Equipment Grants Program | USDA NIFA OP 008139

Equipment Grants Program (EGP) - FAQs

What is the USDA NIFA Equipment Grants Program (EGP)?

The Equipment Grants Program (EGP) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) that helps eligible institutions improve research capacity in the food and agricultural sciences by purchasing a single major, shared-use piece of specialized equipment or an instrument.

What is the main purpose of EGP funding?

The program is intended to strengthen and broaden fundamental and applied research capacity and to support related training and extension goals by making high-cost or otherwise hard-to-fund equipment available for multiple users.

Is EGP meant to fund a specific research project?

No. EGP is focused on research infrastructure improvement rather than supporting a specific research project. The emphasis is on how one major equipment purchase expands institutional capability across multiple programs, labs, or user groups.

What type of equipment does EGP support?

EGP supports the purchase of a single major, shared-use piece of specialized equipment or an instrument. In practice, the program targets special-purpose, higher-end equipment that meaningfully upgrades an institution's research infrastructure and is shared across users rather than dedicated to one investigator.

Does EGP allow purchasing multiple instruments or a suite of equipment?

No. The program avoids funding packages or suites of equipment intended to outfit an entire lab or to enable multiple independent experiments to run simultaneously. The focus is on a single major equipment purchase.

What will EGP not fund?

EGP does not fund research projects themselves (even if the purchased equipment would be used in the project). It also does not pay for operating or maintaining facilities.

Will EGP fund common or general-purpose lab items?

No. The solicitation excludes common, general-purpose items that most laboratories would normally have, as well as equipment that is relatively easy for an organization to procure through other means.

Who is eligible to apply for EGP?

Eligibility is limited to specific institution types defined in federal statute (7 U.S.C. 3103). Eligible applicants include accredited, public or other nonprofit colleges and universities (and their associated research foundations) that provide education beyond secondary school and award bachelor's degrees or higher.

Which State Cooperative Institutions are included as eligible applicants?

The eligibility list includes State Cooperative Institutions such as 1862 and 1890 land-grant universities, State-certified schools of forestry under the McIntire-Stennis Act, State Agricultural Experiment Stations under the Hatch Act, and cooperative extension services established under the Smith-Lever Act.

Are veterinary medicine schools eligible?

Yes. Accredited veterinary medicine schools or qualified experiment stations conducting animal health and disease research under relevant federal authority are included in the eligible institution types described.

Are Hispanic-serving institutions eligible?

Yes. Hispanic-serving institutions, as defined in federal education law, are included among eligible applicants.

Are institutions in insular areas eligible?

Yes. Eligible insular areas include Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

What is the maximum award amount under this opportunity?

The award ceiling is up to $500,000.

What are the identifying numbers for this funding opportunity?

The funding opportunity title is Equipment Grants Program. The funding opportunity number is USDA NIFA OP 008139. The CFDA number is 10.519.

Which agency administers the EGP opportunity?

The opportunity is administered by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture funding activity category.

How many applications can an institution submit as a lead applicant?

There is an institutional submission cap: no more than three applications may be submitted to the program from an eligible lead institution.

What are the key compliance and submission requirements highlighted in the solicitation?

The solicitation emphasizes strict compliance and screening. Applications must be submitted on time by an eligible institution and must follow the required content and formatting rules in the RFA, including page limits and required forms. All files must be submitted in PDF format.

What happens if an application fails a screening requirement?

Applications that fail any screening requirement are returned without review.

Can a returned application be revised and resubmitted under the same solicitation?

No. Returned applications cannot be resubmitted under the same solicitation, even if revised.

Are there restrictions on the budget request?

Yes. The budget request must fit within the dollar ranges specified in the RFA.

What was the closing date listed for the referenced posting?

The original closing date listed for the referenced posting was March 16, 2021.

What kind of institutional justification is the program best suited for?

The program is best suited for institutions that can clearly show how a single major equipment purchase will expand capability across several programs, laboratories, or user groups, supporting shared access and broader capacity rather than a single-investigator need.