Grants

To provide financial assistance for research, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) employs two mechanisms: grants and cooperative agreements.

Grants are used when:

1. No substantial programmatic involvement is anticipated between NCI and the recipient during performance of the financially assisted research, thus allowing the recipient freedom of action in carrying out the research project.
2. There is no expectation on the part of NCI of a specific service or end product for use by NCI.

Cooperative agreements are used when:

1. The applicant is responding to a specific NCI announcement for cooperative agreements and must tailor the proposal to NCI's requirements.
2. Substantial programmatic involvement is anticipated between NCI and the recipient during performance of the activities.

In addition, cooperative agreements are typically used for any new or competing investigator-initiated clinical trial, prevention or control intervention, or epidemiological study in which direct costs exceed $500,000 in any given year. NCI strongly encourages investigator-initiated research proposals. In addition, NCI solicits applications in targeted areas of research by using requests for applications (RFAs) and program announcements (PAs).

The steps that lead to the awarding of grants and cooperative agreements are:

1. Business, academic, and research institutions respond to an RFA or PA through the submission of an application or proposal.
2. Scientific reviewers evaluate applications and proposals using criteria based on research merit, cost-effectiveness, and standards of science.
3. Awards are made upon evaluation of programmatic relevance, scientific merit, and the availability of funds.

Several resources exist to access available funding opportunities. Review these resources by:

NCI Division of Extramural Affairs

• Request for Applications (RFAs)
• Grant Review Process

NIH Office of Extramural Research

• Funding Opportunities and Notices
• Grants and Cooperative Agreements