(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently announced a new competition for grants for the construction of new or expanded scientific research buildings at institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations. NIST has $50 million available for the cost-sharing grants and anticipates funding three to five projects with grants of $10 to $15 million each.
The NIST grants will fund new or expanded facilities for scientific research in fields related to measurement science, oceanography, atmospheric research, telecommunications, and the research fields of the Commerce Department’s three science agencies: NIST, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Candidate projects could include laboratories, test facilities, measurement facilities, research computing facilities, or observatories.
“Our outstanding academic and nonprofit research institutions have always been essential to the nation’s economic and competitive strength,” says NIST director Pat Gallagher. “NIST’s Construction Grant Program represents an important, long-term investment to ensure that these organizations have the state-of-art facilities needed to conduct their research.”
Grant proposals will be evaluated based on three criteria: Scientific and technical merit of the proposed use of the facility and the need for federal funding; quality of the design of the facility; and adequacy of the project management plan for construction of the facility.
Applicant organizations, which must be institutions of higher education and nonprofit science research organizations, must fund at least 20 percent of the annual project costs to meet the cost-sharing requirement.
Interested organizations must provide NIST with a letter of intent (submitted on form NIST-1102) outlining the proposed project by 3 p.m. EST, Monday, March 29. Organizations that submit timely letters of intent may then submit corresponding full proposals, which must be received by 3 p.m. EST, Monday, April 26. NIST expects to announce the awards in September.
Applicant organizations may submit letters of intent and full proposals for no more than two projects. Academic campuses within multicampus systems (those that award their own degrees, have independent administrative structures, admission policies, alumni associations, etc.) qualify as separate institutions.
Letters of intent must be submitted on paper using form NIST-1102 to:
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Construction Grant Program
100 Bureau Drive, Stop 4701,
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-4701
Attn: Anneke Tingle
Full proposals may be submitted on paper or on-line through Grants.gov.
For more information, forms and important details of the application process, see:
Founded in 1901, The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a nonregulatory federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, NIST’s mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.
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