Revision Applications to National Cancer Institute (NCI)-supported P50 Awards to Include Research on the NCI's Provocative Questions (P50) | RFA CA 17 022

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 17 022

This funding opportunity (RFA-CA-17-022) comes from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), specifically the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and it is designed for a very specific audience: organizations that already hold an active NCI-funded P50 Specialized Center award. Rather than supporting brand-new center grants, the FOA invites revision applications (often called competitive revisions) that add a new, clearly defined research project to an existing P50. The central goal is to push established NCI Specialized Centers to take on high-impact, conceptually bold problems aligned with the NCI "Provocative Questions" (PQs), while still keeping the added work integrated with the parent center’s overall scientific theme and structure.

The scientific focus is narrowly targeted to one of 12 Provocative Questions highlighted by NCI and previously published for the broader community under two related PQ solicitations (RFA-CA-17-017 for R01-type projects and RFA-CA-17-018 for R21-type projects). In practical terms, applicants are expected to pick a single PQ area and propose a new project that directly addresses it. The FOA also makes room for work that goes beyond first-pass discovery: it encourages studies that validate outcomes from PQ-driven research and efforts that help move PQ findings into use, including adoption and dissemination of results that could meaningfully affect cancer research directions or clinical care. The revision is therefore not meant to be a minor add-on; it is meant to expand the center’s scope with a substantive new line of investigation tied to the PQ framework and aligned with the center’s established mission.

Because this is a revision to an existing center, the proposed research must be both additive and integrated. “Additive” means it should represent a new research project rather than a simple extension of ongoing aims, routine supplementation of existing cores, or incremental work that does not materially change what the center can do. “Integrated” means it should fit within, and strengthen, the overall theme of the parent P50, leveraging the center environment, expertise, and shared infrastructure in a way that makes the whole larger than the sum of the parts. The FOA’s framing implies NCI is looking for centers to use their mature collaborative ecosystems to tackle PQs efficiently and credibly, including multi-disciplinary approaches and translational pathways where appropriate.

Eligibility follows the usual broad NIH institutional categories but is constrained by the key requirement that the applicant must already be a currently funded NCI P50 Specialized Center. Within that constraint, a wide range of organizations may be involved or represented, including state, local, and tribal governments (including federally recognized tribes), public and private institutions of higher education, independent school districts, special district governments, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, and nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status. It also allows participation by for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses, as well as other eligible entities. The FOA explicitly calls out additional institution types and community-serving organizations as eligible or relevant participants, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, Indian/Native American Tribal Governments that are not federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions. This emphasis signals NCI interest in broad institutional participation and potentially wider reach for PQ-related findings.

The FOA draws a clear line on foreign eligibility. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations and foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. At the same time, it allows “foreign components” as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, meaning a U.S. applicant can include certain foreign collaborations or performance sites when justified and when they meet NIH policy requirements. In other words, the grant remains U.S.-led and U.S.-administered, but it can incorporate specific international elements if they are scientifically necessary and compliant.

From an administrative standpoint, the award mechanism is a grant, and the funding activity is categorized under education and health, with CFDA numbers listed as 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, and 93.399, which correspond to NCI/NIH assistance listings for cancer-related programs. The opportunity’s original closing date is January 23, 2018, and the opportunity record shows an award ceiling of $150,000. The posting (creation) date is March 13, 2017. While the number of expected awards is not specified in the provided record, the structure and narrow eligibility suggest a limited, targeted set of revisions rather than a large open competition.

In plain terms, this FOA is best understood as NCI telling existing P50 cancer centers: choose one of the NCI Provocative Questions, design a meaningful new project that fits your center’s theme, and use the center’s established capabilities to generate results that either answer the PQ directly, strengthen and validate PQ-related findings, or help move PQ-driven outcomes toward practical impact in cancer research and clinical care. The revision route allows centers to pivot quickly toward these priority questions without waiting for an entirely new center competition, while still requiring a coherent, center-integrated expansion rather than a disconnected side project.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Revision Applications to National Cancer Institute (NCI)-supported P50 Awards to Include Research on the NCI's Provocative Questions (P50)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-03-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-23. (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 $150,000.00 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 RFA CA 17 022

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