- Home
- SC EPSCoR Major Equipment Program
SC EPSCoR Major Equipment Program
SC EPSCoR Major Equipment Program
SC EPSCoR Solicitation Number 1-MEP2025
Introduction
The goal of the SC EPSCoR Major Equipment Program is to assist in strengthening the research infrastructure at South Carolina colleges and universities by providing funds to support the purchase of research equipment that impacts South Carolina’s research competitiveness in scholarship, research productivity, and extramural funding. The equipment may have dual (research and teaching) use. For this program, equipment is defined as a unit that has a useful life of at least five years.
The acquisition cost that can be requested under this solicitation must not be less than $15,000 or more than $50,000. For requesting a piece of equipment that costs more than $50,000, the PI must show evidence of cost-share for the amount above the $50,000 limit. The main deliverable of an award is the installation of the new equipment.
Proposals must focus on equipment that supports:
- The ADAPT in SC project. The vision of the ADAPT in SC “AI-Enabled Devices for the Advancement for Personalized and Transformative Health Care in South Carolina” is to build research capacity at the nexus of Artificial Intelligence (AI), life and social sciences, and bioengineering through fundamental research, education, workforce development, and industry engagement.
or
- The Vision 2030 SC Science and Technology Plan (S&T Plan). The S&T plan states “Future growth of science – and technology-intensive companies and industries in South Carolina requires workers with S&E (Science and Engineering) degrees (Associate through Doctoral level), especially computer science, engineering, and data science, in addition to physical and life science degrees. This requires strong K-20 STEM education, including applied experiences, for all South Carolinians to ensure a robust workforce talent pipeline”.
Proposal Content
The sections below represent the body of the proposal. Failure to submit the required sections and information will result in the proposal being declined.
1. Proposal Cover (2 Pages)
Use the Proposal Cover form in Appendix A.
2. Letter of Support from College/University Administration
Submit letter from the administration (provost or vice president for research level) indicating that the PI (and the equipment being proposed) has been selected to apply for the SC EPSCoR Major Equipment Program.
3. Project Description (Not to Exceed 5 Pages)
The following sections must be included:
a. Equipment Identification. This section should include the name of the equipment, brief description of the function of the equipment, and any other identifiers (including a photo).
b. Description of Use and Impact. Describe the research, training, and other activities that will be made possible by the acquisition of the equipment. Explain how these activities will affect the productivity and competitiveness of the researchers and students who will use the equipment.
c. Alignment. Describe how the use of the equipment will contribute to the ADAPT in SC project or the Vision 2030 – SC Science and Technology Plan.
d. Equipment Location, operation and maintenance. Explain where the equipment will be housed, how it will be operated and maintained over its lifetime, and how the maintenance costs will be covered.
e. Equipment Users. Outline who will have access to the equipment and plans for sharing it among departments, centers, institutes, schools, and colleges, as appropriate.
f. Existing Relevant Equipment. Discuss whether similar equipment is currently available at the institution. If so, justify the need for the new equipment.
4. Biographical Sketches
A biographical sketch is required for the PI and Co-PI(s) in NSF format. For more information on the NSF format, visit https://new.nsf.gov/funding/senior-personnel-documents#biographical-sketch-0bd.
5. Budget
Use the Budget form in Appendix B.
Allowable Costs
- Equipment acquisition
- Shipping and handling
- If applicable, software cost required to operate the equipment
- If applicable, initial company technical support for setup.
- Taxes
Unallowable costs (However, these costs can be part of the cost-share.)
- Equipment cost for the amount above $50,000
- Service agreements
- Expenses for technical staff
- Facility upgrades required to house or operate the equipment
- Salary
- Materials and supplies
- Travel requests
- Indirect cost
6. Budget Justification
The budget justification must be composed of no more than two pages. The budget justification must also include an explanation/justification of the cost-share funds, if any.
7. Vendor Quotes(s)
Provide three (3) vendor quotes for the equipment being requested. If the vendor quote is a sole-source quote, provide approval of the justification for a sole-source quote by the PI’s institution. Any quote submitted must only include those items allowed as listed under the Budget section (see 5 above).
8. Documentation of Cost Share
If cost-share is included in the budget, provide signed commitment letter(s) from the source(s) of the cost-share funds.
9. Letter of Support
Provide a letter of support from the head of the unit that will house the equipment. The letter should include where the equipment will be housed, a commitment to allow access and use of the equipment as identified in the proposal, and a commitment to support maintenance costs after equipment installation.
Budget Information
- The total budget requested must be between $15,000 and $50,000 per proposal. This does not include any cost-sharing funds.
- The program is a cost-reimbursement program and SC EPSCoR will reimburse paid expenses NOT incurred expenses.
- Awardees should ensure that costs claimed under SC EPSCoR Program grants are allowable, allocable, and reasonable and comply with State and college/university procurement policies.
Proposal Review Process
The proposal review process involves two stages. The first stage is administrative review to ensure all proposals that advance to the next stage are compliant with all aspects of this solicitation. Proposals that are not compliant will be declined.
The second stage of the review process involves an assessment of the proposal content and how the proposal addresses the following criteria (not in any order):
- Potential impacts resulting from the purchase of the equipment that demonstrate potential benefit to the college/university and to South Carolina
- Space, operation, and maintenance plan for the equipment
- Vendor quotes and cost-share (if any).
Award and Reporting Requirements
- No-cost extensions will only be considered in extraordinary circumstances.
- The purchase must be completed, equipment received, and all expenditures used for the purposed equipment identified in the proposal by the end of the nine-month award period.
- A final report will be due no later than 60 days after the end of the award.
- All publications (e.g., research publications, press releases, other publications or documents about the equipment funded by the SC EPSCoR Program) and presentations resulting from the SC EPSCoR Major Equipment Program are required to include an acknowledgement of SC EPSCoR Program support and a disclaimer. “Research reported in this [publication, press release, presentation] was supported in part by the SC EPSCoR Program under award number (use specific SC EPSCoR award number). The views, perspective, and content do not necessarily represent the official views of the SC EPSCoR Program.”
- The SC EPSCoR Program reserves the right to conduct site visits during the project period for evaluation and reporting purposes. Awardees are expected to provide required information and documentation to the SC EPSCoR Program staff as neede
Award Information
Funding Amount Per Project: Proposals can request no less than $15,000 but no more than $50,000. Only one piece of equipment may be requested. For equipment that costs more than $50,000, a signed letter of cost-sharing from the unit head(s) providing the cost-share must be included in the proposal.
Award Duration: 9 months
Maximum Number of Proposals per Institution: Three (3)
Number of Awards: Depends on quality of proposals and availability of funds.
Notice of Award: Projects can start as early as May 16, 2025.
Eligibility
- Tenured or tenure-track faculty and research faculty from any South Carolina college or university are eligible to serve as PIs on proposals. Postdocs, staff, and emeritus, adjunct, or visiting faculty are not eligible to serve as PIs on proposals.
- Former investigators who have defaulted on a SC EPSCoR award or are currently in default (e.g., did not submit final project reports to the SC EPSCoR State Office) are not eligible to apply.
Deadline
Full Proposal – Monday, April 7, 2025 – 5:00 PM EST
Submission Instructions
PIs should submit their proposals via the SC EPSCoR Portal at https://scepscor.org/Solicitations/portal/.
Contact Information
Megan Souter, MBA
SC EPSCoR Grants and Contracts Manager
1000 Catawba Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29201