NOT-CA-25-042
Forecast to Publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Research Bases (UG1 Clinical Trial Required)
Summary
NCORP Research Bases: Community Oncology Research Hubs
The National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) seeks to establish research hubs that conduct rigorous, multi-institutional cancer control, prevention, and care delivery studies in community settings. NCORP Research Bases will serve as operational and scientific anchors for a network designed to improve the generalizability and real-world dissemination of clinical trial results by engaging diverse cancer patient populations and at-risk communities. Research Bases must demonstrate comprehensive expertise in cancer clinical research and assume full responsibility for study operations, regulatory compliance, data management, and support to affiliated community sites. The program prioritizes integration of health disparities research across all focus areas and expects bases to conduct quality-of-life studies alongside treatment and imaging research.
Who can apply: Institutions with comprehensive expertise in cancer clinical research (cancer foundations, healthcare research organizations, NCI-designated Cancer Centers, or National Clinical Trials Network Group Operations Centers); NCORP Research Bases must conduct research at such an institution.
Funding & project length: Not stated.
Award / mechanism: UG1 (Clinical Trials Required); multi-institutional cooperative agreement.
Key dates: Not stated.
Best fit for: Cancer control researchers (epidemiology, behavioral science, health services research) spanning prevention and care delivery; teams with established infrastructure for protocol development, FDA/OHRP compliance, and multi-site coordination in community oncology settings.
Critical note: Area 1 (Cancer Control Research) is mandatory; proposals focusing only on prevention or care delivery without cancer control components will not qualify.
Insights (6)
Institutional eligibility requirement effectively limits applicant pool to ~200 US institutions
NCORP Research Bases must conduct research at an institution with 'comprehensive expertise in cancer clinical research'—defined as a cancer foundation, healthcare research organization, or NCI-designated Cancer Center. This is not a soft preference but a hard eligibility gate. Approximately 71 NCI-designated Cancer Centers exist in the US, plus a smaller number of qualifying healthcare research organizations, meaning most academic medical centers and independent research institutions are ineligible unless they meet this specific definition.
Area 1 (Cancer Control) is mandatory; prevention-only or care-delivery-only research will not succeed
The NOFO explicitly states 'Research Bases must cover Area 1' while Areas 2 and 3 are optional. A proposal focused exclusively on cancer prevention or care delivery research, without a substantive cancer control component, will be non-responsive. Applicants must design their portfolio to include cancer control research as the primary or co-equal focus.
Research Base role demands operational infrastructure and multi-institutional network capacity
Research Bases serve as research hubs responsible for study operations, data management, protocol development, regulatory compliance, audits, training, and support to Community Sites. This is not a traditional R01-style independent research award—it requires established organizational structure, statistical leadership, and the ability to manage a network. Applicants without existing infrastructure for multi-institutional coordination will face significant competitive disadvantage.
Multi-institutional research network is core to NCORP model; single-site proposals misaligned with program intent
NCORP is explicitly designed to 'enhance generalizability and dissemination of clinical trial results through accrual in a variety of community settings.' Research Bases must develop and implement multi-institutional cancer control, prevention, and care delivery research. Applicants should position their proposal around a network of Community Sites and Minority/Underserved Community Sites, not as standalone research at a single institution.
UG1 mechanism signals substantial funding and high bar for operational maturity
The UG1 (Cooperative Agreement) mechanism with clinical trials required for Research Bases indicates multi-year, multi-million-dollar awards with significant oversight and reporting expectations. This is a competitive mechanism typically awarded to institutions with demonstrated capacity for large-scale, multi-site clinical research operations. Applicants should expect rigorous review of organizational readiness, not just scientific merit.
Health disparities integration is expected across all focus areas, not optional
The NOFO states Research Bases must 'integrate health disparities across all focus areas as appropriate.' This is a core programmatic value, not a supplementary element. Applicants should design their cancer control, prevention, and care delivery research with explicit attention to health disparities in study design, recruitment, and analysis, and should demonstrate existing relationships with minority and underserved communities.
Key Facts
Deadline
—
Posted
Wed, May 28, 2025
Expected Awards
7
Keywords
Research Areas
Gotchas (2)
NCORP Research Bases must conduct research at an institution with 'comprehensive expertise in cancer clinical research' such as a cancer foundation, healthcare research organization, or NCI-designated
95%
Source Text
“Conduct their research activities at an institution with comprehensive expertise in cancer clinical research, such as a cancer foundation, healthcare research organization (including NCI's National Clinical Trials Network Group Operations Centers), or NCI-designated Cancer Center.”
NCORP Research Bases must cover Area 1 (Cancer Control Research) as mandatory, while Areas 2 and 3 are optional—this structural requirement could disqualify proposals that focus only on prevention or
98%
Source Text
“Research Bases must cover Area 1. Areas 2 and 3 are optional.”