Limited Competition: NCI National Clinical Trials Network - Network Radiotherapy and Imaging Core Services Center (U24) | RFA CA 17 060

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 17 060

This funding opportunity, titled "Limited Competition: NCI National Clinical Trials Network - Network Radiotherapy and Imaging Core Services Center (U24)" (RFA-CA-17-060), is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement aimed at sustaining a centralized, network-level service center that supports cancer clinical trials with radiotherapy and imaging components. The core idea is to fund a specialized hub that can provide the scientific, technical, and operational infrastructure needed to consistently manage imaging and radiotherapy data across multi-site trials, while also ensuring strong, integrated quality assurance (QA). In practice, the Center functions as a shared resource for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN), helping trials that use radiotherapy interventions and/or imaging modalities run with standardized methods, reliable data capture, and consistent oversight across participating institutions.

The Center's scope is broader than basic data handling. It is intended to deliver expertise and services that help clinical trial groups incorporate imaging and radiotherapy correctly into protocol design and execution, and then manage the resulting data in a way that is credible, auditable, and usable for analysis. A major emphasis is integrated QA, meaning the Center is expected to support procedures that verify technical correctness and consistency, such as ensuring imaging acquisition parameters meet protocol requirements, radiotherapy planning and delivery align with specified standards, and that deviations are detected and handled in a controlled way. Alongside QA, the FOA calls for strong image data management, which typically includes secure intake, curation, standardization, storage, tracking, and preparation of imaging and radiotherapy-related datasets so they can be reviewed centrally and analyzed reliably.

Although the primary customer is the NCTN, the FOA also makes clear that the Center should have the capacity to extend comparable services to other approved NCI-supported clinical trial network programs. Examples named in the announcement include NCI/DCTD early phase clinical trial network activities and the NCI/DCP NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP). This suggests the Center is expected to be scalable and adaptable, capable of supporting trials in different settings, including early-phase environments and community oncology networks, where consistent imaging and radiotherapy QA can be challenging but essential.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement mechanism (U24). A cooperative agreement generally means there is substantial programmatic involvement from NIH/NCI staff compared to a standard grant, reflecting that the Center is part of a coordinated national infrastructure effort rather than a standalone research project. The activity category is listed under education and health, aligning with the infrastructure and service mission that underpins high-quality clinical research. The CFDA numbers associated with the opportunity are 93.394 and 93.395, indicating its placement within NCI funding programs.

Eligibility is limited and specific. The opportunity lists public and state-controlled institutions of higher education as eligible applicants, and it explicitly notes restrictions on non-U.S. participation: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. At the same time, foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, which typically means certain foreign involvement can occur under NIH rules when appropriately justified and structured, even though foreign institutions cannot serve as the primary applicant. Because these distinctions can be technical and consequential, applicants are directed to consult the full FOA for the precise eligibility conditions and definitions.

Key logistics included in the source information are that the FOA was created on 2017-10-20, with an original closing date of 2018-01-19, and it listed an award ceiling of $7,400,000. While the expected number of awards is not provided in the excerpt, the "limited competition" framing implies a restricted applicant pool or eligibility constraints that narrow who can apply, often used when NCI is maintaining a specific, network-critical capability and wants continuity, specialized expertise, and integration with existing NCTN operations.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as funding for a centralized, high-impact clinical trials support center that makes radiotherapy- and imaging-involved trials more consistent, comparable, and scientifically reliable across many participating sites. It focuses on the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that protects trial integrity: standardization, QA, and disciplined data management for imaging and radiotherapy elements that are often complex, technically variable, and critical to both patient safety and the validity of trial outcomes.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition: NCI National Clinical Trials Network - Network Radiotherapy and Imaging Core Services Center (U24)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.394, 93.395.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-10-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-19. (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 $7,400,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for RFA CA 17 060

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