Funding for many American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) (see IBO 4/30/09, 6/15/09) programs has been disbursed for almost six months now, but much of the money for many instrument- and facilities-specific programs has only begun to be released in the past few months. Instrument companies have reported moderate spikes in 2009 sales due to global stimulus funding, and are anticipating further sales in 2010 and 2011. Thermo Fisher Scientific expects $50–$150 million in global stimulus-related revenues in 2010, with a majority of such sales coming from the US market. About $50 million of the company’s 2009 revenues resulted from stimulus-related sales, a majority of which came from Japan and China. Life Technologies reported that the company recorded about $50 million in stimulus revenue in the second half of 2009 and expects total sales of more than $100 million related to stimulus funding. Illumina received $16 million in stimulus-related orders during the fourth quarter of 2009 and expects more than $100 million in total stimulus-related revenue. At the start of 2010, Bruker reported that it received more than $70 million from global stimulus-related orders during the second half of 2009 (see IBO 1/15/10). Life Technologies, Illumina and Bruker all stated that they expect to receive increased levels of stimulus orders in 2010 due to the ARRA. This article looks at the current state of money disbursed under instrument- and facilities-specific grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The NIH, which received the largest amount of ARRA funding for research, has the most funding available for instrument purchases and facilities construction. The NIH’s National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) coordinates four ARRA grants that directly fund instrument purchases and new facilities. According to the NCRR, most awards for these four grants are expected to be disbursed by July and will definitely be funded by September 30. Money for all four of these grants must be spent within two years.

The ARRA has boosted funding for established and new NCRR grants that are related to instruments. The Shared Instrumentation Grant Program (SIG) is an established NCRR mechanism for funding research instrument purchases that received extra funding from the ARRA. The new, one-time High End Instrumentation Grants Program (HIG) is funded by the ARRA. Three hundred million dollars has been allotted to purchasing instruments with NCRR grants. A majority of the $300 million will be used to fund these two instrument grants, with the remainder going to two NCRR facilities grants (see below).

The ARRA provided additional funding to the SIG fiscal 2010 budget of $60 million. The SIG allows for the purchase of instruments that will be used by three or more researchers and cost between $100,000 and $500,000. The program began disbursing funds in November 2009, but a majority of funding was released in January and February. As of February 25, 83 grants totaling $29.6 million have been funded. Instruments purchased range from calorimeters to Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEMs). The two types of instruments that have been purchased most frequently with SIGs are flow cytometers and in-vivo animal imagers, as each separately make up about 16% of the instruments purchased thus far. The types of flow cytometers purchased cover a large range, and include compact cytometers, larger multi-laser cytometers and cytometers with imaging capabilities. The flow cytometers and in-vivo animal imagers purchased both required funding between $400,000 and $500,000. Becton Dickinson’s FACSAria II cell sorter and Caliper Life Sciences’ IVIS Spectrum in vivo imager are currently the two most popular products purchased with SIGs.

Funding for the NCRR’s HIG, which supports the purchase of high-cost laboratory equipment, has been rolling out since December 2009. The program allows for the purchase of instruments that cost between $600,000 and $8 million. Six grants totaling $10.4 million have been awarded under this mechanism as of February 25. Instruments purchased run the gamut from electron paramagnetic spectrometers to dual-beam SEMs. Much like the SIG, the most popular instruments purchased so far for the HIG are flow cytometers, with two purchased for around $900,000 each.

The NCRR also coordinates two one-time ARRA grants for construction: the Extramural Research Facilities Improvement Program (ERFIP) and the Core Facilities Renovation, Repair and Improvement Program (CFRRIP). The programs share $1 billion in total NCRR construction funding. Equipment can be purchased through the two construction programs. High-technology instruments built into facilities can be purchased through the ERFIP grant, and laboratory equipment can be purchased under the CFRRIP grant. The remainder of the $300 million in NCRR instrumentation monies is being used to fund the purchase of such instruments and equipment. Funding for the ERFIP started to be disbursed in January. The CFRRIP, which funds small lab renovations costing between $1 million and $10 million, has yet to award funds.

The ERFIP provides funding for major facilities renovations that cost between $2 million and $15 million at universities and institutes. As of February 25, 16 ERFIP projects have been approved with total funding of $150.4 million. These renovations include transformations of existing space, facilities expansions and the reconfiguration of lab spaces. For example, George Washington University received $15 million to transform unused space into a 25,000-square-foot research facility for neglected diseases. In addition to supporting renovation, a small number of ERFIP grants support the construction of new laboratories. For example, the University of Maryland plans to construct a 25,800-square-foot infectious disease lab. This lab received $14.5 million from the ERFIP and will house a Biosafety Level-2 (BSL-2), BSL-3 laboratory and an animal BSL-3 laboratory.

The NSF is also using ARRA funds to support the purchase of instruments and construction of facilities. Its Major Research Instrumentation Grant Program (MRI-R2) provides funding for the purchase or development of instruments, while its Academic Research Enhancement Award Program (ARI-R2) funds the renovation or construction of new facilities. Both mechanisms are not new, but are fully funded by the ARRA.

The $200 million MRI-R2 program began disbursing funds in January. The NSF expects all program funding to be released by the end of March. Grants of up to $6 million can be used to purchase instruments under this mechanism. Thus far, 30.4% of the program’s funding has been disbursed through 113 grants. Instruments to be purchased with funds include laser ablation systems, high-throughput crystallization instruments, MS systems and NMRs. A number of types of microscopes will also be purchased with this grant’s funding, including confocal and atomic force microscopes and SEMs.

Funds for the NSF’s $200 million ARI-R2 have yet to be disbursed, but the NSF expects money to be released between April 1 and September 30. The ARI-R2 allows for grants of up to $10 million for the renovation and reconstruction of facilities engaged in research in line with the NSF’s goals. The NSF expects that projects funded will take between seven months to upwards of two years to be completed.

The NIST Construction Research Facilities Program (CRF) was created under the ARRA. The $360 million program funds renovation and construction projects at NIST facilities and universities that the NIST could not previously fund. Of the $180 million in CRF funds set aside for a one-time competitive construction program, 99% has been disbursed. The competitive construction funds will been used to help build 16 research facilities at universities and one nonprofit research facility. Facilities that received funding will conduct geochemistry, biotechnology and nanotechnology-related research. For example, the University of Pittsburgh received $15 million for a 27,000-square-foot Nanoscience and Experimental Physics Laboratory and the University of Kentucky received $11.8 million for the construction of its 36,000-square-foot Center for Applied Energy Research Laboratory to conduct research on biomass development. The NIST has yet to release information regarding the remaining CRF funds.