NCI National Clinical Trials Network - Network Group Integrated Translational Science Centers (UG1) | RFA CA 17 061

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 17 061

This funding opportunity, titled "NCI National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) - Network Group Integrated Translational Science Centers (UG1)" (RFA-CA-17-061), is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement designed to support institutions and organizations that will either maintain or establish Integrated Translational Science Centers aligned with the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network. The core aim is to strengthen the ability of NCTN Network Groups to embed translational science directly into the design and execution of their clinical trials, so that clinical studies do more than test treatments; they also generate biologic and mechanistic insights that can guide future research and patient care. In practice, these centers are meant to serve as a hub of leadership, specialized expertise, and operational support that helps Network Group trials consistently include well-planned translational components such as biospecimen collection, biomarker development, correlative science, and other research activities that connect patient outcomes with underlying biology.

A key feature of the program is that the Integrated Translational Science Centers are expected to provide scientific direction and coordination for translational efforts across Network Group trials, not just one-off support. This includes helping investigators identify translational questions that can realistically be answered within clinical trial settings, ensuring appropriate infrastructure and workflows are in place, and improving the overall quality and feasibility of translational endpoints. The FOA also explicitly includes support for pilot projects that collect preliminary data. These pilot activities are important because they allow Network Groups to test ideas, optimize methods, and generate early evidence that can justify and de-risk larger, more definitive translational components in later clinical trials. Because this is a cooperative agreement (UG1), awardees should expect substantial NIH/NCI programmatic involvement compared with a standard research grant, typically through shared governance, coordination requirements, and active collaboration to ensure the centers meet network-wide goals.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations, reflecting the networked and multi-institutional nature of NCTN work. Eligible applicants include state governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; non-profit organizations (both those with 501(c)(3) status and those without 501(c)(3) status, as long as they are not institutions of higher education); and for-profit organizations other than small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant types that often appear as designated categories in federal funding, 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), and U.S. territories or possessions. Foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply as components; however, "foreign components" as defined under the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, meaning certain discrete collaborations or activities involving foreign entities may be permissible when they meet NIH’s definition and policy requirements, even though the applicant organization itself must be eligible and U.S.-based.

From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity falls under the NIH’s education and health activity categories and is associated with CFDA numbers 93.394 and 93.395. The original posting date is October 20, 2017, with an original application closing date of January 19, 2018. The listed award ceiling is $850,000, which signals the intended scale for a single award’s annual direct costs or total costs depending on the FOA’s specific budget instructions (applicants would need to confirm in the full announcement). While the excerpt does not provide a definitive number of expected awards, the structure suggests a targeted set of awards intended to align with NCTN Network Groups and their translational needs. Overall, the grant is best understood as capacity-building and integration funding: it supports organizational leadership, shared expertise, and pilot translational research so that translational science becomes a consistent, high-quality element of NCTN clinical trials rather than an add-on that varies from study to study.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NCI National Clinical Trials Network - Network Group Integrated Translational Science Centers (UG1)" 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 2017-10-20.
• 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.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $850,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, 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, Others.

Apply for RFA CA 17 061

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