Research Answers to NCIs Provocative Questions Group E (R21) | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

Research Answers to NCI's Provocative Questions Group E (R21) (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-CA-13-025) was a National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute grant opportunity designed to push cancer research in directions that may be high-impact but historically underexplored. The central aim of the announcement was to fund innovative, exploratory projects that directly tackle a defined set of "provocative questions" posed by NCI. These questions are framed around persistent problems, contradictions, and paradoxes in cancer research where progress has been limited, not because the topics are unimportant, but because they may be scientifically difficult, unconventional, or lacking in sustained attention. In other words, the opportunity was not meant to cover the entire landscape of NCI priorities; it was intentionally narrower, using targeted questions to spur fresh thinking, new hypotheses, and creative approaches to stubborn research challenges.

This FOA used the NIH R21 mechanism, which is generally intended for early-stage, high-risk/high-reward or conceptually novel projects where substantial preliminary data may be limited. Consistent with that purpose, the award ceiling listed for this opportunity was $200,000, supporting smaller, focused research efforts that can generate decisive early findings, proof-of-concept evidence, or new technical capabilities. The program sat broadly within health and cancer research and mapped to multiple NIH/NCI activity areas, including cancer cause and prevention, detection and diagnosis, treatment, biology, and control, as reflected in the CFDA numbers 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, and 93.399. Cost sharing or matching was not required, which reduces barriers for applicants and is typical for many NIH research grant programs.

Eligibility was expansive, reflecting NIH's general interest in drawing strong ideas from many types of organizations. Eligible applicants included public and private institutions of higher education, state and local governments (including counties, cities, townships, special districts, and independent school districts), nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and certain non-501(c)(3) nonprofits), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses. The eligibility list also explicitly encompassed a range of mission-driven and capacity-building institution types such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions. Faith-based and community-based organizations could apply, as could eligible federal agencies. Notably, the FOA allowed non-U.S. participation: non-domestic (foreign) organizations and institutions were eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations were eligible, and foreign components were permitted as defined under NIH policy. This broad eligibility aligns with the reality that important cancer research questions often benefit from international expertise, datasets, populations, and collaborations.

In terms of timing and status, the opportunity was posted and created on September 30, 2013, with an original and final closing date of June 20, 2014, and it was archived on July 21, 2014. Applicants were directed to the full announcement for complete instructions and scientific scope details via the NIH Grants Guide link (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-CA-13-025.html). For access or technical issues related to the electronic posting, the contact listed was the NIH Office of Extramural Research webmaster at FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV.

Overall, this grant opportunity can be understood as a targeted innovation driver: NCI identified specific, challenging questions in cancer research and invited applicants to propose sharp, creative R21 projects that could break logjams in those areas. The structure, funding level, and breadth of eligible applicants were all aligned with generating new ideas and early evidence that could open up larger lines of investigation later on.

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