NCI Awardee Skills Development Consortium: Research Education Short Courses (UE5 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA CA 19 010

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 19 010

The NCI Awardee Skills Development Consortium: Research Education Short Courses (UE5 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute (NCI) funding opportunity that uses the Research Education Program (R25) mechanism to support organized educational activities rather than traditional research projects. Its central purpose is workforce development: building and strengthening the skills of people engaged in cancer research so the nation has a strong pipeline of biomedical, behavioral, and clinical cancer researchers. Under this announcement, NCI is specifically looking to fund short-course style research education that complements and enhances existing training pathways, with an emphasis on practical, career-sustaining competencies.

This funding opportunity sits within a broader NCI initiative to establish the NCI Awardee Skills Development Consortium (NASDC). The core objective of NASDC is to create accessible, high-quality skills development opportunities for current NCI grantees, with particular attention to junior faculty and early-stage investigators such as assistant professors, instructors, research scientists, or equivalent roles. The idea is to help these investigators build the capabilities needed to launch, grow, and maintain independent academic cancer research careers. In practice, that points to education offerings that address common career inflection points for new faculty: improving grant readiness and competitiveness, strengthening research leadership and management, sharpening scientific communication, and navigating the expectations of an academic research environment.

Because this is an education-focused grant (UE5 under the R25 umbrella), the deliverables are expected to be structured learning experiences, such as research education short courses, that can be offered to eligible participants (notably current NCI awardees and especially junior faculty among them). The announcement also makes clear that clinical trials are not allowed under this FOA, meaning the supported activities should not include conducting clinical trial research as part of the award. The program is intended to build skills and knowledge through education and training experiences rather than to generate clinical trial outcomes.

Eligibility is broad and spans many types of U.S.-based organizations and government entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (both with and without 501(c)(3) status, excluding higher education institutions when specified); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it draws a boundary around foreign participation: non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations and foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components are allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which generally means discrete project elements may be carried out internationally if permitted and well-justified, even though the applicant organization itself must be domestic.

Administratively, the opportunity is issued by NIH (NCI) as a discretionary grant in the education and health activity category, identified under CFDA 93.398. The funding opportunity number is RFA-CA-19-010, and the original closing date listed is 2019-04-01, with a creation date of 2019-02-01. Award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source details, suggesting applicants would need to consult the full FOA for budget limits, project period expectations, and any cohort or consortium structure requirements tied to NASDC participation.

Overall, this FOA is best understood as support for a coordinated set of short, targeted educational courses designed to help current NCI-funded investigators, especially junior faculty, acquire the professional and research-career skills that increase their chances of sustaining independent cancer research programs. The emphasis is on practical skill building through research education activities, not on running clinical trials, and on strengthening the cancer research workforce by meeting trainees and early-career investigators at the points where additional structured guidance can most improve long-term success.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NCI Awardee Skills Development Consortium: Research Education Short Courses (UE5 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.398.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-02-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-04-01. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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 RFA CA 19 010

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