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Limited Submission Call for Notice of Intent: NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program

This is a call to COAS and COEN faculty to submit Notices of Intent (NOIs) for the National Science Foundation MRI program.

Three (3) submissions per institution are allowed. This includes submission as a lead organization, non-lead organization, or subawardee on any proposal. Proposals may be for instrument acquisition or instrument development.

  • No more than two Track 1 proposals of at least $100,000 but less than $1M
  • No more than one Track 2 proposal of at least $1M up to a maximum of $4M

NOIs must be submitted to your respective Dean’s Office by 5:00 PM Friday, September 25, 2020.

About the NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program

The NSF MRI Program supports the acquisition or development of a multi-user research instrument that is, in general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs. The Program focuses on multi-user/shared instrumentation that often supports research needs across disciplinary boundaries. An instrument acquired or developed with support from the MRI Program is expected to be operational by the end of the award period to enable the research/research training activities committed to in the proposal.

IMPORTANT: Boise State is now designated as a PhD granting institution and must provide 30% cost share based on total project cost. The Office of Sponsored Programs pre-award staff is available to assist you with budget development, including guidance about allowable cost share expenses.

Link to MRI program page & current RFP:  https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5260

NOI Instructions

The NOI should be a maximum of three pages of narrative and one budget page, and include the following:

Cover Page (does not count toward 3 page limit)

  • Title
  • Key Personnel
  • Track (track I or II)
  • Acquisition or Development

Budget (1 page)

  • Salaries and wages, fringe benefits, instrumentation, etc. Include cost share amount and a brief description of any space requirements or other university resources that may be associated with the proposed project. OSP Pre-Award staff will assist with the budget. Please send an email to preaward@boisestate.edu and a Research Administrator will be assigned.

Narrative (no more than 3 pages)

  • Intellectual merit
  • Broader impacts
  • The extent to which the proposed project will make a substantial improvement in the organization’s capabilities to conduct leading-edge research, to provide research experiences for undergraduate students using leading-edge capabilities, and to broaden the participation in science and engineering research (especially as lead PIs) by women, underrepresented minorities, persons with disabilities and/or early-career investigators.

ACQUISITION proposals:

  • The extent to which the instrument is used for multi-user, shared-use research and/or research training.
  • Whether the management plan demonstrates sufficient commitment and technical expertise for effective scheduling and usage of the instrument.
  • The organization’s commitment to ensuring successful operations and maintenance over the expected lifetime of the instrument.
  • Whether the research to be enabled is compelling and justifies the instrument request.
  • Whether the budget request is appropriate and well justified.
  • For instrument acquisition proposals of $1 million or above, the potential impact of the instrument on the research community of interest at the regional or national level, if appropriate.
  • If student involvement is in the form of direct support for operations and maintenance of the instrument, reviewers will be asked to evaluate the involvement in terms of both instrument needs and the training of the next generation of instrumentalists.

DEVELOPMENT proposals:

  • The appropriateness of submission as a development proposal.
  • The need for development of a new instrument. Will the proposed instrument enable enhanced performance over existing instruments, or new types of measurement or information gathering? Is there a strong need for the new instrument in the larger user community to advance new frontiers of research?
  • The adequacy of the project’s management plan. Does the plan have a realistic schedule that is described in sufficient detail to be assessed? Are mechanisms described to mitigate and deal with potential risks?
  • The availability of appropriate technical expertise to design and construct the instrument.
  • The appropriateness of the cost of the new technology.
  • If student involvement is in the form of direct support for operations and maintenance of the instrument, reviewers will be asked to evaluate the involvement in terms of both instrument needs and the training of the next generation of instrumentalists.

The Deans and the VP DoRED will notify PIs by October 16 whether their NOI is selected to develop a full proposal. Full proposals are due to NSF January 1-January 19, 2021.