Research Grants
The bread and butter of NIH funding, and the core of your prospecting pipeline.
Research Project Grant
The workhorse grant. Multi-year (3-5 years), typically $250K-$500K/year in direct costs. Funds a specific research project.
This is where most major equipment purchases happen. Watch for Year 1 awards (startup buying) and renewals (upgrading aging gear). A new R01 in your territory is a warm lead.
Exploratory / Developmental Research Grant
Smaller, shorter grants for pilot studies. Basically testing a new idea before going for the R01.
Don't expect a big equipment purchase here, but pay attention to what they're working on. An R21 in single-cell sequencing today often turns into an R01 with a sequencer purchase 18 months later.
Small Research Grant
Very small grants for narrow, well-defined projects. Often just data analysis, no wet lab work.
Skip these unless the PI also holds bigger grants. Almost never leads to equipment purchases.
Outstanding Investigator Award (MIRA)
Big, flexible, long-term funding for established investigators. Replaces multiple R01s with one larger award.
Big budgets, long timelines, and the PI has flexibility to buy equipment without tying it to a specific aim. These are well-funded labs that are actively making purchasing decisions.
Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA)
For smaller schools that don't get much NIH funding. The whole point is to boost their research capacity.
These schools are usually underequipped, which is good news for you. R15 grants frequently include equipment line items because the institution doesn't already own what's needed.
SBIR / STTR
Industry and startup grants. These are fast-moving buyers building out their first labs.
SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research)
R43 is Phase I (feasibility, ~$150K over 6-12 months). R44 is Phase II (full development, up to $1M over 2 years).
Biotech startups building out their first labs. Phase II companies are often buying their first major instruments. Great leads because startups buy fast and don't have legacy vendor relationships.
STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer)
Same idea as SBIR but requires a university partner.
Same equipment signals as SBIR. Just figure out whether the equipment is going to the academic lab or the company, because that changes who you're selling to.
Program & Center Grants
Big money. Multi-project grants that fund core facilities and shared equipment.
Research Program Project Grant
Multi-project grants with shared cores. Big collaborative efforts, often $1M+/year.
P01s fund core facilities and shared equipment. If a P01 includes a microscopy core, you could be looking at a multi-instrument deal.
Center Core Grant
Supports shared resources and core facilities at an institution.
Directly funds core labs. These are the grants behind the $500K confocal or the $2M cryo-EM purchase.
Exploratory Grants (COBRE / IDeA)
NIH program to build research capacity at institutions in states that historically get less NIH funding (IDeA states).
These grants exist to equip labs in underserved states. If you cover an IDeA state (WV, KY, NE, NM, etc.), P20s are gold. They're literally buying equipment to get these labs off the ground.
Cooperative Agreements
Like research grants but with substantial NIH involvement. Budgets tend to be bigger.
Research Project Cooperative Agreement
Like an R01 but NIH is more hands-on with the research direction.
Similar equipment purchasing patterns to R01s. Budgets are often bigger because of the collaborative setup.
Specialized Center Cooperative Agreement
Big center-scale cooperative agreements, often spanning multiple institutions.
Big budgets, core facilities, shared equipment purchases. Think of these as P30s with even more NIH oversight.
Training & Fellowship Grants
Lower priority for equipment sales. These fund people, not labs.
Institutional Training Grant
Funds training programs for grad students and postdocs at an institution.
These fund training, not equipment. Low priority for prospecting.
Individual Fellowships
Predoctoral (F31) and postdoctoral (F32) fellowships for individual researchers.
These fund people, not labs. Almost never involve equipment purchases. Skip them.
Career Development Awards (K01, K08, K23, K99/R00)
Career development awards that give junior faculty protected research time and a small budget.
Small budgets, mostly for salary support. Once in a while they'll buy a small piece of equipment, but don't build your pipeline around these.
Equipment-Specific Grants
Your favorite grants. These exist specifically to buy instruments.
Shared Instrumentation Grant
THE equipment grant. Explicitly funds one piece of shared equipment costing $50K-$600K.
This is basically a purchase order with NIH funding attached. If an S10 gets awarded in your territory, someone is buying exactly one major instrument. The abstract usually names what it is.
High-End Instrumentation (HEI) Grant
The bigger version of S10. For instruments costing $600K+.
Cryo-EMs, high-end mass specs, advanced imaging systems. These are the whale deals. If you see one, drop everything and call.
Construction Grant
Funds facility construction and renovation at research institutions.
New building going up? Every lab in it will need equipment. Get in early.
Quick Reference Table
| Grant Type | Typical Budget | Equipment Signal | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| R01 | $250–500K/yr | High | Primary |
| R21 | $275K total | Moderate | Watch list |
| R35 (MIRA) | $750K/yr | Very High | Primary |
| R15 (AREA) | $300K total | Good | Primary |
| R43/R44 (SBIR) | $150K–$1M | High (startups) | Primary |
| P01 | $1M+/yr | High (cores) | Primary |
| P30 | Varies | Very High (cores) | Primary |
| S10/S10OD | $50K–$2M+ | Guaranteed | Immediate |
| U01 | Varies | Good | Secondary |
| T32/F31/F32 | N/A | Low | Skip |
| K Awards | Small | Low | Skip |
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