Feasibility Studies for Collaborative Interaction for Minority Institution/Cancer Center Partnership (P20) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is this grant opportunity?

This is a National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity (PAR-07-230) designed to support Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) in building practical, working research partnerships with NCI-designated Cancer Centers (or similarly well-organized cancer research institutions).

What funding mechanism does it use?

The opportunity uses the NIH P20 mechanism and is framed around feasibility studies.

What does it mean that this is a "feasibility study" program?

It means the program is meant to fund early-stage, limited-duration work that tests ideas, establishes collaborative workflows, and generates preliminary data. The intent is to create evidence and partnership momentum that can support competitive applications for larger, long-term cancer grants later.

Is the P20 award intended to be the final long-term funding source for the partnership?

No. The P20 in this program is described as a launchpad rather than a final destination. The goal is to move partnerships beyond planning and pilot work into future peer-reviewed funding applications to NCI and/or other sources.

What is the central purpose of the program?

The central purpose is to strengthen collaborative interaction between MSI faculty/researchers and cancer center investigators through focused, jointly developed activities across cancer-related research and workforce development.

What kinds of activities can the partnership support?

The FOA emphasizes a range of partnership activities, including cancer research projects and workforce development efforts. Examples mentioned include research in cancer biology, prevention, detection/diagnosis, or control, as well as training experiences, career development activities, educational efforts, and outreach components.

What is the common thread across all supported activities?

The partnership should be structured to produce tangible near-term outputs, especially feasibility results and preliminary datasets, that directly position the collaborators to submit specific, competitive grant applications after the P20 period.

What is the "linked award" structure?

A defining feature of this opportunity is that the partnership must submit linked applications from both sides: one application from the MSI and one from the NCI-designated Cancer Center (or equivalent).

Are the linked applications reviewed separately or together?

They are reviewed together as one joint program and receive a single priority score. They are not treated as two separate, independent proposals.

What does the joint review and single score imply about what reviewers are looking for?

It signals that the program is intended to reward genuine, integrated collaboration with shared goals, aligned work plans, and clear mutual benefit, rather than two parallel efforts that are only loosely connected.

Who is the opportunity intended to serve?

The opportunity is centered on Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Tribal institutions (including Tribal colleges), working in partnership with an NCI-designated Cancer Center (or equivalent).

Where must the MSI be located?

MSIs are described as being located in the United States or U.S. territories under U.S. jurisdiction.

What partner organization is required?

The MSI must partner with an NCI-designated Cancer Center (or a group of centers) or an equivalent, similarly well-organized cancer research institution, with the intent to develop more comprehensive collaborations.

What types of applicant organizations are listed as eligible?

The listing indicates a broad set of applicant organization types can apply, including public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits, for-profits, and small businesses.

Are foreign institutions eligible to apply?

The listing states that foreign institutions are eligible to apply. At the same time, the program intent described is built around MSI-to-cancer-center partnership models, so applicants would be expected to fit that structure and explain how the linked partnership advances the program goals.

What cancer-related areas does the opportunity connect to?

Administratively, the opportunity is tied to multiple cancer-related CFDA areas, including cancer cause and prevention, detection and diagnosis, biology, manpower/workforce, and control.

What is the broader goal of funding these partnerships?

The broader goal is to create an operational bridge between institutions that may have unequal research infrastructure and access to major cancer research ecosystems, by making collaborations real and productive through pilot projects, early evidence generation, and capacity-building activities.

What outcomes are expected by the end of the P20 period?

The end goal is not just relationship-building. The partnership is expected to produce credible preliminary results and a track record that can be converted into larger, competitive cancer research and training grant applications.

Is cost sharing or matching required?

No. Cost sharing or matching is not required for this opportunity.

When was this opportunity posted, and what were the closing dates?

The opportunity was posted on February 22, 2007. The original and final closing date was April 16, 2009.

Is this funding opportunity still active?

No. It was archived on May 16, 2009.

What NIH institute offered the opportunity?

The opportunity was offered by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

How should an applicant think about the role of pilot work in this program?

Pilot work is positioned as a way to test ideas, establish collaborative workflows, and create preliminary datasets that make later, larger grant applications more competitive.

Does the opportunity emphasize research only, or also training and workforce development?

It explicitly emphasizes both: cancer-related research and workforce development, including training experiences, career development, educational efforts, and outreach components, as long as they support near-term, tangible outputs and future competitive grant submissions.

What does "discretionary grant opportunity" mean in the context provided?

Based on the description, it is categorized administratively as a discretionary grant opportunity within education and health-related NIH activity categories.