Demand management
Demand management is being applied to this funding opportunity. Further details are provided in the ‘who can apply’ section.
Scope
The primary purpose of the equipment must be biomedical research.
Applications from all scientific areas within MRC remit are eligible. Relevance to MRC priority areas is particularly encouraged.
Applications may be for new capability or replacement equipment for existing capability. In the case of the latter, applications are encouraged to outline any additional new capacity or capability provided by the replacement.
Applications for second-hand or beta-testing equipment are also permitted, if you can demonstrate how you are addressing any associated risks with increased chance of equipment failure.
Requests for contributions to the following are outside the scope of this UKRI funding opportunity:
- very large facilities
- the purchase of equipment that constitutes normal elements of a well-founded laboratory (including centrifuges, fridges and other sample storage, and incubators)
- buildings and other types of infrastructures
- establishment of generic departmental computing platforms (for example, high performance computing clusters) for data analysis or data storage
Applications must consist of a single piece of capital equipment, although this can include equipment that requires assembly or involves several components (not necessarily physically linked) provided they constitute a single technology platform.
If you plan to request several components that could constitute a platform, it is important that you approach MRC for permission before submission ca@mrc.ukri.org providing a short one page document outlining how your proposal constitutes a single platform.
Duration
We expect awards to be up to seven months in duration, with an end date of 31 December 2027.
Funding available
The FEC of your project can be up to £1 million.
MRC will fund 100% of the FEC.
What we will fund
Applications may seek the cost of capital equipment over £200,000, including VAT, if payable, requested under the ‘Exceptions – equipment’ heading only.
You must obtain quotes for the equipment, from multiple suppliers where possible, and use these as the basis for your costings. The panel will generally expect that you should not use list prices where discounts are typically available. By obtaining quotes you will be able to ensure that your costings are accurate, realistic and present good value for money for the requested equipment.
Costs such as initial installation or service maintenance contracts can be included if they are one-off costs and part of the manufacturer’s offer. These costs should be included in the equipment quotation. Service maintenance contracts up to five years in duration may be included.
What we will not fund
We will reject applications in certain areas without consultation, these are:
- applications that request any other costs apart from capital equipment funding
- equipment requested valued below the £200,000 (VAT included) threshold. Equipment should exceed this threshold and equipment prices should be based on standard higher education institution discounted prices not the list price
- proposals that cannot complete by the expected end date of 31 December 2027
- requests for funding for equipment that is scheduled for market release after the opportunity closing date
- principal beneficiaries outside the UK (except for eligible MRC units in Africa)
- principal beneficiaries outside biomedical research
- establishment of generic computing platforms (for example, high performance computing clusters) when the intended use extends largely beyond a small number of specific projects or research areas that are within the MRC remit
- requests for contributions to very large facilities or to the purchase of equipment that constitutes normal elements of a well-founded laboratory (for example, centrifuges, fridges and incubators), or for buildings and other types of infrastructures
- applications for the development of new technology, these are outside of the scope of this funding opportunity, although the use of new or emerging technologies is encouraged
- applications to develop software packages
- applications of the same nature that at the same time have also been submitted to other award schemes, including research council funding opportunities
- unsolicited resubmissions of applications that have previously been considered by MRC or any other funder
