NSF MRI — the National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation Program — is the agency’s primary mechanism for funding shared-use scientific and engineering instruments that are too expensive or too specialized for an individual research grant to cover. Where a standard NSF research award funds a specific investigator’s project, MRI funds the instrument itself: a piece of multi-user equipment that a documented group of researchers, not a single lab, will use. This guide covers what MRI funds, its three proposal tracks and dollar thresholds, who is eligible, the acquisition-versus-development distinction, cost sharing, submission limits, and the program’s current submission status.
What NSF MRI Funds
MRI exists to “increase access to multi-user scientific and engineering instrumentation for research and research training” at U.S. institutions. NSF is explicit that MRI targets instrumentation that is, in the program’s own words, “in general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs” — meaning MRI is not a substitute for equipment costs that belong in a standard project budget. It is the mechanism for the shared, high-cost instrument a whole department, center, or multi-institution group needs and will use collectively: things like mass spectrometers, NMR systems, imaging platforms, and comparable major equipment.
MRI supports two distinct kinds of proposals:
- Acquisition proposals — funding the purchase of a commercially available research instrument.
- Development proposals — funding the personnel time and component costs to build an instrument with genuinely new capabilities that does not yet exist commercially.
A proposal is one or the other, not a blend of both, and the distinction matters early because it shapes the budget narrative NSF expects: an acquisition proposal justifies vendor cost and shared demand, while a development proposal has to justify the technical approach and the novel capability being created.
The Three MRI Tracks
MRI proposals are organized into three funding tracks, distinguished by requested dollar amount from NSF:
- Track 1 — requests greater than $100,000 and less than $1,400,000. An institution may submit up to two Track 1 proposals per competition.
- Track 2 — requests of $1,400,000 up to and including $4,000,000. An institution may submit one Track 2 proposal per competition.
- Track 3 — requests of $100,000 up to $4,000,000, reserved specifically for equipment and instrumentation that conserves or reduces helium consumption. An institution may submit one Track 3 proposal per competition.
The $4,000,000 ceiling applies across the program; below $100,000, an instrumentation need generally belongs in a standard research grant budget rather than an MRI submission. These institutional submission limits are a real planning constraint, not a formality — they’re the reason most institutions run an internal down-select process before an MRI competition opens (see below).
Who Is Eligible
MRI is open to institutions of higher education and not-for-profit scientific/engineering research organizations. As with other NSF programs, the proposal is submitted by the institution on behalf of a documented group of investigator-users, not by an individual PI acting alone — MRI is explicitly framed as a capacity-building program, and NSF states it “especially seeks broad representation” of women, underrepresented minorities, persons with disabilities, and early-career investigators among the user group and proposal team. For a single institution’s applicant type, per-institution submission caps, and general federal grant mechanics, see CASRAI’s NSF grants overview.
Cost Sharing
NSF waived MRI’s cost-sharing requirement for new awards for a five-year period beginning with the FY 2023 MRI competition. Before that waiver, MRI historically required institutional cost share, and it is worth an administrator confirming the current requirement directly against the live solicitation before budgeting a proposal, since a waiver with a defined end date is exactly the kind of detail that can change between competitions.
Current Submission Status
NSF has paused new MRI submissions for an unusually long stretch. The agency announced it would not accept new proposals during the previously scheduled FY 2026 submission window (October 15 – November 14, 2025); instead, it is prioritizing funding additional meritorious proposals from the FY 2025 cohort (submitted October 15 – November 15, 2024), subject to available funds. NSF anticipates accepting new MRI proposals again during the next submission window, tentatively scheduled for October 15 – November 16, 2026. Because this status can change, a research administrator planning around MRI should confirm current solicitation status directly on NSF’s MRI program page before committing staff time or institutional cost share to a proposal.
How Institutions Typically Plan an MRI Submission
- Internal competition first. Because Track 1 is capped at two submissions and Tracks 2 and 3 at one each per institution, most research offices run an internal call and review well before NSF’s deadline to decide which instrumentation needs actually go forward.
- A real user group, not one lab’s convenience. Reviewers expect the proposal to demonstrate genuine shared demand across multiple investigators or departments, since MRI is not meant to fund equipment for a single PI’s exclusive use.
- Acquisition vs. development decided early. Confirm which proposal type applies before drafting the budget narrative — the two have materially different justification requirements.
- Cost-share status confirmed against the live solicitation. Don’t assume the FY 2023 waiver still applies to the competition you’re planning for without checking.
- Shared-access obligations planned for, not an afterthought. Like other infrastructure awards, an MRI instrument typically carries ongoing shared-use and reporting obligations once operational — plan governance and access policy at the proposal stage.
For the broader landscape MRI sits within — including NIH’s parallel Shared Instrumentation Grant (S10) mechanism, Canada’s CFI, Australia’s LIEF scheme, and UKRI capital funding — see CASRAI’s Research Infrastructure Funding guide. For core facilities that often house MRI-funded instruments, see Core Facility (Research Core). For the federal cost-allowability framework that governs how equipment costs are budgeted and charged, see Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a single investigator apply for NSF MRI funding directly?
No. MRI proposals are submitted by the institution on behalf of a documented multi-user group, not by an individual PI applying alone, because the instrument is meant to serve shared research needs rather than one lab’s use.
What is the maximum NSF MRI award?
$4,000,000, which is the ceiling for both Track 2 and Track 3. Track 1 is capped below $1,400,000.
Is cost sharing required for NSF MRI proposals?
NSF waived the cost-sharing requirement for new MRI awards for a five-year period starting with the FY 2023 competition. Confirm the current requirement against the live solicitation, since the waiver has a defined end date.
Is NSF currently accepting new MRI proposals?
Not as of this writing. NSF paused the previously scheduled FY 2026 submission window (originally October–November 2025) to prioritize funding additional proposals from the FY 2025 cohort, and anticipates reopening new submissions in the window tentatively scheduled for October 15 – November 16, 2026. Confirm current status directly with NSF before planning a submission.
What is the difference between an MRI acquisition proposal and a development proposal?
An acquisition proposal funds purchase of a commercially available instrument; a development proposal funds the personnel and component costs to build an instrument with new capabilities that doesn’t yet exist commercially. A single submission is one type or the other.
