Equipment Grants Program (EGP)

What is this program?

EPG provides eligible institutions with an opportunity to acquire one major piece of equipment/instrument that supports their fundamental and/or applied research goals and may be too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NIFA grant programs.

Managing USDA Agency	Type of Assistance	Who Should Apply	Learn More
National Institute of Food & Agriculture (NIFA)	Grant: Award amount is a minimum of $25,001 and a maximum of $500,000	Colleges, Universities	Visit

How can I use this program?

This program can be used to acquire:

A single, well-integrated piece of equipment/instrument. Well-integrated means that the ensemble of equipment that defines the instrument enables specific fundamental or applied research experiments in the food and agricultural sciences.
Instrument acquired must be fully operational by the end of award period.

Who or what is eligible and what are the eligibility requirements?

Eligible Colleges or Universities

See definitions of each eligible entity.

Ineligible types of equipment/instruments:

Research project costs, personnel salaries or wages
Research, Education or Extension projects directly
Common, general purpose ancillary equipment that would normally be found in a laboratory or is relatively easily procured
The installation, training, operation, consumable supplies, insurance, or maintenance of facilities, equipment, or research laboratories, or renovation of facilities that house the acquired equipment
The acquisition of a suite of instruments to outfit research laboratories/facilities

Are there any deadlines?

Subscribe to updates on grants.gov to receive notices for the next round of applications.

Is there anything else I should know?

Only two proposals total are allowed per eligible institution.
The grant duration is 48 months.
Applicants should demonstrate institutions’ commitment to maintaining and operating the instrument for the benefit of a community of users engaged in research, training, and/or Extension.