Feasibility Studies to Build Collaborative Partnerships in Cancer Research (P20 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 22 239

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 22 239

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is offering a P20 planning grant opportunity called "Feasibility Studies to Build Collaborative Partnerships in Cancer Research (P20 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (PAR-22-239). The program is built around one central idea: helping institutions that serve underserved health disparity populations and educate underrepresented students (referred to as ISUPS) form strong, structured partnerships with NCI-designated Cancer Centers (or Cancer Centers with highly integrated cancer research programs). Rather than funding large, mature research programs right away, this FOA focuses on the early, practical work needed to design, organize, and launch collaborations that can grow into competitive, long-term cancer research and cancer research training efforts.

The FOA is designed to support planning and early execution of focused joint activities across partner institutions. It emphasizes collaborative cancer-related research, research experiences, and research education. A key feature is the ability for partnered teams to conduct cancer research pilot projects and run a cancer research education program. These are intended to be feasible, targeted efforts that generate preliminary data and proof-of-concept outcomes. The expectation is that, by the end of the planning grant period, the partnership will be positioned to submit stronger, more competitive applications for additional funding from NIH/NCI or from other federal and non-federal sources. In other words, this award is meant to help teams move from an idea for collaboration to an organized partnership with early results that can support larger grant proposals.

This opportunity is explicitly not for clinical trials, as reflected in the title and the "Clinical Trial Not Allowed" designation. That generally means the supported research and pilot studies must be structured so they do not meet NIH definitions of a clinical trial, keeping the work on pre-clinical, translational (without clinical trial elements), population, basic, or other non-trial research and education activities that still advance cancer research capacity and partnership goals.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and includes many types of government entities, higher education institutions, nonprofits, and some for-profit entities. The source information lists eligible applicants such as state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations (including those other than federally recognized governments); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (outside of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other applicants. The FOA also highlights specific categories often aligned with the ISUPS focus and community reach, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs). It also notes that eligible applicants can include faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions, reflecting an interest in partnerships that can reach and benefit underserved communities.

At the same time, the FOA places clear limits on foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, and foreign components (as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. In practice, this means the applicant organization and supported components of the project must be U.S.-based, and the partnership structure should be built accordingly.

From an administrative perspective, this is a discretionary grant funded by the National Institutes of Health, with NCI as the sponsoring institute. The activity aligns with education and health objectives and is associated with CFDA number 93.398. The posted award ceiling in the provided data is $375,000. The original closing date listed is 2023-01-06, and the record creation date is 2022-10-26, which is helpful for understanding timing and for verifying whether later reissues or updated due dates exist for similar partnership initiatives.

Overall, this FOA supports the groundwork needed to build durable cancer research partnerships that connect NCI-designated Cancer Centers with institutions serving underserved populations and training underrepresented students. The main deliverables are collaborative pilot research and research education activities that produce preliminary data, strengthen investigator capacity, and set up the partnership to compete successfully for larger NIH/NCI or other funding in the next stage.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Feasibility Studies to Build Collaborative Partnerships in Cancer Research (P20 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.398.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-10-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-01-06. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $375,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for PAR 22 239

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