Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 11 003
Apply for RFA CA 11 003
- The National Institutes of Health in the education health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Population based Research Optimizing Screening through Personalized Regimens (PROSPR) (U54)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.393 Cancer Cause and Prevention Research 93.394 Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research 93.395 Cancer Treatment Research 93.399 Cancer Control.
- This funding opportunity was created on Nov 12, 2010 and posted on Nov 12, 2010.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 9, 2011. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $13,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Eligible applicants include: City or township governments Public and State controlled institutions of higher education State governments For profit organizations other than small businesses Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education County governments Private institutions of higher education Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification) Small businesses Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.
- Other Eligible Applicants include the following Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government Regional Organizations.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Population based Research Optimizing Screening through Personalized Regimens (PROSPR) (U54) funding opportunity (RFA-CA-11-003) was a National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute initiative designed to strengthen real-world, population-based research on how cancer screening actually works from start to finish. The core idea behind PROSPR was that screening is not a single test but a multi-step process that includes identifying and recruiting appropriate patients, completing the screening test, communicating results, moving people through diagnostic work-up when results are abnormal, and ensuring timely referral and initiation of treatment when cancer is found. This FOA focused on generating practical evidence that could improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of that entire pathway, with an emphasis on moving toward more personalized screening regimens that reflect patient risk and system realities rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.
The mechanism used was a U54 cooperative agreement, meaning awardees would not operate in isolation. Instead, funded Research Centers were expected to work closely with the NCI and to collaborate across sites, including coordination with a single Statistical Coordination Center. The program structure was built around establishing PROSPR Research Centers that could support coordinated, multidisciplinary teams and shared approaches to data and measurement. Because it was cooperative, the intent was to create a networked research program rather than a collection of unrelated projects.
A defining requirement of each proposed PROSPR Research Center was the ability to collect patient-level data as individuals moved through their usual course of care. The FOA emphasized data that document and evaluate the full screening process for one of three cancer types: breast cancer, colorectal cancer (colon), or cervical cancer. In practical terms, applicants needed access to, and partnerships with, the clinical settings where screening and follow-up happen, such as health systems, clinics, imaging centers, endoscopy services, pathology, and diagnostic and specialty care. These relationships were expected to provide both the data source and the clinical and operational insight needed to interpret what the data mean in a real care environment.
Each center also had to propose a research program made up of three interrelated research projects. Those projects needed to be connected by a common theme and aimed at understanding and improving key factors that shape screening performance in real populations. The FOA highlighted several example domains, including how screening is communicated to patients and how results are communicated back; how patient risk factors influence screening decisions and outcomes; screening test characteristics and performance in practice; the diagnostic process following abnormal findings; patient behavior and provider behavior that influence completion of screening and follow-up; the economics of screening and follow-up; and organizational or delivery-system factors that help or hinder timely, appropriate care. The expectation was that these projects would not be siloed but would inform one another and contribute to a coherent center-level strategy for evaluating and improving screening processes.
The FOA placed heavy emphasis on multidisciplinary collaboration. Successful applicants were expected to assemble teams with the expertise needed to study screening as a complex system, which commonly involves epidemiology, biostatistics, health services research, behavioral science, clinical expertise in the chosen cancer type, informatics and data systems, organizational science, and economics. The program’s framing made it clear that improving screening outcomes requires understanding both clinical decision-making and the operational realities of healthcare delivery, including how patients navigate steps that often span multiple providers and settings.
From an administrative standpoint, this was a discretionary grant opportunity with an estimated total funding level of about $13,000,000. There was no cost-sharing or matching requirement. Eligible applicants were broad and included state and local governments, county and city governments, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) entities), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, small businesses, and other eligible entities such as federal agencies and regional organizations as described in the full announcement. The opportunity was posted on November 12, 2010, and the original and final closing date listed was February 9, 2011, with an archive date of March 12, 2011. The program aligned with multiple NCI/NIH cancer-related CFDA areas, including cancer cause and prevention, detection and diagnosis, treatment, and cancer control.
Overall, the PROSPR (U54) opportunity sought to build a coordinated set of research centers capable of producing robust, comparable, patient-level evidence on where screening processes succeed or break down, why those patterns occur, and which interventions or system changes could improve completion, timeliness, appropriateness, and outcomes across breast, colorectal, or cervical cancer screening in real healthcare settings.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): PROSPR (U54) - RFA-CA-11-003
What is the PROSPR (U54) funding opportunity (RFA-CA-11-003)?
PROSPR stands for Population based Research Optimizing Screening through Personalized Regimens. This National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI) initiative was designed to strengthen real-world, population-based research on how cancer screening works across the full, end-to-end screening process in routine care.
What is the main goal of the PROSPR initiative?
The main goal was to generate practical evidence that could improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of cancer screening as it happens in real healthcare settings, with an emphasis on moving toward more personalized screening regimens that reflect patient risk and health system realities rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.
How does PROSPR define "screening" for purposes of this program?
In PROSPR, screening is treated as a multi-step process, not a single test. The process includes identifying and recruiting appropriate patients, completing the screening test, communicating results, moving patients through diagnostic work-up after abnormal findings, and ensuring timely referral and initiation of treatment when cancer is detected.
What funding mechanism was used for PROSPR?
The opportunity used a U54 cooperative agreement mechanism. This is a cooperative model in which awardees were expected to work closely with NCI and collaborate across sites, rather than operating independently.
What does "cooperative agreement" mean in practical terms for awardees?
Because it was a cooperative agreement, the intent was to create a networked research program. Funded Research Centers were expected to collaborate with NCI and with each other, including coordination with a single Statistical Coordination Center, to support shared approaches to data and measurement across the network.
What types of organizations were expected to be funded under this FOA?
The FOA was structured around establishing PROSPR Research Centers. These centers were intended to support coordinated, multidisciplinary teams and implement shared approaches to patient-level data collection and evaluation of screening processes.
Which cancer types could a PROSPR Research Center focus on?
Each center was expected to document and evaluate the full screening process for one of three cancer types: breast cancer, colorectal (colon) cancer, or cervical cancer.
What was a defining data requirement for a PROSPR Research Center?
A defining requirement was the ability to collect patient-level data as individuals moved through their usual course of care, capturing and evaluating the full screening process from initial identification through screening, follow-up, and treatment initiation when applicable.
What kinds of clinical partnerships were important for applicants?
Applicants needed access to, and partnerships with, the clinical settings where screening and follow-up occur. Examples listed included health systems, clinics, imaging centers, endoscopy services, pathology, and diagnostic and specialty care. These relationships were expected to provide both the data sources and the clinical and operational insight necessary to interpret findings in real care environments.
What was required in terms of the research program structure at each center?
Each PROSPR Research Center had to propose a research program consisting of three interrelated research projects. The projects were expected to be connected by a common theme and designed to inform one another rather than function as separate, unrelated efforts.
What kinds of research topics or domains did the FOA emphasize?
The FOA highlighted example domains including: communication to patients about screening and communication of results; how patient risk factors influence screening decisions and outcomes; screening test characteristics and performance in practice; diagnostic processes following abnormal findings; patient and provider behaviors affecting completion of screening and follow-up; the economics of screening and follow-up; and organizational or delivery-system factors that enable or hinder timely, appropriate care.
What is meant by "personalized screening regimens" in this FOA?
The FOA emphasized moving toward screening approaches that better reflect patient risk and real-world system constraints and workflows, rather than relying exclusively on uniform screening strategies applied the same way to everyone.
What outcomes or improvements was PROSPR trying to support?
The program aimed to produce evidence on where screening processes succeed or break down, why those patterns occur, and what interventions or system changes could improve completion, timeliness, appropriateness, and outcomes across breast, colorectal, or cervical cancer screening in routine care settings.
Why did the FOA emphasize patient-level data and real-world care pathways?
The FOA was designed to strengthen population-based research on how screening actually works from start to finish in real healthcare environments. Patient-level data across the entire pathway was central to understanding drop-offs, delays, variations, and operational bottlenecks that can affect screening effectiveness.
What role did multidisciplinary collaboration play in PROSPR?
Multidisciplinary collaboration was a major expectation. The FOA indicated that studying screening as a complex system typically requires expertise spanning epidemiology, biostatistics, health services research, behavioral science, clinical expertise in the selected cancer type, informatics and data systems, organizational science, and economics.
What is the Statistical Coordination Center mentioned in the FOA?
The program included coordination with a single Statistical Coordination Center, supporting the networked structure and helping enable shared approaches to data and measurement across collaborating Research Centers.
Was cost-sharing or matching required for this opportunity?
No. The FOA specified that there was no cost-sharing or matching requirement.
What was the estimated total funding level for this discretionary grant opportunity?
The estimated total funding level was about $13,000,000.
Who was eligible to apply for PROSPR (U54) based on the information provided?
Eligible applicants were broad and included state and local governments, county and city governments, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) entities), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, small businesses, and other eligible entities such as federal agencies and regional organizations as described in the full announcement.
When was this funding opportunity posted, and what were the closing dates?
The opportunity was posted on November 12, 2010. The original and final closing date listed was February 9, 2011, and the archive date was March 12, 2011.
What CFDA program areas did this opportunity align with?
The program aligned with multiple NCI/NIH cancer-related CFDA areas, including cancer cause and prevention, detection and diagnosis, treatment, and cancer control.
What makes PROSPR different from a traditional single-project research grant?
PROSPR was designed as a coordinated network of Research Centers under a cooperative agreement. Centers were expected to collaborate with NCI and across sites, use shared approaches to data and measurement, and implement three interrelated projects tied together by a common theme focused on the full screening process in real-world care.
What parts of the cancer screening pathway were expected to be studied?
The FOA emphasized the entire pathway: identifying and recruiting appropriate patients, completing the screening test, communicating results, diagnostic work-up after abnormal findings, and timely referral and initiation of treatment when cancer is found.
How were the research projects within a center expected to relate to each other?
The three projects at each center were expected to be interrelated, connected by a common theme, and designed to inform one another as part of a coherent center-level strategy to evaluate and improve screening processes.
What kinds of real-world factors did the FOA suggest could influence screening performance?
The FOA pointed to factors such as patient risk profiles, communication practices, test performance in practice, follow-up and diagnostic workflows, patient and provider behaviors, economic considerations, and organizational or delivery-system structures that affect timely and appropriate care.
What was the overall vision for what the PROSPR network would produce?
The overall vision was to build a coordinated set of research centers capable of producing robust, comparable, patient-level evidence about how screening processes function in real healthcare settings, including where and why breakdowns occur and what system changes could improve performance and outcomes.
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