Equipment Grants Program | USDA NIFA OP 010493

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA OP 010493

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Equipment Grants Program (EGP) is a discretionary grant opportunity designed to improve research capacity in the food and agricultural sciences by helping eligible higher education and state cooperative institutions purchase a single, major piece of special purpose equipment or an instrument that can be shared by multiple users. The core goal is to increase access to high-cost, specialized equipment that supports fundamental and applied research, and that also advances related training and extension goals. In practice, this program is meant to strengthen the overall quality of research infrastructure at eligible institutions by enabling upgrades that might be too expensive or not a good fit for support under other NIFA programs.

A key feature of EGP is that it is strictly focused on equipment acquisition rather than funding research projects. It does not pay for conducting research studies, even if those studies would use the newly purchased equipment, and it does not support the operation or maintenance of facilities. It also does not fund the purchase of multiple items intended to outfit an entire lab or facility, nor does it support "suites" of equipment that would allow separate experiments to be run independently at the same time. Likewise, common, general-purpose items that are typically standard in laboratories, or that an institution could reasonably obtain through normal procurement channels or other NIFA programs, are not considered a fit. Instead, the program targets specialized equipment that meaningfully upgrades institutional infrastructure and can be justified as shared-use, special purpose, and central to strengthening research and related programming.

Eligibility is limited to specific institution types defined in federal statute (7 U.S.C. 3103). Eligible applicants include accredited public or other nonprofit colleges and universities in any U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. insular areas, provided they admit students with a secondary school credential (or equivalent), are legally authorized to offer postsecondary education, award bachelors degrees or higher, and hold accreditation from a nationally recognized accrediting organization. Research foundations maintained by eligible colleges or universities are also included. Beyond general higher education institutions, eligible "state cooperative institutions" include 1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions, state-certified schools of forestry under the McIntire-Stennis Act, state agricultural experiment stations under the Hatch Act, cooperative extension services established under the Smith-Lever Act and related authorities, accredited schools or colleges of veterinary medicine (or experiment stations) conducting animal health and disease research consistent with the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act, Hispanic-serving institutions as defined in federal education law, and eligible institutions in insular areas. The insular areas specifically listed include Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

For this specific opportunity posting (Funding Opportunity Number: USDA NIFA OP 010493; CFDA: 10.519), the application closing date was May 3, 2024. NIFA anticipated making about 15 awards, with an award ceiling of up to $500,000 per grant. Overall, EGP is best understood as an infrastructure-focused program: it helps qualifying institutions obtain one high-impact, shared-use, specialized instrument that expands or modernizes research capability in the food and agricultural sciences, without underwriting the research projects, lab build-outs, or ongoing facility costs that might otherwise be associated with using that equipment.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Equipment Grants Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.519.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-01-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-03. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA OP 010493

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