Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 27 020
The Advanced Development of Informatics Technologies for Cancer Research and Management (U24 Clinical Trial Optional) opportunity (RFA-CA-27-020) is a National Institutes of Health cooperative agreement aimed at pushing promising cancer informatics tools from the "it works in a pilot" stage into a more mature, broadly useful, and adoptable technology. It sits within the National Cancer Institute's Informatics Technology for Cancer Research (ITCR) Program and focuses specifically on emerging informatics technologies that already moved past initial prototyping, have shown real potential for wide impact, but still need substantial enhancement, hardening, and community-facing development before they can be widely adopted across cancer research.
At its core, the NOFO is looking for informatics technologies that measurably improve how cancer-related data are acquired, analyzed, visualized, and interpreted across the full cancer research continuum. That includes basic cancer biology, clinical diagnosis and treatment, early detection, risk assessment and prevention, cancer control, and cancer epidemiology. The expectation is that funded projects will not just add incremental features, but will make targeted improvements that meaningfully expand usefulness, reliability, usability, scalability, and real-world fit for researchers and clinicians working with complex cancer data. Projects should be positioned to support discovery biology, population science, and clinical or translational research, with a strong emphasis on uniqueness and the likelihood of significant downstream impact on the field.
A central theme in this program is that technology development must be guided by real user needs rather than purely developer-driven roadmaps. Applicants are expected to clearly justify why their technology is needed, what gap it fills, and why existing competing tools do not already solve the problem as well. Strong applications will describe the "driving" cancer research projects that will actively use and stress-test the tool during development, and they will explain how those projects will provide continuous feedback that shapes priorities. Just as important, the NOFO expects a plan to engage the broader user community throughout the project, not as an afterthought, but as a built-in process to evaluate usability, validate outputs, and ensure the technology is practical for the intended audiences.
Because this is a U24 cooperative agreement, applicants should anticipate an active partnership model with NIH/NCI staff rather than a hands-off grant. The announcement calls for a realistic development plan with clear milestones and timelines, reflecting that the goal is a more production-ready, user-friendly, and disseminated resource by the end of the award. Alongside the technical roadmap, proposals should include concrete plans for user support and adoption: documentation, training materials, outreach, collaborations, and other dissemination activities that will help the targeted community actually use the tool. The NOFO is explicit that projects must show strong processes for supporting and engaging end users, enabling them to test, evaluate, and apply the technology in their own cancer research contexts.
Competitive projects under this NOFO will align with several required attributes. They need to demonstrate potential to advance both the named driving projects and the broader cancer research field, show clear advantages over alternative technologies in the same domain, and provide compelling user-engagement and evaluation plans. They also need credible strategies to broaden uptake through collaboration, outreach, and training, and they must present a development timeline with milestones that feel achievable rather than aspirational. In other words, the program is funding not only software or informatics methods, but the full package required for adoption: engineering maturity, usability, validation in real settings, and a dissemination path that reaches beyond the original development team.
On the administrative side, the opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and uses the cooperative agreement mechanism. The activity area is health, and it is associated with multiple CFDA numbers (93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, 93.399), reflecting the breadth of NCI programs that can intersect with cancer informatics. The original closing date listed is 2026-10-19, the expected number of awards is 3, and the award ceiling is $600,000. A wide range of applicant organizations are eligible, including state, county, and local governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (including those other than small businesses); small businesses; and other eligible entities.
International participation is explicitly permitted. Non-U.S. organizations may apply directly, non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are eligible, and foreign components are allowed as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement. That means teams can be fully based outside the United States or can incorporate international collaborators, as long as the proposed work fits the NOFO requirements and meets NIH policy expectations.
Overall, this NOFO is best understood as a bridge between early innovation and real-world adoption in cancer informatics. It is designed for teams that already have a functioning technology with evidence of promise and now need support to significantly enhance the tool, validate it through active use, and build the training, community engagement, and dissemination infrastructure required for the technology to become a widely used resource in cancer research and management.Apply for RFA CA 27 020
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Advanced Development of Informatics Technologies for Cancer Research and Management (U24 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, 93.399.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2026-05-21.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-10-19. (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 $600,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
- 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.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is this funding opportunity?
This opportunity is titled "Advanced Development of Informatics Technologies for Cancer Research and Management (U24 Clinical Trial Optional)" (RFA-CA-27-020). It is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement administered within the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Informatics Technology for Cancer Research (ITCR) Program. Its purpose is to move promising cancer informatics technologies beyond early pilot success into more mature, broadly useful, and adoptable tools.
What is the main goal of the NOFO?
The NOFO is designed as a bridge between early innovation and real-world adoption. It supports substantial enhancement, hardening, user-facing development, validation through real use, and dissemination so that a technology can become production-ready and widely adopted across cancer research and management settings.
What stage of technology is this opportunity targeting?
It targets emerging informatics technologies that have already moved past initial prototyping and have shown real potential for wide impact, but still need significant improvement before broad adoption. The intent is not to fund brand-new prototypes, but to mature technologies that already work in a pilot or early setting.
What kinds of technologies are in scope?
The focus is on informatics technologies that measurably improve how cancer-related data are acquired, analyzed, visualized, and interpreted. The scope spans the full cancer research continuum, including basic cancer biology, clinical diagnosis and treatment, early detection, risk assessment and prevention, cancer control, and cancer epidemiology.
What outcomes does NCI/ITCR expect from funded projects?
Funded projects are expected to deliver targeted, meaningful improvements that expand a tool's usefulness, reliability, usability, scalability, and fit for real-world use by researchers and clinicians working with complex cancer data. The emphasis is on creating a more mature, user-friendly, and disseminated resource by the end of the award.
Is this opportunity intended for incremental feature updates?
No. The expectation is that projects will go beyond incremental updates. Applications should propose improvements that materially change the technology's readiness and impact, including engineering maturity, validation in real settings, and adoption support.
How important are user needs and community feedback?
User needs are central. The NOFO emphasizes that development should be guided by real user needs rather than a developer-only roadmap. Applicants are expected to engage both (1) specific "driving" cancer research projects that actively use and stress-test the tool during development and (2) a broader user community throughout the project to evaluate usability, validate outputs, and ensure practical fit.
What are "driving" cancer research projects in this context?
"Driving" projects are cancer research efforts that will actively use the technology during the award period and provide continuous feedback. The expectation is that these projects will help shape development priorities by putting the tool into real workflows and stress-testing it as it evolves.
Do applicants need to show that their tool is unique compared to other tools?
Yes. Applicants are expected to justify why the technology is needed, what gap it fills, and why competing or existing tools do not solve the problem as well. Strong applications highlight clear advantages and the likelihood of significant downstream impact.
What does "U24 cooperative agreement" mean for the project relationship with NIH/NCI?
Because this is a U24 cooperative agreement, applicants should anticipate an active partnership model with NIH/NCI staff rather than a fully hands-off grant. The NOFO calls for a realistic development plan with clear milestones and timelines, consistent with a cooperative mechanism focused on achieving adoption-oriented outcomes.
Are clinical trials required?
The opportunity is labeled "Clinical Trial Optional." Based on the information provided, clinical trials are not required as a blanket condition, but may be proposed when appropriate to the project.
What kinds of plans for adoption and dissemination are expected?
Proposals should include concrete plans that help the community actually use the tool, such as documentation, training materials, outreach, collaborations, and other dissemination activities. The NOFO also expects strong processes for end-user support, enabling users to test, evaluate, and apply the technology in their own cancer research contexts.
What are the key attributes of competitive applications?
Competitive projects are described as those that: (1) can advance both the driving projects and the broader cancer research field, (2) demonstrate clear advantages over alternative technologies, (3) include compelling user-engagement and evaluation plans, (4) present credible strategies to broaden uptake through collaboration, outreach, and training, and (5) provide achievable milestones and timelines.
What is the activity area for this funding?
The activity area is health, with a focus on cancer informatics technologies supporting cancer research and management.
What type of funding is this categorized as?
It is categorized as discretionary funding and uses the cooperative agreement mechanism.
What CFDA numbers are associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity is associated with multiple CFDA numbers: 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, and 93.399.
What is the application closing date?
The original closing date listed is 2026-10-19.
How many awards are expected?
The expected number of awards is 3.
What is the maximum award amount?
The award ceiling is $600,000.
Who is eligible to apply?
A wide range of organizations are eligible, including state, county, and local governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (including those other than small businesses); small businesses; and other eligible entities.
Are international (non-U.S.) applicants allowed?
Yes. International participation is explicitly permitted. Non-U.S. organizations may apply directly, non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are eligible, and foreign components are allowed as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Does the NOFO allow foreign components or international collaborators on a U.S.-led application?
Yes. Foreign components are allowed (as defined by NIH policy), and the NOFO explicitly permits international participation, which includes non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations and international collaborators, as long as the project fits the NOFO and NIH policy expectations.
What is the core emphasis: building new tools or maturing existing ones?
The core emphasis is maturing existing tools. The NOFO is aimed at teams that already have a functioning technology with evidence of promise and now need support to enhance it, validate it through active use, and build the training, engagement, and dissemination infrastructure required for broad adoption.
What kinds of research domains can the tool support?
The tool can support discovery biology, population science, and clinical or translational research, as long as it improves cancer-related data workflows and is positioned for broad usefulness across cancer research.
What does the NOFO say about milestones and timelines?
The NOFO calls for a realistic development plan with clear milestones and timelines. Competitive applications present milestones that appear achievable rather than aspirational, consistent with producing a production-ready and disseminated resource by the end of the award.
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