Opportunity Information: Apply for 13 561
Apply for 13 561
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Instrument Development for Biological Research" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.074 Biological Sciences.
- This funding opportunity was created on Aug 8, 2015 and posted on May 2, 2013.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 29, 2016. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $4,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 17 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- Who May Submit Proposals Proposals may only be submitted by the following Non profit, non academic organizations Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities. Universities and Colleges Universities and two and four year colleges (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in, the US acting on behalf of their faculty members. Such organizations also are referred to as academic in Consortia of only the eligible organizations listed here. Separately submitted collaborative proposals from the eligible organizations will also be accepted. Organizations ineligible to submit to this program solicitation may not receive subawards. Who May Serve as PI None specified
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Opportunity Summary:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Instrument Development for Biological Research (IDBR) program is a grant opportunity aimed at creating and spreading new research instruments that fill clear, demonstrated needs in biological research areas supported by NSF Biology. The central idea is not just to build a clever prototype for one lab, but to develop instrumentation that can be produced and distributed so a broad biology community can use it. The program encourages teams that cross disciplinary lines (for example, biologists working with engineers, physicists, chemists, or computer scientists) and it also strongly encourages partnerships with U.S. industry when those partnerships will help move the technology out of the development stage and into practical, wide adoption, including commercialization and knowledge transfer.
IDBR supports two main proposal tracks. Type A, called Innovation proposals, focuses on developing genuinely new instruments that open up research capabilities that do not currently exist, or on substantially advancing existing technologies. When the proposal is about improving an existing approach rather than inventing something entirely new, NSF is looking for a major leap: roughly an order-of-magnitude improvement in core performance or usability measures such as accuracy, precision, resolution, throughput, flexibility, breadth of application, cost to build or operate, or overall user friendliness. Type B, called Bridging proposals, is geared toward taking a one-of-a-kind prototype or specialized high-end instrument and turning it into a tool that can be broadly used and obtained by the community without sacrificing what makes it powerful. For Bridging projects, the emphasis is on the transition from bespoke or rare hardware to something that is realistically deployable at scale. NSF notes that, if broad distribution will require additional support beyond an IDBR award, teams should consider follow-on mechanisms such as the SBIR/STTR programs (or similar pathways) to help implement commercialization or large-scale dissemination.
The program is explicit about what it does not fund, and these boundaries matter. IDBR is not meant to pay for access to a single instrument housed in a shared facility, nor is it intended to fund the purchase or use of an existing instrument to generate data; proposals centered on user facility access or data collection should go to other programs. It also does not support projects whose primary effect is to enhance capabilities mainly for a specific lab, institution, center, or consortium. In other words, the target is community-scale impact through widely distributed technology, not local capacity-building. Likewise, proposals focused only on methods, assays, or software are not eligible unless those elements are integrated as part of instrument development and testing (for example, embedded control software that is necessary for the instrument to function and be validated).
Proposals are evaluated using NSF's standard merit review criteria, and IDBR adds track-specific considerations. For Type A Innovation proposals, reviewers additionally weigh the strength of the need and the likely impact on biological research, the novelty of the device (or a clear case that it beats existing tools by about 10x on fundamental metrics), the feasibility and credibility of the technical plan, and the dissemination strategy, including how the biological user community is involved. For Type B Bridging proposals, reviewers focus on how large the potential user community is and how convincingly the need is demonstrated, along with the feasibility of the engineering and development plan and the quality of the dissemination plan that will make the technology broadly available and genuinely usable by others.
From the administrative details provided, this is a discretionary NSF grant program in the Biological Sciences (CFDA 47.074). At the time of the posting summarized here, NSF anticipated about 17 awards with an estimated total funding amount of around $4,000,000, and there was no cost-sharing requirement. The solicitation listed recurring annual deadlines (noted as the last Friday in July, for the years indicated in the source text). Eligible applicants include U.S.-based accredited universities and colleges, and certain U.S. non-profit non-academic organizations tied to education or research activities (such as independent museums, observatories, research labs, and professional societies), as well as consortia composed only of these eligible organization types; separately submitted collaborative proposals among eligible entities are also allowed. The opportunity is associated with NSF publication 13-561 and is administered by the National Science Foundation.
NSF IDBR (Instrument Development for Biological Research) - FAQs
1. What is the NSF Instrument Development for Biological Research (IDBR) program?
IDBR is a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant program that supports the creation and dissemination of new research instruments that address clear, demonstrated needs in biological research areas supported by NSF Biology. The emphasis is on developing instrumentation that can be produced and distributed so it can be used by a broad biology community, not just a single lab.
2. What is the main goal of IDBR funding?
The main goal is community-scale impact: developing instruments that are realistically usable, obtainable, and adoptable by many researchers. IDBR is not intended to fund a clever one-off prototype for a single lab; it is intended to move instrumentation toward broad use and distribution.
3. What kinds of teams does IDBR encourage?
IDBR encourages cross-disciplinary teams, such as biologists collaborating with engineers, physicists, chemists, and/or computer scientists, when those partnerships strengthen instrument development and adoption.
4. Does IDBR encourage partnerships with U.S. industry?
Yes. The program strongly encourages partnerships with U.S. industry when those relationships will help transition the instrument from development into practical wide adoption, including commercialization and knowledge transfer.
5. What are the two IDBR proposal tracks?
IDBR supports two proposal tracks:
- Type A (Innovation proposals): Develop genuinely new instruments or substantially advance existing technologies.
- Type B (Bridging proposals): Transition a one-of-a-kind prototype or specialized high-end instrument into something broadly obtainable and usable by the community.
6. What counts as an Innovation (Type A) proposal?
Type A proposals focus on developing genuinely new instruments that enable research capabilities that do not currently exist, or on substantially advancing existing technologies.
7. If we are improving an existing instrument or approach, how big does the improvement need to be for Type A?
NSF is looking for a major leap rather than incremental improvements. The guidance given is roughly an order-of-magnitude (about 10x) improvement in core performance or usability measures, such as accuracy, precision, resolution, throughput, flexibility, breadth of application, cost to build or operate, or overall user friendliness.
8. What counts as a Bridging (Type B) proposal?
Type B proposals focus on taking a bespoke, one-of-a-kind prototype or a specialized high-end instrument and turning it into a tool that can be broadly used and obtained by the community without losing what makes it powerful. The emphasis is on moving from rare/specialized hardware to realistic, scalable deployment.
9. What if broad distribution or commercialization will require funding beyond an IDBR award?
NSF notes that teams should consider follow-on mechanisms such as the SBIR/STTR programs (or similar pathways) to help implement commercialization or large-scale dissemination if additional support will be needed beyond the IDBR award.
10. Does IDBR fund access to a single instrument housed in a shared facility?
No. IDBR is not intended to pay for access to a single instrument housed in a shared facility. Proposals centered on user facility access should be directed to other programs.
11. Does IDBR fund the purchase or use of an existing instrument to generate data?
No. IDBR does not support proposals that primarily purchase or use an existing instrument to generate data. Projects centered on data collection using existing tools should go to other programs.
12. Can an IDBR proposal focus on enhancing capabilities mainly for one lab, institution, center, or consortium?
No. The program does not support projects whose primary effect is to enhance capabilities mainly for a specific lab, institution, center, or consortium. IDBR targets broad distribution and community-scale impact rather than local capacity-building.
13. Are software-only, assay-only, or methods-only proposals eligible for IDBR?
No, not by themselves. Proposals focused only on methods, assays, or software are not eligible unless those elements are integrated as part of instrument development and testing. An example given is embedded control software that is required for the instrument to function and be validated.
14. How are IDBR proposals reviewed?
Proposals are evaluated using NSF's standard merit review criteria, with additional track-specific considerations for Type A and Type B proposals.
15. What additional considerations apply to Type A (Innovation) proposals?
For Type A proposals, reviewers additionally consider:
- The strength of the need and likely impact on biological research
- The novelty of the device, or a clear case that it outperforms existing tools by about 10x on fundamental metrics
- The feasibility and credibility of the technical plan
- The dissemination strategy, including how the biological user community is involved
16. What additional considerations apply to Type B (Bridging) proposals?
For Type B proposals, reviewers focus on:
- How large the potential user community is and how convincingly the need is demonstrated
- The feasibility of the engineering and development plan
- The quality of the dissemination plan to make the technology broadly available and genuinely usable by others
17. What agency administers the IDBR program?
The program is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
18. What NSF publication is associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity is associated with NSF publication 13-561.
19. What is the CFDA number listed for this program?
The administrative details provided list the program in the Biological Sciences under CFDA 47.074.
20. How many awards and how much total funding were anticipated in the summarized posting?
NSF anticipated about 17 awards with an estimated total funding amount of around $4,000,000 at the time of the posting summarized here.
21. Is cost sharing required for IDBR?
No cost-sharing requirement was stated in the summarized administrative details.
22. When are proposals due?
The solicitation described recurring annual deadlines, noted as the last Friday in July (for the years indicated in the source text).
23. Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants include:
- U.S.-based accredited universities and colleges
- Certain U.S. non-profit, non-academic organizations associated with education or research activities (examples listed include independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, and professional societies)
- Consortia composed only of these eligible organization types
24. Are collaborative proposals allowed?
Yes. Separately submitted collaborative proposals among eligible entities are allowed, and consortia composed only of eligible organization types are also eligible.
25. What makes an IDBR project a good fit, based on the boundaries stated?
A good fit is an instrument development effort that fills a clear need in NSF Biology-supported research, includes a credible plan to develop and validate the technology, and includes a strong dissemination strategy so the resulting instrument can be broadly distributed and used by the wider biology community rather than mainly benefiting a local facility or single institution.
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