Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) Program (S10 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

The Shared Instrumentation Grant Program is administered by the National Institutes of Health, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that supports biomedical and public health research across the United States. This funding opportunity represents a restructured program that consolidates several prior NIH instrumentation initiatives into a single mechanism designed to enhance research capacity through shared access to advanced scientific equipment. The program aligns with NIH’s broader mission to support rigorous, reproducible research and foster collaboration among investigators. The primary purpose of this grant is to provide funding to groups of NIH-supported investigators for the acquisition or upgrade of a single, state-of-the-art, commercially available instrument or an integrated instrumentation system. These instruments are intended to support cutting-edge biomedical, behavioral, or clinical research and must be shared among multiple users. The program emphasizes efficient utilization, broad accessibility, and collaborative usage to maximize the scientific return on investment and strengthen institutional research infrastructure. Funding through this opportunity ranges from a minimum of 300000 to a maximum of 5000000 per award. While there is no stated cap on the total cost of the instrument itself, the NIH contribution cannot exceed the award ceiling. The program specifies that cost sharing may be required in cases involving premium or specialized instruments, indicating that applicants may need to supplement federal funds depending on the equipment requested. Funds are intended strictly for the purchase or upgrade of instrumentation and associated components, and not for general operational or personnel costs. Eligibility for this program is broad and includes a wide range of domestic entities such as state and local governments, tribal governments and organizations, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, school districts, and for-profit entities including small businesses. However, foreign organizations and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are explicitly excluded. Applicants must represent groups of NIH-supported investigators, reinforcing the collaborative and shared-use requirement central to the program’s design. The application process requires submission through NIH’s standard grant application mechanisms, typically via Grants.gov, and must comply with all requirements outlined in the full Notice of Funding Opportunity. Applications must clearly demonstrate the need for the requested instrument, the anticipated user base, plans for shared access, and the scientific impact of the equipment. Review criteria generally focus on the merit of the proposed research supported by the instrument, the justification for the equipment, the management plan for shared usage, and the institutional commitment to maintaining the instrument. The opportunity was posted on June 25, 2026, and remains open until July 1, 2028, indicating a multi-year submission window. There are no stated pre-application requirements such as letters of intent in the provided summary. The program appears to operate on a recurring basis as part of NIH’s ongoing infrastructure support initiatives, although specific cycles or review dates are not detailed in the synopsis. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs for assistance or clarification during the application process.

Emphasize shared usage across multiple NIH-supported investigators and clearly justify the scientific need and collaborative benefit of the requested instrument