*** REQUIRED PROCESS FOR SUBMITTING NIH SIG PROPOSALS ***



This is a limited submission initiative. Please review the Internal Proposal and review criteria listed below as well as the information about Northwestern’s Limited Submissions process and review committee at:  http://www.research.northwestern.edu/ord/funding/limited-submissions/ 



Please note that the information contained within this announcement is for internal processes only. NIH published the SIG Announcement PAR-12-017 on November 17, 2011 for submission on March 21, 2012.  



PROGRAM SYNOPSIS

The SIG program provides a cost-effective mechanism for groups of NIH-supported investigators to obtain commercially-available equipment that costs more than $100,000. Instruments in this price range are typically too expensive to be obtained through a research project grant. The maximum SIG award is $600,000. These grants cover the direct costs of the instruments; the grantee institution must meet costs for maintenance, service contracts, and technical support. Awards are for one year only and are not renewable.



SIG awards are made to domestic public and non-profit institutions, including health professional schools, graduate institutions, hospitals, health departments and research organizations. To be eligible for a SIG, an institution must identify three or more major users of the technology who are principal investigators on active NIH awards funded through the P01, R01, U01, R35, R37, DP1 or DP2 mechanisms. However, the principal investigator of the SIG itself does not have to be NIH funded.



IMPORTANT DATES

•	January 6, 2012: Internal notices of intent due

•	January 25, 2012: Internal notifications sent

•	March 21, 2012: Full proposal upload into grants.gov



Faculty interested in submitting a proposal to NIH should refer to instructions below for generating an internal notice of intent. Internal notices of intent should be sent to Rachael Yurs in the Office of Research Development at [log in to unmask]  Notices of intent are due by midnight on January 6, 2012.



INTERNAL NOTICES OF INTENT

Internal notices of intent should provide, minimally, the information requested below. A template for the formatting of the requested information in tabular form is provided in the attached word document. We strongly suggest using the template to submit your internal notice of intent. 



Required information for the internal notice of intent:



1. Principal Investigator Name



2. Model no. of the instrument requested



3. Brand name of the instrument requested



4. Description of the instrument requested (e.g., confocal microscope)



5. Brief description of the intended use of the instrument



6. Approximate cost of the instrument



7. Indication of whether the instrument will be housed in a core/shared facility



8. Indication of which core/share facility it will be housed in



9. Indication of whether the instrument requested is used for imaging



CONTACT INFORMATION

•	Philip Hockberger, OR Director of Core Facilities, [log in to unmask], 847-467-1509 or 312-503-5625

•	Fruma Yehiely, ORD Director, [log in to unmask], 847-491-1074 or 312-503-4134

•	Rachael Joy Yurs, ORD Research Administrator, [log in to unmask], 847-467-0373



PROGRAM

General information about the program is available at NIH’s website by browsing to the following URL:



http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-12-017.html  



SUPPORT PROVIDED

NCRR's Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) program supports the purchase of research equipment in the $100,000 to $600,000 price range. Examples of instrumentation supported by SIG funding include nuclear magnetic resonance systems, electron and confocal microscopes, mass spectrometers, protein and DNA sequencers, biosensors, X-ray diffractometers and cell sorters.