculty programs (which could certainly include new faculty).
• Investment in equipment that would become part of university core facilities or college facilities (e.g., greenhouses, farms, etc.) will be considered; evidence of commitment from core directors is required.
• Total cost of college investment for this program is limited to $100K; small ($2,500) to large ($20,000) proposals will be considered.
• Multi-unit collaboration is encouraged.
• An individual faculty member can submit only one proposal as lead, but may partner on more than one submission.

Proposals must be submitted through InfoReady by 5 pm on Friday, December 10, 2021, and require the following components:

1. Item being requested (will be used as the Proposal Title in InfoReady)
2. Estimated cost and details of the proposed cost-share. Include the faculty and affiliated units that are contributing to the cost share. Please also include the anticipated SIMBA Internal Order(s) that will be used to support the cost shared portion of the purchase.
3. Estimated useful life. Life expectancy may be based on manufacturer specifications, previous or known experiences, University schedules, etc.
4. Description, purpose and justification, including:
   — What does the equipment do?
   — What function will it perform?
   — What faculty, programs, units, and activities will the equipment be supporting? Include applicable Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) projects benefiting from the equipment.
5. Brief description of logistics, including:
   — location and availability of equipment to researchers and students
   — alteration of existing facilities to accommodate the equipment
   — responsibility for maintenance, training, and operation provisions for service agreements (if appropriate)
6. A current (non-expired), valid price quote for the equipment from the proposed supplier.
7. Designation of department heads from units contributing to the cost share. This information will be used to ‘route’ the proposal through the department heads for their concurrence and approval prior to acceptance by the Office for Research and Graduate Education.

Please note that selected proposals will have funds transferred to the College of Agricultural Sciences departmental RLS account, designated by the unit, via a budget upload. By accepting the award, departments are agreeing to provide, upon completion of the purchasing process, a copy of the purchase order and a final cost analysis of the equipment awarded (total cost and how cost share was utilized). All funds provided by the Office for Research and Graduate Education are to be used for the requested equipment. No rebudgeting permitted.