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No, we don’t currently have the capacity to offer training or technical assistance within the Instrumental Access program. Awardees are solely responsible for equipment set-up, calibration, service, maintenance, and repair.

For videos of lab tips and tricks that may be of interest, please see our TeleScience platform.

The timing of our shipments depends almost entirely on the timing of an individual awardee’s equipment selection slot.

We typically assign slots 6-12 months in advance, but it’s possible for this interval to be longer or shorter.

We ship the equipment out as soon as possible after equipment selection is complete, payment is received, all of the required paperwork has been filed, and the shipment has been picked and packed up at our warehouse.

Awardees typically receive their equipment 2-5 months after it leaves our warehouse, with variation based on distance and shipping schedules. Once the container is in transit, we will provide you with updates from the freight forwarder.

You can expect to hear if your application has been selected to advance to the interview round by about 1 month after the nearest application deadline at the time you submit. All applicants will be notified of their status at that time.

If you are invited to move to Phase II (interviews), we will provide additional information about decision timing.

Yes, our application and selection processes changed substantially in 2020.

These changes include a new, streamlined application form and a very different process for approving awardees.

Instead of accepting annual cohorts, we will now accept and vet applicants on a rolling basis, assigning approved candidates to specific program slots as they become available.

There are a number of reasons for the changes, but the most important one is that we wanted to make the process easier, clearer, and fairer for our applicants.

We need to get to know you, but we also want to be respectful of your time. We also wanted to shorten the timeline between acceptance to the program and equipment selection to make it easier for applicants to plan.

We hope you’ll agree that the new process is an improvement. However, we welcome additional feedback. If you want to tell us how we’re doing, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Unfortunately, no. The program fee is mandatory and covers a significant portion of our operating costs. We rely on these funds as a part of our annual budget and would not be able to keep the program running without them. We do not have additional funds available to subsidize these costs or additional resources to help you raise funds.

Our policies don’t prohibit this, but the timing of the program cycle makes it very difficult to meet the requirements of most external funders.

Specifically, we cannot provide a letter of support promising to work with you until you have been accepted to the program, which will not be possible until you have already identified a source of funding.

In addition, most external funders will want to know the contents of your shipment before they commit to funding it, but this isn’t how the program works. The contents of your shipment won’t be known until after you have completed equipment selection.

Please contact us at [email protected] to discuss your plans before taking any public action that directly involves Seeding Labs, such as crowdfunding using our name or logo.

We invoice for the program fee when you begin selecting equipment. Payment is due at the end of the selection period, just prior to shipment.

So, yes, the contents of the shipment will be known before payment is due, and there will be an opportunity for your institution to review the list to ensure that the program can provide you with sufficient value. If you are not satisfied at that point, you will have the right to withhold payment.

However, please note that the interval of time between when your shipment contents are finalized and when payment is due will not be long enough to navigate a protracted approval or application process. If the contents of your shipment must be known before the money for the program fee can be allocated, Instrumental Access will probably not be a good fit for your institution.

We can’t say for sure, as every country has its own customs and import regulations.

Many countries do offer waivers from customs duties that apply to Instrumental Access shipments, generally because they are donations intended for educational and/or research purposes. If this type of waiver is available to you, we will work with your institution to provide a donation letter and other documentation you need to apply for it.

We recommend that you check with your institution’s procurement office or other expert in your country for more specific advice about the regulations that may apply to your situation.

Yes. The total amount of equipment that each awardee can select is limited by two constraints:

1. Volume. No awardee can select more items than will fit into a 20-foot shipping container; and
2. Points. Briefly, we assign a “points” value to each item in our inventory based on our typical supply and demand, as well as its monetary value. For example, a case of consumables or glassware, might be valued at 5-10 points, while an HPLC system might be 500. Each awardee gets the same allocation of points to shop with. The purpose of this system is to ensure equal access and avoid depletion of our inventory.

No. We do not provide lists of this kind because our inventory changes frequently as equipment donations are received and shipments to other awardees are fulfilled.

What we have in the warehouse right now is not what will be available to select during your window (unless you’re selecting right now!), nor is it necessarily representative of what is “usually” available.

Yes. For illustrative purposes only, here are some sample shipments:

• Sample biology teaching shipment
• Sample health sciences shipment
• Sample pharmacy shipment

It depends. If the donor provides us with a paper copy of the manual, we’ll include it in the shipment.

In addition, we will also compile and share electronic copies or links to the relevant manuals for the items in your shipment if available.

We carry insurance against any loss or damage that may occur during the shipping process. This type of damage should be reported within 10 days of receipt of the shipment so that we can file a claim.

Yes, you can participate, although you should budget for some additional costs associated with getting the shipment to you from the nearest ocean port.

If selected, we would work with you to identify the best option for your particular situation and location.

Possibly. We’ll do our best to accommodate your preferences, with the understanding that you will be responsible for any costs in excess of the best rates that our freight forwarders can provide.

If you choose to arrange and pay for your own international freight, we can offer a small discount to the program fee.

Please note that air freight is likely to be prohibitively expensive given the weight and volume of a typical shipment.

Possibly. If you are accepted to the program, we may be able to accept the items as a donation to Seeding Labs and then include them in your shipment. However, there may be some legal and practical constraints that we would need to discuss in more detail.

Yes, this can typically be arranged as long as we have sufficient notice.

Access to our warehouse has recently been limited in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we don’t expect the restrictions to be permanent.

We’ll be glad to host you if we can.

One of our core beliefs at Seeding Labs is that talent exists everywhere and everyone should have access to the tools of modern science.

However, as a US-based NGO, we are bound by US export law, which places a few limits on where we are allowed to operate.

Specifically, comprehensive sanctions prohibit us from shipping to the following countries:

• Burma
• Cuba
• Iran
• Iraq
• North Korea
• Russian Federation
• Syria
• Venezuela

We review the list of excluded countries annually, and our goal is always to move towards greater inclusiveness if at all possible.

No. Seeding Labs recognizes that valid needs for equipment may exist in other places, but Instrumental Access operates in the eligible countries only.

Yes. We will accept separate applications from multiple departments at the same university. Each application will be assessed individually. If successful, multiple applications would result in multiple shipments with the university paying a separate program fee for each shipment.

We will also consider accepting a single joint application from multiple departments if there is a collaborative effort and a compelling reason why that would be the best option for your situation. Applicants wishing to submit a joint application should email us with a brief description of their situation to request pre-approval.

Yes. You may apply again as long as your institution remains eligible under the current guidelines and you have sufficient additional need. Your application should include a clear explanation of your rationale for re-applying.

No. Individuals, lab groups, and research projects are not eligible to apply on their own.

An application can only be submitted by and on behalf of an eligible subdivision (usually an academic department), and it must be clear that the benefits would extend beyond a single individual, research group, or project.

Probably not. For efficiency, we ship full containers, not individual items.

Furthermore, the more specific your needs are, the less likely it is that we’ll have on hand exactly what you’re looking for when it’s your turn to select.

Instrumental Access is the best fit for awardees with diverse needs who can make use of what we can provide: an entire container full of equipment and supplies.