Resources Q & A

Is funding available for instruments that are too expensive to be covered by a single researcher’s grant money?

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You can write a grant for a specific (big) equipment, and funding in the range of US$ 100,000 for a well-justified purchase is not unusual. Equipment more expensive than this can also be obtained more quickly through the department or institution as part of a facility. Most agencies will permit an equipment grant to be submitted as a multi-investigator grant, for example, flow cytometry, mass spec, high-end imaging etc, which are to be used as core facilities. Often the Institute will get a group of investigators together to write such a grant and to justify it with many lines of research. There are also "Center of Excellence" grants that can be obtained for specific advanced technologies. These tend to be a combination of mid-level and senior researchers rather than entry-level, but there are many exceptions, and it is Institute specific. If you require a particular/uncommon and expensive facility, you should discuss this at the time of your application. Often, that will mean bringing in a new type of expertise which can be an advantage. The mechanism for getting equipment is a bit different than in the US, but broadly speaking, equipment money is NOT the limiting factor in setting up a successful lab in India. [What are the limiting factors? Foreign travel funds and getting your consumables orders in at the frequency you need. See the relevant Q&As!]