Cancer Center Support Grants (CCSGs) for NCI-designated Cancer Centers (P30 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 25 444

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 25 444

The Cancer Center Support Grants (CCSGs) program (P30; clinical trial optional) is a National Institutes of Health opportunity from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) intended to support NCI-Designated Cancer Centers. The core idea behind the CCSG is not to fund one stand-alone research project, but to strengthen and organize an institution's overall cancer research enterprise so it functions as an integrated, high-performing center. Through this NOFO (PAR-25-444; CFDA 93.397), NCI invites applications that help Cancer Centers coordinate research, share infrastructure, and accelerate discovery and translation so that advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment can move faster and reach patients and communities more effectively.

This program recognizes three kinds of NCI-Designated Cancer Centers. Comprehensive Cancer Centers are expected to show both depth and breadth across three major scientific areas: basic laboratory research, clinical research, and prevention/control/population-based research, with substantial transdisciplinary work that bridges those areas rather than keeping them siloed. Clinical Cancer Centers focus primarily on basic, clinical, and prevention/cancer control/population-based research (or a combination of these), but do not necessarily meet the full breadth required for comprehensive designation. Basic Cancer Centers focus on basic laboratory research. Across all three types, the unifying purpose is to capitalize on the full range of an institution's cancer research capabilities and unify them into a single transdisciplinary enterprise that can operate across departments, schools, hospitals, and other institutional boundaries.

CCSG-supported centers are expected to serve as major engines of cancer discovery and development. In practical terms, that means they should be key sources of new knowledge about the biology and causes of cancer, and they should help develop better approaches to prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and therapy. A major emphasis is also placed on building and maintaining Shared Resources, meaning centrally managed capabilities (such as specialized cores, technologies, services, informatics, biostatistics support, tissue resources, and similar infrastructure) that enable many investigators to do stronger, more efficient research than they could do independently. The NOFO also emphasizes collaboration and coordination with other NCI-funded programs and investigators, along with active dissemination of research findings so that the surrounding community benefits from the center's work.

Eligibility in this NOFO includes a clear minimum "funding base" requirement, which is essentially evidence that the applicant institution already sustains a substantial level of peer-reviewed, cancer-relevant research support. For New (Type 1) applications, the institution must demonstrate annual direct costs of NIH funding that are cancer-focused (as defined by the NIH Research Condition and Disease Categorization, or RCDC, system) of at least $10,000,000 for Clinical Cancer Centers or at least $6,000,000 for Basic Cancer Centers. The NCI Office of Cancer Centers is identified as the contact point to help institutions determine their RCDC-based funding totals. One important restriction is that New (Type 1) applications cannot request evaluation for comprehensiveness status under this NOFO.

For Renewal (Type 2) applications, the funding base requirement is at least $10,000,000 in annual direct costs of peer-reviewed, cancer-related funding. If the Cancer Center is organized as an approved consortium, the center's funding base can be calculated as the combined funding bases of the participating institutions, but with a key limitation: a consortium partner's funding and related data can only be included if that partner has already been evaluated during CCSG peer review and approved by NCI. This is meant to ensure that consortium structures used to meet thresholds and program expectations have already been vetted for scientific and organizational credibility within the CCSG framework.

The NOFO provides examples of the types of NCI peer-reviewed funding mechanisms that may be counted toward eligibility, reflecting the broad range of NIH awards that can support cancer-relevant work. Examples listed include DP1, DP2, R00, R01, R03, R15, R18, R21, R24, R25, R33, R35, R37, R41, R42, R50, R55, R56, P01, P20, P30 awards other than the CCSG itself, P50, SC1, SC2, U01, U10, U19, U24, U54, U56, UH2, UH3, UG3, T32, K and F series awards, and certain N01 awards (with exclusions such as SEER and other N01s that fund materials, services, or research resources rather than peer-reviewed research in the same way). The NOFO also states that cancer-relevant research funded through other NIH Institutes can count toward the minimum, and that certain cancer-relevant grants and contracts from other peer-reviewed organizations (as listed by NCI in a referenced document) may also be included, reinforcing that the funding base is not limited strictly to NCI awards as long as the support is peer-reviewed and cancer-relevant.

The opportunity is limited to domestic applicants and domestic components. Non-U.S. entities are not eligible to apply, non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by NIH policy) are not allowed. Eligible applicant categories are broad on the domestic side and include various levels of government, public and private institutions of higher education, tribal governments and tribal organizations, nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, and other domestic entities that meet NIH and NCI requirements and can satisfy the Cancer Center eligibility standards described in the NOFO.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity with an NIH P30 activity code and a clinical trial optional designation, meaning the grant mechanism can support clinical trial-related activities when appropriate, but it is not exclusively a clinical trial funding opportunity. The posting lists an original closing date of 2028-09-25 and a creation date of 2025-11-26. Award ceiling and expected awards are not specified in the provided notice excerpt, which typically means applicants should rely on the full NOFO and NIH/NCI guidance for budget and award expectations tied to center type, scope, and peer review outcomes.

• 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): 93.397.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-11-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2028-09-25.
• 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), 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.

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