health · HHS-NIH11

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

National Institutes of Health · PAR-27-022

682 days left

Award Range

$300K – $5.0M

Deadline

July 1, 2028

GRANTQUICK SUMMARYPlain-English Overview

NIH's Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) Program funds expensive research equipment ($300K-$5M) that will be shared among multiple NIH-funded investigators. Unlike the Seed program (for instruments you don't have), SIG can fund upgrades, replacements, OR new high-end instruments. This is the go-to program for major equipment purchases — mass specs, cryo-EM, MRI systems, high-throughput sequencers, etc. Must demonstrate 3+ NIH-funded major users.

Who Should Apply

Research universities and medical centers with groups of NIH-funded investigators who need expensive shared equipment. Best for institutions with strong NIH portfolios where multiple labs need the same high-end instrument.

Who Should NOT Apply

Institutions with few NIH-funded investigators, individual PIs wanting personal equipment, foreign organizations, or institutions that can't demonstrate high utilization of the requested instrument.

Key Requirements (Plain English)

•Must be a group of NIH-funded investigators (minimum 3 major users)
•Instrument must be $300K-$5M (commercially available)
•Must be shared optimally among users for efficient research operations
•Must demonstrate rigorous and reproducible research needs
•Foreign organizations ineligible
•No cost-sharing required

💡 GrantQuick Tip

SIG is intensely competitive at the high end ($1M+) but very achievable in the $300K-$800K range. The secret: reviewers care most about (1) strength and diversity of the user group, (2) how much the instrument will be used (show a utilization schedule), and (3) institutional commitment to maintenance and staffing. Include a realistic service plan showing who will maintain the instrument and how operating costs will be covered after the grant ends. NIH hates funding expensive instruments that sit idle.

Competitiveness: Moderate-high — rolling deadline, but limited annual budget. Applications for instruments with 5+ strong NIH-funded users and clear institutional support have the best odds.

What This Grant Funds

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announces the restructured Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) Program that consolidates three existing shared-use instrumentation programs, i.e., the Shared Instrumentation Grant program, the High-End Instrumentation Grant program, and the Basic Instrumentation Grant program. The NOFO invites applications from groups of NIH-supported investigators to purchase or upgrade a single state-of-the-art commercially available instrument or an integrated instrumentation system. The instruments purchased through the SIG Program are required to be optimally shared among the users to ensure efficient and cost-effective research operations, enable rigorous and reproducible measurements, and encourage collaborative research and benefit broad research communities at large. The minimum award is $300,000. There is no cap on the total cost of the instrument; however, the maximum award is $5,000,000. Cost sharing is required for premium instruments or special use instruments.

Attachments

PDF

PAR-27-022-Full-Announcement.html

Who Can Apply

Refer to Section III. Eligibility Information in the NOFO for additional information on eligibility.Foreign Organizations/Foreign Collaborations:Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

Eligible Applicant Types

Private Colleges & UniversitiesSpecial District Governments501(c)(3) NonprofitsNonprofits without 501(c)(3)County GovernmentsIndependent School DistrictsOther Tribal OrganizationsState GovernmentsCity/Township GovernmentsOther (see NOFO for details)Public And Indian Housing AuthoritiesFor-Profit OrganizationsFederally Recognized Tribal GovernmentsSmall BusinessesPublic Colleges & Universities

Funding Details

Minimum Award: $300K
Maximum Award: $5.0M
Cost Sharing Required?: No
Funding Instrument: grant

Key Dates

Posted: June 25, 2026

Application Deadline: July 1, 2028 (682 days remaining)

Agency Contact

Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) odsig@mail.nih.gov

odsig@mail.nih.gov

Ready to apply?

View the full NOFO and submit your application on Grants.gov

View on Grants.gov