Limited Competition: NCI National Clinical Trials Network - Network Group Operations Centers (U10) | RFA CA 17 056

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 17 056

The Limited Competition: NCI National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) Network Group Operations Centers (U10) funding opportunity (RFA-CA-17-056) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI) cooperative agreement designed to support institutions that will operate as Network Group Operations Centers within the NCTN. The central goal of the announcement is to maintain and strengthen the national infrastructure needed to design, lead, and run large-scale cancer clinical trials that span multiple disciplines and multiple institutions. Rather than funding a single research project, this mechanism supports the operational and scientific hub functions that make complex, coordinated clinical trials possible across a broad network of participating sites.

The Operations Centers supported under this FOA are expected to provide scientific leadership and organizational direction for developing and implementing clinical trials across a range of cancer types and for special populations. In practical terms, that means these centers take responsibility for shaping a coherent scientific strategy for their network group, setting trial development priorities, and moving studies from concept to execution in a way that aligns with NCTN standards and NCI priorities. The trials emphasized are multi-institutional and multidisciplinary, reflecting how modern oncology studies are typically conducted, with collaboration among clinicians, statisticians, translational scientists, imaging specialists, and other experts. The announcement highlights that each Operations Center should have clear scientific goals and a defined strategy for trial development and implementation, underscoring that these centers are expected to lead, not just administer.

The award uses a cooperative agreement funding instrument (U10), which signals substantial federal scientific and/or programmatic involvement during the life of the award. In cooperative agreements, the recipient institution carries out the day-to-day work, but NIH/NCI typically plays an active stewardship role in areas such as coordination, oversight, and alignment with network policies and performance expectations. This structure is common for large networked clinical trial programs where harmonization, shared standards, and centralized coordination are essential.

Eligibility is limited and targeted. The opportunity is categorized as a limited competition, meaning only certain organizations are intended to apply, generally those positioned to serve as NCTN Network Group Operations Centers under NCI expectations. The provided eligibility information lists public and state-controlled institutions of higher education as eligible applicants. Foreign institutions (non-U.S. entities) are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, which typically means a U.S. applicant organization may include certain allowable foreign activities or collaborations under NIH rules, so long as the applicant organization itself is eligible and the structure complies with NIH policy and the specific FOA requirements.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is listed as discretionary funding and falls under the activity categories of education and health, with CFDA numbers 93.394 and 93.395 associated with NCI programs. The FOA was created on October 19, 2017, and the original closing date was January 19, 2018. The excerpted source information does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards, which typically means those details would need to be confirmed in the full FOA text or related NCI budget guidance.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as support for the leadership and operational core of NCI-sponsored national cancer clinical trials. The funded Operations Centers are positioned as coordinating entities that help ensure NCTN trials are conceived strategically, designed rigorously, and implemented effectively across many institutions, with an emphasis on collaboration, consistency, and the capacity to run trials spanning diverse cancer types and patient populations.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition: NCI National Clinical Trials Network - Network Group Operations Centers (U10)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.394, 93.395.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-10-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-19. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for RFA CA 17 056

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