Equipment Purchase, Restoration & Renewal Program

  1. Home ›
  2. Our Services ›
  3. Funding Opportunities ›
  4. Faculty ›
  5. Internal Grants Programs ›
  6. Equipment Purchase, Restoration & Renewal Program

The Equipment Purchase, Restoration and Renewal (EPRR) Program assists in the purchase, restoration, replacement, and renewal of facilities needed for faculty to pursue cutting-edge research, scholarship, and creative endeavor, in alignment with the overall strategic goals of the University.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: There are significant changes to this year’s EPRR Program from previous versions of this program:

Priorities and Eligibility

 

  • Proposals may be submitted to purchase new equipment, in addition to restoring or renewing existing equipment.
  • Only two types of applications will be considered for funding:
    • (1) Applications for which an application to an external funding agency to support the proposed equipment purchase has been submitted. External is defined as fiscally independent from University of Notre Dame. Examples include federal and state agencies, foundations, corporations, and non-profit organizations.
    • (2) Applications for which there exists a compelling reason why the proposed equipment is ineligible for external funding. This ineligibility must be thoroughly described in the EPRR application.
  • Applications must include a detailed quote from an external vendor for the proposed equipment and any accessories, in accordance with the proposed budget.
  • All regular, full-time University of Notre Dame faculty members are eligible to apply, including those who received an award under the previous ERR program. Please refer to this link for the Academic Articles of the University of Notre Dame – Article IV/Section 1/Subsection (a) The Regular Faculty for any questions regarding whether an appointment is considered part of the regular faculty.
  • Each faculty member may be affiliated with only one application per year, either as principal investigator (PI) or as a member of the applicant team. The PI is responsible for securing written confirmation of affiliation for each member of the applicant team prior to proposal submission.
  • In addition, each Director of University Institutes and Centers, College Institutes and Centers, Competitively Awarded Centers, Academic Support Units and Core Facilities may submit as PI one additional application on behalf of their organization. Please refer to this link for a listing of organizations that qualify for this element of the program.
  • Pending applications and concurrent submission to this program: PIs with a pending application to an external funding agency to support the proposed equipment purchase are encouraged to submit a concurrent application to the EPRR program. If the external award is secured, Notre Dame Research (NDR) will work with the PI to identify an alternative use of the EPRR award funds in alignment with this program and University policy.

Deadline

Applications for the Equipment Purchase, Restoration and Renewal Program closed on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Please check back for details about future proposal windows.

Grant Period

Funds will be available late spring following the application period and it is expected that they will be expended within a year of the start date. Funds not expended within the year will be reallocated unless an extension is requested and granted.

Proposal Format and Submission

 

Completed application must include:

  1. Cover Sheet (1 page maximum)
    • PI full name and Notre Dame email address
    • PI affiliation for purposes of the proposal: Indicate submission as (list one):
      • an Institute or Center Director, or
      • a Team Leader external to an Institute or Center Submission
    • Proposal Category 1: (list one)
      • Purchase
      • Restoration
      • Renewal
    • Proposal Category 2: (list one):
      • Applicant has Pursued External Funding, or
      • Application Inappropriate for External Funding
    • Full names and affiliations of each faculty member who has committed to using the equipment, should the proposal be funded. It is the responsibility of the PI to confirm this commitment with each affiliated faculty member prior to application submission.
  2.  Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts (2 page maximum)

    • Section I: Intellectual Merit

      • A statement of research potential, intended use of the equipment, and how the new equipment relates to current equipment in use at the University.
      • A description of the equipment.
    • Section II: Broader Impacts
      • A discussion of the shared nature of the equipment and the facility in which it is located, the involvement of graduate and undergraduate students, as well as any external partners in the research.
      • A management plan for access to and oversight of the equipment, including how costs for future repairs and service will be covered, how instrument use time will be allocated and how disputes will be resolved.
  3.  Justification for Selected Equipment and Accessories (1 page maximum)

    • For new equipment purchase applications: Describe why the selected equipment (and any accessories) was selected versus available alternatives. If no comparable alternative equipment is available, compare the selected equipment to the next most comparable equipment. This justification should include brief descriptions of up to five externally funded research projects that will be most positively impacted by this purchase. For each, include the sponsor name, grant title, PI name, and start/end dates.

      For equipment restoration and renewal applications: Describe why the existing equipment requires upgrading or replacement. This justification should include brief descriptions of up to five externally funded research projects that will be most positively impacted by this restoration/renewal. For each, include the sponsor name, grant title, PI name, and start/end dates.

       

  4. Justification of Support from EPRR Program (1 page maximum)
    • Provide either:
      • A summary of attempts to secure external funding. For each submission, include:

        • Date of proposal submission

        • Proposal title

        • PI name

        • Funding agency

        • Funding program (e.g., MRI, S10)

        • Current status (Pending or Unfunded)

      • A justification for why seeking external funding is inappropriate for the proposed equipment
  5. Budget
    • Please use the provided EPRR Budget Template (Excel) spreadsheet to prepare the budget and insert a PDF version as Section 5 in the overall PDF submission.
  6. Appendix (required; no page limit)

    • Only three types of information can be included in the appendix:

      1. Dated, itemized quote(s) from the vendor(s) of the proposed equipment and any accessories, consistent with the proposed budget.

      2. Feedback received on external proposal submission. This typically includes reviewer summary statements and/or written feedback (e.g., email) from a program officer.

      3. (optional) If a cost share is available to partially defray the cost of the equipment, please include documentation supporting this commitment.

Final Report

All internal grant awardees are required to complete a short final report. Please download the report template as a Word document.

Previous Awardees

Need More Information?

For information on the EPRR program, or the Internal Grants in general, please contact intprogs@nd.edu.