Greetings,
We are excited to share this limited submission opportunity from the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF's Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program supports requests for up to $4 million for the development or acquisition of multi-user research instruments that are critical to the advancement of science and engineering. Please note that NSF has not yet officially announced its next application cycle for the MRI program. In preparation for a potential new Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) funding solicitation with a Fall 2026 submission window, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) has decided to proceed with an internal competition. This internal competition is based upon the most recent MRI solicitation. If NSF publishes a FY27 solicitation with major changes, the OVPR may edit and/or update questions within the internal pre-proposal. The final FY27 internal timeline will depend upon NSF's application deadline. We will send an update upon NSF's publication of a new solicitation. Harvard may put forward up to four applications for this funding opportunity, as lead institution OR as part of a consortium. Given the program's requirements for institutional support, prospective applicants are asked to contact the following individuals to discuss their request before submitting an internal pre-proposal: Sarah Elwell, FAS Science Associate Dean for Research or David Hwang, SEAS Dean for Research. More information about the award and the internal selection process can be found in the synopsis and links below. For a full list of currently open opportunities that have been announced through our office, please visit our Current Opportunities web page. As a reminder, our Research Development team is available to provide proposal development support to FAS ladder faculty.
- Harvard Pre-Proposal Deadline: October 4, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET
- OSP Deadline, if selected: TBA
Departments or areas may require additional time for proposal review and submission. Please discuss a timeline with your departmental or FORA grants administrator.
- Sponsor Deadline, if selected: TBA
- Award Amount: See below for information on the program's tracks. Proposers should request an award period of 36 months for all acquisition proposals and up to 60 months for development proposals.
Cost sharing requirements for new awards in this year's MRI Program are expected to be waived. Consistent with the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, this waiver covers a period of five years, beginning with the FY 2023 MRI competition. Please note that inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.
Program Overview
NSF's Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program serves to increase access to multi-user scientific and engineering instrumentation for research and research training in U.S. institutions of higher education and not-for-profit scientific/engineering research organizations. An MRI award supports the acquisition of a multi-user research instrument that is commercially available through direct purchase from a vendor, or for the personnel costs and equipment that are required for the development of an instrument with new capabilities, thereby advancing instrumentation capabilities and enhancing expertise for instrument design and fabrication at academic institutions. MRI instruments are, in general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs. Applicant organizations must commit to ensuring successful operations and maintenance over the expected lifetime of the instrument.
The MRI program accepts proposals in the following three tracks. Applicant organizations may submit
no more than two submissions in Track 1, no more than one submission in Track 2, and no more than one submission in Track 3, for a maximum of four proposals total as lead institution OR as part of a consortium. Please note that NSF has not yet officially announced its next application cycle for the MRI program. In preparation for a potential new Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) funding solicitation with a Fall 2026 submission window, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) has decided to proceed with an internal competition. This internal competition is based upon the most recent MRI solicitation. If NSF publishes a FY27 solicitation with major changes, the OVPR may edit and/or update questions within the internal pre-proposal. The final FY27 internal timeline will depend upon NSF's application deadline.
- Track 1: Track 1 MRI proposals are those that request funds from NSF greater than $100,000 and less than $1,400,000. Track 1 proposals requesting funds from NSF less than $100,000 will be accepted only from: a) eligible performing organizations requesting instrumentation supporting research in the disciplines of mathematics or social, behavioral and economic sciences; or b) non-Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education requesting instrumentation supporting research in any NSF-supported disciplines.
- Track 2: Track 2 MRI proposals are those that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $1,400,000 up to and including $4,000,000.
- Track 3: Track 3 MRI proposals are those that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $100,000 and less than or equal to $4,000,000 that include the purchase, installation, operation, and maintenance of equipment and instrumentation to conserve or reduce the consumption of helium.
Eligibility Criteria
- Proposals may be submitted by organizations including institutions of higher education and non-profit research institutes located in the United States, its territories or possessions.
- Legally incorporated, not-for-profit consortia that include two or more submission-eligible organizations may submit proposals on behalf of the consortium.
- Submission-eligible organizations may submit, as part of their limit, proposals on behalf of consortia. These applications must identify both a PI and co-PI(s) from at least two MRI submission-eligible organizations as lead investigators in the consortium.
- For-profit commercial organizations, especially U.S. small businesses with strong capabilities in scientific or engineering research or education, are eligible for instrument development support through subawards/subcontracts as private sector partners with submitting organizations; they may not submit proposals.
- An unfunded collaboration does not count against the submission limit.
- Inclusion as a funded subawardee on a development proposal at a level in excess of 20% of the total budget requested from NSF, or as a funded subawardee, when allowed, on any acquisition proposal, will be counted against an organization's proposal submission limit.
- Separately submitted linked collaborative proposals count against the submission limit of each of the submitting organizations. However, if a subaward to an organization in a development proposal is 20% or less of the proposal's total budget request from NSF, the subawardee's submission limit will not be affected. For subawards within a linked collaborative proposal, the 20% threshold applies to the budget request from NSF in the proposal containing the subaward(s), not to the combined budget request from NSF for the collaborative project.
Harvard Pre-Proposal Materials
- Type of Proposal
- Use by Harvard University only (Lead) or
- Harvard as sub-awardee within a multi-institution consortium. If part of a consortium, additional questions will follow.
- Name of proposed instrument
- Track selection (1, 2, or 3)
- Total funding requested
- Country where the instrument was made. If the instrument was not made in America, and the proposal is selected for nomination, the NSF could request justification for purchase.
- Please indicate whether the instrument includes a magnet
- Please describe the anticipated location of the instrument (core facility, building, room, etc.)
- Please list any additional costs associated with the requested instrumentation and the source of funds which will be used to cover those expenses:
- Renovation of space needed to accommodate the equipment or instrument
- Research computing resources, including data storage costs
- Operating costs (maintenance and service contracts, repairs, etc.)
- Proposal overview (2 page maximum)
- PI CV
- Co-PI CV, as applicable
- Attestation. Acknowledgement that the PI has notified the relevant school Administrator of their intent to submit an internal pre-proposal.
Limited Submission Details
This is a limited submission opportunity and Harvard may submit up to four applications as the lead institution OR as part of a consortium, pursuant to the limits by track listed above. Please carefully review the requirements for proposals submitted by consortia or collaborative groups. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research will conduct an internal competition to select Harvard’s nominees. To be considered for a Harvard nomination, potential applicants must submit an internal pre-proposal by 11:59 PM on October 4, 2026, via the link above.
Before submitting an internal pre-proposal, prospective applicants are asked to contact the following individuals to discuss their request:
Again, please note that NSF has not yet officially announced its next application cycle for the MRI program. In preparation for a potential new Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) funding solicitation with a Fall 2026 submission window, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) has decided to proceed with an internal competition. This internal competition is based upon the most recent MRI solicitation. If NSF publishes a FY27 solicitation with major changes, the OVPR may edit and/or update questions within the internal pre-proposal. The final FY27 internal timeline will depend upon NSF's application deadline.
Additional Information and Resources
Applicants are encouraged to review informational slides from 2025, a recorded presentation from the most recent MRI application cycle, and recent awards made through this program.
We will send an update to this message upon NSF's publication of a new solicitation.
Approximately $75M is anticipated to support 100 awards, with roughly 1/4 of the available MRI funding expected to support Track 2 awards and up to 1/3 of the MRI awards expected to support instrument development in either track. The anticipated earliest starting date for an award is six months after the proposal's submission. The number of anticipated awards is subject to change pending a FY27 solicitation.
Questions from FAS or SEAS faculty about this opportunity may be directed to FAS Research Development.
Requests for support related to the application portal may be directed to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research. |
