Safety and Environment Related Minor Capital Improvements (SERMCI)

ELIGIBILITY

Any division, department or other office on the CSM campus may submit a SERMCI proposal.  Proposals submitted by offices that are not State funded must be limited to improvements to State owned property.  Proposals from State funded offices may be related to any aspect of their operation.

SERMCI funds are intended for projects with an intermediate cost ($1,000 - $10,000)  which clearly enhance safety or environmental protection at CSM.  Examples of previously funded projects are:

Equipment or projects costing less than $1,000 are considered to be incidental operating expenses and should be funded through an organizational unit’s budget.  Consequently items such as first aid kits, safety glasses, etc. are not normally eligible for SERMCI funding.  Bundling  a number of unrelated small items into a single proposal with a price tag of more than $1,000 does not enhance eligibility.

Proposals for projects of more than $10,000 are too burdensome for funding by the SERMCI Program.  These kinds of acquisitions or projects should be funded as institutional capital improvements.   In some instances,  SERMCI money has been used to supplement other sources of funding in order to implement larger projects, but only where the other funding had been clearly identified and the SERMCI share did not exceed the $10,000 limit.

Equipment or facility upgrades related to safety or compliance with environmental regulations for specific research contracts should be included in the operating budgets for those contracts.  SERMCI funds are not intended to supplement funding for future research or provide equipment or facilities to attract new research.  Needs related to specific research projects that could have easily been anticipated prior to start-up are not eligible for SERMCI funding.

SUMMARY  ELIGIBILITY  PROPOSALS  PROCEDURES  IMPLEMENTATION   SCHEDULE  AWARDS