Please see the full solicitation for complete information about the funding opportunity. Below is a summary assembled by the Research & Innovation Office (RIO).

Program Summary

The Shared Instrumentation for Animal Research (SIFAR) Grant Program invites groups of NIH-funded investigators engaged in biomedical research using animals to seek support for high-cost, state-of-the art, commercially available scientific instruments. All requested instruments must be used on a shared basis and enhance research that uses animals or related materials such as animal tissues, cells, or germplasm.

The SIFAR Program will not support requests for:

  • A single instrument;
  • A series/cluster of instruments that does not include at least one instrument whose individual cost is at least $50,000;
  • Any instrument in a cluster/series with a base cost of less than $20,000;
  • Software, unless it is integrated in the operation of the instrument(s) and/or necessary for the generation of high-quality output experimental data from the instrument(s);
  • Stand-alone workstations for data processing, software licenses, and duplicate software items;
  • Purely instructional equipment, institutional administrative management systems, clinical management systems;
  • Instruments to be used for clinical (billable) care;
  • General purpose equipment (such as standard machine shop equipment), instruments to furnish a research facility (such as autoclaves, hoods, equipment to upgrade animal facilities), and equipment for routine sustaining infrastructure (such as standard computer networks or data storage systems).
  • Disposable devices, office furniture, and supplies;
  • Alteration or renovation of space to house the instruments.

Deadlines

CU Internal Deadline: 11:59pm MST April 1, 2020

Sponsor Application Deadline: 5:00pm MST June 1, 2020

Internal Application Requirements (all in PDF format)

  • Project Summary (3 pages maximum): Please include the following: relevance to public health, description of requested instrument, justification of need, technical expertise of individuals who will set up and run the instrument, research projects that will be benefitted by the instrument, organizational/management plan, and financial plan for long-term operation and maintenance of the instrument.
  • PI Curriculum Vitae / Biosketch
  • Budget Overview (1 page maximum): A basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed OCG budgets are not required.

To access the online application, visit:

Eligibility

Applications will be accepted for commercially available instruments only.

At least three Major Users who have substantial need for the instrument must be identified. Each of these Major Users must be a PD/PI on a distinct active NIH research award (i.e., a grant or a cooperative agreement) in an area of basic, translational, or clinical research. The requirement is one award per investigator, with more awards per investigator allowed. An award given to multi-PDs/PIs is counted only once towards the fulfillment of this requirement. NIH training or fellowship grants (i.e., T and F mechanisms), other non-research and SBIR/STTR grants, Other Transaction (OT) awards, and contracts cannot be counted towards the fulfillment of this requirement. Once the eligibility requirement of at least three Major Users with distinct NIH-funded research projects has been met, additional users with active research awards from NIH or other sources may be added as Major or Minor Users. Investigators with funding from sources such as other Federal agencies (e.g., NSF, DoE, DoD), private foundations, or academic institutions, can be added as Major Users, provided they are engaged in basic, translational or clinical research and can demonstrate a substantial need for the instrument. Major Users can be researchers from the same department or from several departments, divisions or schools at the applicant institution, or from nearby or regional institutions. In certain circumstances, as technology dictates, Major Users may come from distant institutions, but they must demonstrate the need for the instruments and describe plans for regular access to the instrument.

Limited Submission Guidelines

Only one SIFAR application per institution is allowed.

Award Information

Award Amount: $2,000,000

Expected Number of Awards: 1

Award Duration: Up to 5 years

Review Criteria

Please consider NIH’s specific as the proposal is developed. The internal review committee will use these criteria as a guide when evaluating internal proposals.