E-Newsletter - May 2016

request for applications
Alliance Cancer Care delivery research pilot project Funds

The Alliance is pleased to announce the availability of funds to support pilot projects in Cancer Care Delivery Research (CCDR). The purpose of these pilot projects is to generate preliminary data that will lead to the development of an Alliance CCDR study for submission to the NCORP network. These pilot project funds are available from the Alliance NCORP Research Base CCDR grant, which is supported by the NCI Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS).

Award
Up to $150,000 in total costs (including institutional indirect costs) for 12 months.

Eligibility criteria
Applicant eligibility

  • Applicants and their respective institutions must be Alliance members.

  • The applicant must be a member of the Alliance CCDR committee.

Project eligibility

  • Eligible pilot projects are ones designed to generate preliminary data that will lead to the development of an Alliance CCDR study that will be conducted with the NCORP network. For more information on the NCI conceptualization of studies that will be considered CCDR, please see the linked article by Kent et al entitled Cancer Care Delivery Research: Building the Evidence Base to Support Practice Change in Community Oncology.

  • Concepts must be presented on a CCDR Committee call or at the CCDR meeting at the Alliance Group meeting prior to approval of a funding application.

If funded, awardees must attend at least one Alliance Group meeting to present the results of their research (should be included in the budget).

Application Requirements
Applications should be in the form of a 3-5 page concept to conduct a CCDR pilot. Proposals should be written using 11 point (or larger) font in either Arial, Helvetica, Palatino Linotype or Georgia typeface (black font color) with at least 0.5 inch margins on all sides.

The concept should follow the following format:

  • Title page (include address, phone number, and preferred e-mail address for PI) (not included in page limit)

  • Background (include rationale and significance)

  • Study objectives

  • Study plan (include schema and eligibility criteria)

  • Data analysis (include feasibility)

  • Description of how this pilot study will lead to an Alliance CCDR protocol to be conducted within the NCORP network in the future

  • Description of research environment

  • References (not included in page limit)

In addition to the concept, applications should include a biographical sketch of the PI(s), summary of Other Support for the PI(s), and a budget (following the PHS 398 budget format, including the Detailed Budget for Initial Budget Period and the Checklist Form page) that may request up to $150,000 in total costs (including institutional indirect costs) with a budget justification. Funds cannot be used for PI (or co-investigator) salary support, or salary support for Alliance Central Office staff.

While not required, it is encouraged that applications should propose to conduct the pilot trial as an Alliance-wide study (rather than as a single institution study) or include an NCORP community or minority/underserved community site. Note: These studies will not be considered Alliance protocols, and as such, will not be assigned a protocol number or be eligible for other sources of reimbursement.

Applications must be submitted to Amanda Francescatti via e-mail (afrancescatti@facs.org) no later than June 17, 2016 (5 pm Eastern Time).

Approved projects will be funded with an anticipated budget start date of August 15, 2016. Please note that the requested funds must be expended within one year from the date of award.

Questions about the application process should be addressed to Amanda Francescatti, Alliance-ACS CRP Cancer Care Delivery Research Committee Manager, afrancescatti@facs.org.

 

For other articles in the May issue of the Alliance E-News newsletter, see below.