February 18 2022
Date Issued: February 18, 2022
Submission Due Date: April 22, 2022
Reply to: fielde@nrgoncology.org
Summary
NRG Oncology NCORP solicits PILOT projects addressing NRG NCORP Cancer Care Delivery Research (CCDR) priorities.CCDR is a multidisciplinary science that seeks to improve clinical outcomes and patient well-being by intervening onpatient, clinician, and organizational factors that influence cancer care delivery. PILOT projects should generatepreliminary data and feasibility assessments to support subsequent CCDR concept development. Specifically, this awardwill fund work that has high potential to lead to a competitive CCDR concept for review by the NRG and NCI CCDRSteering Committees. Competitive pilot applications address study implementation feasibility and portability to diversecommunity-based practices.
CCDR funding priorities are:
- Implementation and dissemination interventions related to guideline-based care:
- Use of tumor DNA sequencing prior to prescribing targeted therapies;
- Integrating patient-reported outcomes into clinical practice (extends survival);
- Enhance access to proven survivorship and palliative care strategies
- Optimize screening strategies based on disease risk during post-treatment surveillance phase of care
- Implement symptom management strategies during adjuvant and palliative treatment.
- Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) related to symptom management: Topics of interest include: 1) use of PROCTCAE in NRG NCORP trials, and improving compliance and data capture and 2) employing technology or apps tostandardized PRO variables across EHR, registry, and claims data systems.
- Interventions to address health disparities among the elderly, racial and ethnic minorities, sexual and genderminorities, and rural residents.
The committee caps study budgets at $50,000 contingent upon NRG Oncology’s Notice of Award from the Division ofCancer Prevention. The committee may award up to two projects that should commence not later than September 1,2022, and conclude December 31, 2023. Obligations include submission of a six-month progress report notingcompleted work to date, and documentation of challenges and opportunities encountered. The CCDR Committee willnot issue carry over funds. Principal Investigators are also required to complete progress reports at the end of theproject period. Please solicit your institution's Sponsored Research Office (SRO) to develop the project budget andensure that the SRO approves the application and budget. Favorably reviewed projects will require a sub-awardagreement with NRG outlining terms and conditions for the host institution. NRG will reimburse funds upon receipt ofinvoices. NRG will reimburse payments during the first 6 months of the project, then upon favorable progress reportreview, additional reimbursements will be made for the remainder of the grant period. We will prioritize applicationsfrom institutions positioned to waive indirect costs and/or provide cost sharing. The review committee will also prioritizeapplications from junior investigators advancing an application with a team including qualified mentors. The reviewcommittee will also prioritize underrepresented minority investigators submitting applications.
Background
The NCI prioritizes the following conditions when reviewing CCDR concepts and studies (Please refer to the guidanceprovided by NCI Healthcare Delivery Research Program):
- a well-articulated primary focus and related scientific question.
- addresses a contemporary challenge in community oncology practice
- demonstrated potential to improve clinical outcomes and patient well-being
- Can be an Interventional or observational study
- Observational studies must identify intervention targets
- Interventional studies must generate evidence of benefit or dissemination of beneficialintervention
- Opportunity to include an aim addressing the unique needs and circumstances of minority or underservedpopulations.
Additionally, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Delivering High-Quality Cancer Care: Charting a New Course for aSystem in Crisis provides a conceptual framework that informs NRG Oncology’s CCDR program. Thus, the NRG OncologyNCORP seeks pilot projects testing improvements in quality, access, and value-for-money in cancer care delivery.
Instructions for Applicants
Interested investigators should submit a 5-page proposal with all documents included in one pdf to Erica Field (fielde@nrgoncology.org) by 5pm ET, Friday, April 22, 2023. Proposals should include:
- A one-page overview of the project, including specific aims
- Please include a title page (not part of the page limit) that indicates the title of the proposal, the leadinvestigator and all co investigators to include institutional affiliations and contact information.Please include the following sections in the proposal (as applicable): background/summary, aims, methods,analysis, models, study design, use of PROs/QOLs recruitment plan, outline of requested NRG Oncologyresources (i.e. biospecimen materials, statistical support, etc) and a clear description of how the project willadvance a subsequent CCDR concept.
- Any expenses related to the NRG resources (i.e. biospecimen materials, statistical support, etc) should beoutlined in the budget
- One-page letter of support signed with the department chair specifically stating they will or will not wave F&Aand cost share [not included in the 5-page limit]
- Identification of project Investigators and their affiliation
- A project timeline [not included in the 5-page limit]
- The PI’s NIH biosketch [not included in the 5-page limit]
- A paragraph that describes the PI’s and/or team members previous experience with NRG Oncology. If the PI isnew to engagement with NRG Oncology, provide a paragraph that describes why the PI would like to be involvedin NRG Oncology and how the pilot funds will be used to advance future work within NRG Oncology NCORP [notincluded in the 5-page limit].
- A detailed budget [not included in the 5-page limit]
- Include funds to be paid to NCORP sites for participation, if any
- Budget should be divided by Year 1 (Sept 1, 2022 – August 31, 2023) and Year 2 (Sept 1, 2023 –December 31, 2023). Any salary must be at or below NIH cap.
Submit applications to NRG NCORP Administrator:
Erica Field, MPH, MHA
fielde@nrgoncology.org
215-940-8824
Direct scientific questions to NRG NCORP PI and CCDR Chairs:
Deborah Watkins Bruner, RN, PhD, FAAN
NCORP PI
deborah.w.bruner@emory.edu
Joan Walker, MD
NCORP PI
Joan-Walker@ouhsc.edu
Mary E. Cooley, PhD, RN, FAAN
CCDR Committee Chair
Mary_Cooley@dfci.harvard.edu
Matthew Hudson, PhD, MPH
CCDR Committee Vice-Chair
Matt.Hudson@prismahealth.org