In an effort to assist UAB investigators in submitting competitive and successful NSF MRI grants (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23519/nsf23519.htm), a pre-submission and review process is being instituted for the 2023-24 cycle. This process replicates what has been used successfully for S10 grants from NIH at UAB. The goal is to assist investigators in proposal development as well as obtaining institutional support. The process will include a letter of intent followed by a merit-based assessment of each project. The process is as follows:

Letter of Intent Components (2-Pages + Table):

• PI:
• NSF Track Choice: Track 1 ($100K to $1.4M) OR Track 2 ($1.4M to $4M)
• Application Working Title:
• Instrument location and type, or very brief (1-2 sentences) development plan description:
• Summary of instrument needs and users:
• Summary of broader impacts:
• Summary of management plan (Instrument in a core facility or other model):
• Proposed Users Table including School/College, Department, and grants the instrument would support:

The IRCP Director, Mike Bertram and AVP for Research Infrastructure, David Schwebel will be available until the LOI deadline for consultation and assistance with LOI materials development.

LOI’s should be submitted to Mike Bertram by 5:00 PM on August 11, 2023: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The LOIs will be reviewed for merit by the Institutional Research Core Oversight Committee consisting of broad representation from across the UAB campus, VA Hospital and UWIRCs.

Selected projects will work with the IRCP director and Associate Vice President for Research-Facilities and Infrastructure to identify and garner any needed Letters of Support along with resource commitments.

Each application will be required to go through the TIG consultants review by September 29, 2023.