The Equipment Restoration and Renewal (ERR) program assists in the restoration, replacement, and renewal of the facilities needed for faculty research, scholarship, and creative endeavor. 

Priorities

Proposals that complement current or recent efforts to secure equipment funding from external sources, such as the NSF Major Research Instrumentation or NIH Shared Instrumentation grants programs, are encouraged.

Eligibility

The following categories are eligible to apply for this program:

  • Full-time University of Notre Dame faculty members (including teaching and research faculty, research faculty, library faculty, and professors of the practice) who have not received an award as the lead principal investigator of a funded project under this program in the last five years may submit a proposal.
  • Directors of Centers and Institutes may submit one proposal with the Director as lead principal investigator.

Note: Principal investigators should be associated with a single submission as lead or key personnel.

Budget Requests

The following are allowable budget requests:

  • Costs to restore or replace research equipment, including the purchase of new or additional equipment that restores, replaces, or enhances an existing facility, are eligible.

The following are unallowable budget requests:

  • General purpose computer equipment or software.
  • Items intended solely for undergraduate instruction.
  • Non-equipment items, although cost share support for associated expenses is allowable.
  • Office equipment.
  • Restoration of equipment not owned by the University.
  • Renovation of facilities.

Deadline

We are not currently accepting submissions at this time. Please check back.

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 Submissions

Interested applicants should write the proposal in clear, non-technical language for a general audience. The review panel is likely to contain a broad representation from across the University.

Each proposal must include the following items in the order listed:

  1. Cover page with following information: Name of Lead Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigators, Department/Center/Institute affiliation, Phone, Email, Proposal Title, and designation as an ERR.

  2. Description of the proposed project (four pages 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 oversight and sustainability of the equipment.

Section III: Budget Details

  • Budget: Include vendor information and estimated equipment costs. Funds for installation and extended warranties are allowed but facility renovation costs cannot be included. 

  • Budget Justification

    • What was the original source of the funding for the equipment being replaced/restored?

    • What efforts have been made to secure outside funds for restoration/renewal? Please submit reviewer comments on external proposals, if any.

3. Current curriculum vitae (two pages maximum) for each faculty member listed on the cover sheet as an investigator.

The submission should be uploaded in a single PDF document with naming convention of “<PI NAME>_ERR Proposal_<YEAR>.pdf” to this Google Form. Proposals that do not comply with format and content guidelines may be rejected without review.

SUBMIT PROPOSAL

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 ERR program, or the Internal Grants in general, please contact intprogs@nd.edu.