Cancer Center Support Grants (CCSGs) for NCI-designated Cancer Centers (P30 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 21 321

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 21 321

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), under the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is soliciting applications for P30 Cancer Center Support Grants (CCSGs) through funding opportunity PAR-21-321. These grants are designed specifically to support NCI-designated Cancer Centers by strengthening the institutional infrastructure that makes large, coordinated cancer research programs possible. The CCSG mechanism is not meant to fund a single research project; instead, it supports the framework that allows many high-quality cancer research efforts to operate as a unified, integrated enterprise across an institution and its partners.

The FOA supports three types of NCI-designated Cancer Centers. Comprehensive Cancer Centers are expected to show meaningful depth and breadth across three major research domains: basic laboratory research, clinical research, and prevention/control/population-based research. They also must demonstrate substantial transdisciplinary work that bridges these areas, showing that the center is not just running parallel programs but truly integrating science from discovery through patient impact and community benefit. Clinical Cancer Centers generally emphasize clinical research while also including basic and/or prevention and population science components, depending on the center's scope and strengths. Basic Cancer Centers focus primarily on basic laboratory research, supporting discovery science that helps explain cancer biology and can later inform translational and clinical advances. Across all three types, the underlying purpose is the same: to pull together all of an institution's cancer research capabilities and organize them into a cohesive, collaborative, transdisciplinary program that crosses departmental and organizational boundaries.

Cancer Centers funded under this FOA are expected to function as major engines of cancer discovery and progress. The announcement emphasizes that supported centers should contribute substantially to understanding the nature of cancer and to developing more effective approaches to prevention, diagnosis, and therapy. A central expectation is that centers will build and maintain Shared Resources that enable investigators to conduct sophisticated, efficient, and high-quality research. These Shared Resources typically include centralized capabilities such as advanced technologies, specialized cores, clinical research support functions, data and biostatistics support, biospecimen resources, imaging, genomics, and other infrastructure that individual labs or teams could not easily build alone. The FOA also stresses collaboration and coordination: Cancer Centers are expected to work constructively with other NCI-funded programs and investigators, aligning efforts where appropriate and helping move research forward through partnerships rather than operating in isolation. In addition, centers must disseminate research findings for the benefit of the broader community, reflecting the public-facing role of NCI-designated centers in improving cancer outcomes beyond the walls of the institution.

From an eligibility standpoint, the opportunity is broad in terms of domestic organizational types that can apply, including state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. It also includes federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other Native American tribal organizations, as well as public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities. The FOA explicitly notes additional eligible applicant categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), faith-based or community-based organizations, certain tribal governments that are not federally recognized, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. Despite this wide list, the program is ultimately aimed at institutions that can meet the stringent requirements of NCI Cancer Center designation and operate at the scale expected of an NCI-designated center.

Foreign involvement is restricted. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. In practical terms, the application and proposed center activities must be fully domestic in structure and performance.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant program in the health funding category, tied to CFDA number 93.172. The FOA title indicates "Clinical Trial Optional," meaning the overall award mechanism can include clinical trial-related components when appropriate, but it is not strictly a clinical trial FOA; the core intent remains center support and infrastructure for an NCI-designated cancer research enterprise. The listed award ceiling is $1,500,000, and the original closing date provided is January 7, 2025. The announcement was created on October 12, 2021. Taken together, the CCSG opportunity is best understood as NCI's primary way of investing in the organizational backbone of leading cancer centers, helping them integrate programs, provide shared capabilities, collaborate nationally with NCI initiatives, and translate research progress into tangible public benefit.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cancer Center Support Grants (CCSGs) for NCI-designated Cancer Centers (P30 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.172.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-10-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-01-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for PAR 21 321

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