FSE small capital investment
(“small-cap”) program
The FSE Office of Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORIEN) is committed to maintaining and advancing the College’s research activities and, through this program, will co-invest—with faculty and the Schools—in small-cap projects to do so.
Small-cap projects cost between $10,000 and $100,000 (though larger investments may be considered in exceptional cases), are related to advancing FSE research, and are not allowable costs on an active grant or upcoming proposal; representative small-cap projects include lab modifications (e.g., HVAC and/or electrical upgrades), lab furniture and fixtures, and select pieces of equipment.
Projects that cost less than $10,000 should be funded by the faculty or School and are not eligible for the small-cap program. Such projects should be reviewed with the School Director.
Projects related to instructional spaces, projects that are not investments in physical or software infrastructure, and projects that are associated with a bond-funded construction project (e.g., a new faculty lab) are also not eligible for the small-cap program.
Funding from faculty and School
The small-cap program is a co-investment by ORIEN with the faculty and Schools. If particular faculty members will benefit from the project, the expectation is that they contribute (from a local account) towards funding.
The combined contribution from the faculty and School is expected to be 50% of the project cost for projects less than $50,000; smaller percentage contributions may be considered for projects larger than $50,000 but may render the application less competitive.
In all cases, the split between faculty and School should be decided at the School level, and thus it is mandatory that the project requestor speak with the School Director prior to application submission.
Funding from ORIEN
For approved projects, ORIEN will fund the amount not covered by the faculty and School. This is expected to be 50% for projects less than $50,000, and it may be a greater percentage for larger projects.
Any member of a School—e.g., a faculty member, the School’s Space Coordinator, or the School Director—may complete the small-cap application below.
Upon submission, the application will be routed to the School Director for preliminary approval and then to ORIEN for final review and approval.
After a small-cap request is received, the submitter(s) may be contacted by ORIEN with questions or requests for additional details.
Proposed small-cap projects will be reviewed for:
(i) Compliance with the eligibility criteria described above.
(ii) Committed co-investment from the School and faculty, as appropriate.
(iii) Alignment with FSE research impact themes and strategic plans.
Submitters will receive a notification if their request is approved for ORIEN funding support.
ORIEN's approval notification will include instructions on the financial process for splitting the project cost among the corresponding parties.
Depending on the scope of the project, ORIEN's facilities team assist with space coordination and project management support.
School director will be the first level of approval for this request.
PLEASE DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU DO NOT HAVE APPROVAL FROM YOUR DIRECTOR
If you have a joint appointment, please select the school that will be providing funding support for this request.
What do you want to buy or accomplish? (Note: if the project will add equipment to a Core Facility, please indicate that here.)
Why is this project necessary?
Please list the names of the faculty or others who this project will serve.
You can add multiple buildings and room numbers if applicable.
Please make sure all project costs, including installation if equipment, are included, as follow-on requests for the same project are unlikely to be supported.
If you need assistance, please contact your School's Facilities Manager or Space Coordinator.
Provide documentation to back up the total project cost. Attach a quotation (e.g., from an equipment or fixture vendor), estimate (e.g., from ASU Facilities Management) or document explaining how you produced the estimate.
If so, please detail what these are, how much they will be, and how they will be funded.
If not applicable, please write N/A. Note: Any contributions listed here will be taken as a firm commitment.