Instrumentation Grant Program for Resource-Limited Institutions

The National Institutes of Health, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has announced a forecasted opportunity titled Instrumentation Grant Program for Resource-Limited Institutions under opportunity number PAR-26-034. This program is designed to strengthen biomedical research and research training capacity by supporting the purchase of modern scientific instruments. It specifically targets institutions that have historically had limited success in securing NIH Research Project Grant funding, thereby addressing inequities in research infrastructure. The grant is discretionary in nature and falls under the funding activity category of Health, with the assistance listing number 93.859 for Biomedical Research and Research Training. It is intended to allow eligible institutions to acquire critical instrumentation that can significantly enhance research productivity, educational training, and competitiveness for future NIH support. The acquisition of advanced equipment is expected to enable faculty and students at these institutions to expand their research capabilities and better contribute to the biomedical research ecosystem. Eligibility for the program includes public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status, provided they are not institutions of higher education. This broad eligibility framework allows a wide range of academic and nonprofit organizations to apply, but applicants must demonstrate that they qualify as resource-limited institutions in the context of NIH funding. Specific additional conditions for eligibility are not provided in the forecast notice and would need to be verified once the official Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is released. The timeline for the grant is outlined with an estimated post date of April 8, 2026, and an application due date of July 2, 2026. Awards are expected to be announced on April 1, 2027, with projects starting on the same date. As the opportunity is currently in forecast status, these dates are subject to confirmation in the final published NOFO. No pre-application deadlines, such as letters of intent or concept papers, are specified in the current forecast. The program is expected to recur in future cycles, but no explicit recurrence pattern is identified in the notice. The forecasted notice does not provide details regarding award ceilings, floors, or total program funding. It also does not specify the expected number of awards. Similarly, there are no details about cost limitations, specific evaluation criteria, or reporting requirements included at this stage. However, it is explicitly stated that there is no cost-sharing or matching requirement for this program. These details will become available in the full application guidance once posted. Applicants interested in this funding opportunity should plan to review the final announcement once released and prepare to submit applications through Grants.gov by the indicated deadline. For questions regarding the opportunity, the grantor contact is Dorothy Beckett, Ph.D., who can be reached by email at dorothy.beckett@nih.gov or by phone at 301-827-7616. Additional documentation, application instructions, and eligibility clarifications are expected to be released closer to the posting date in April 2026.