Purpose

The ASCO Cancer Foundation® Improving Cancer Care Grant, funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, will provide extramural research funding to address important issues regarding access to healthcare, quality of care, and delivery of care, with general applicability to breast cancer. The goal of this program is to encourage multi-disciplinary research that will have a major impact on cancer care, with general applicability in the breast cancer arena. This grant opportunity is part of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure/ASCO Cancer Foundation Research Initiative.

Funding Available

Susan G. Komen for the Cure and The ASCO Cancer Foundation expect to award up to three research grants, each totaling 1.35 million dollars. This money will be distributed as $450,000 total costs per year over three years.

Timeline

• July 1, 2009 – Online application opens
• September 1, 2009 – Letter of Intent Due
• December 3, 2009 – Full Application Due
• July 1, 2010 – Grant Term Begins

Download the Full Request for Proposals (RFP)

(Updated 6/30/09)

2010 Applications are Now Closed

For further information, please contact komenasco@asco.org.

The Improving Cancer Care Grants will provide funding for research studies that implement and evaluate new ways to solve major problems in quality of, access to, and delivery of health care. Proposals must be focused on developing solutions to current problems, not just describing disparities in care that currently exist. Research teams that have previously laid the groundwork in these areas by describing existing problems are particularly encouraged to submit proposals to implement and study potential solutions.

Project proposals are not required to focus on breast cancer, but the study findings must have general applicability to breast cancer care.

Areas of major interest may include, but are not limited to:

• Increasing access to and delivery of care for individuals who face geographical and/or economic barriers, e.g., populations in rural areas or limited socioeconomic regions within an urban environment
• Developing new models of care for the underinsured or uninsured, including the rapidly emerging, acutely uninsured population resulting from current economic conditions
• Reducing the cost of care, such as study and evaluation of co-payment assistance programs
• Implementing programs to address workforce shortages, including but not limited to, collaborating with non-physician practitioners, implementing patient support group models, or using strategies to retain oncologists in the workforce
• Improving workforce education and training, including preparing for community-based practice, infusing tactics for collaborative team-based care, practicing in shortage areas, and increasing guideline adherence
• Addressing survivorship care: What kinds of models are effective to ensure quality of care for cancer survivors, especially those in under-served areas? What types of education programs and workforce training are needed for survivorship care?
• Overcoming disparities in clinical trial enrollment
• Increasing Health Literacy so that underserved populations present at earlier disease stages

The research teams:

• will focus on implementing and/or evaluating new solutions to existing problems in quality of, access to, and delivery of care, with general applicability to breast cancer
• will be led by a single Principal Investigator, who must be an active ASCO member (or have submitted a membership application) with an MD, DO, PhD or equivalent degree. All categories of active ASCO members are eligible
• will have a multidisciplinary team of investigators that may include clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, statisticians, epidemiologists, information technologists, and other research experts
• will be allowed to obtain expertise not represented in the core team through consultants and/or sub-contracts

To apply for ASCO membership, please visit: http://www.asco.org/ASCO/Membership

Applicants must submit their letter of intent in the online application system by 5:00 PM EDT on September 1, 2009. Only online applications will be accepted. All application materials must be in English. Letters of Intent require the following components:

• Principal Investigator Information
  • Name
  • Institution
  • Contact Information
  • Degree Type
  • ASCO Member Number (Choose "Pending" if you are submitting a membership application with your grant application)
  • Date that you completed your final subspecialty training program (fellowship, residency, or PhD program)
  • Date that you started your initial full-time faculty appointment.  A faculty appointment is not required for the Improving Cancer Care Grant.  If you do not have a faculty appointment at an academic institution, please click the "N/A" box.
• Uploaded Biosketches for the Principal Investigator and any Co-Investigators
• Uploaded Research Project Overview. This document should be a description of the goals of the research proposal and an overview of the experimental plan (1-2 pages). This section should include:
  • What is the problem in care that you are trying to solve?
  • How will you implement and/or evaluate a potential solution?
  • How will your proposed research improve cancer care?
  • How will the lessons learned be applicable to breast cancer care?
• Uploaded Statement of Collaboration outlining the roles of all investigators (one-page maximum)

2010 Applications are Now Closed 

After review by the Research Initiative Grant Review Subcommittee, applicants will be notified about the status of their letter of intent. Only applicants who have submitted an approved letter of intent will be eligible to submit the full proposal. Applicants can expect to be notified on October 1, 2009.

The full application must be submitted by 5:00 PM EST on December 3, 2009, and will include the following sections:

1. Contact Information
2. Project Information
3. Biosketches for Principal Investigator and any Co-Investigators
4. Research Plan
5. References
6. Institutional Letter of Support
7. Pertinent Prior Publications (Optional)
8. Budget and Justification
9. Supporting Documentation (Optional)
10. Institutional Approval

Contact Information

Information about the Principal Investigator, including:

• Name
• Institution
• Contact Information
• Degree Type
• ASCO Member Number (Choose "Pending" if you are submitting a membership application with your grant application)
• Date that you completed your final subspecialty training program (fellowship, residency, or PhD program)
• Date that you started your initial full-time faculty appointment.  A faculty appointment is not required for the Improving Cancer Care Grant.  If you do not have a faculty appointment at an academic institution, please click the "N/A" box.

Project Information

This section requires a Project Title, Subject Area, Research Focus Area(s), and Assurances regarding the use of human and/or animal subjects in your research proposal. Additionally, you must enter a brief abstract of your research proposal (<350 words). 

Biosketches (including Other Research Support)

Biosketches must be uploaded for the Principal Investigator and any Co-Investigators. Biosketches for all investigators must include the Other Research Support section. Co-Investigators may be changed from the original Letter of Intent submission if the project goals remain the same and the change is justified in the Narrative.

Research Plan

Applicants must upload a narrative detailing their research proposal (15-page limit). The page limit does not include references. The narrative should include:

• Specific Aims of the Research Proposal
• Background – Include specific data detailing the existing problem in care. Include any preliminary data from your research group.
• Research Plan – Detail the experimental plan of your proposal, including each investigator's role in the project. How will you address this problem? What are the potential outcomes? What are likely pitfalls that you will encounter?
• Discussion of the Project's Potential Impact – How will your proposed research significantly impact cancer care, and how is it applicable to breast cancer?

References

References cited in the project narrative should be uploaded as a separate document, not subject to the page limit of the narrative.

Institutional Letter of Support

The Principal Investigator must upload a letter from the Chair, Head, or Director of his/her Department at the sponsoring institution. If the Applicant is the Chair or Director, this letter must come from the appropriate dean or equivalent.  If the PI is at a non-academic institution, this letter should come from an employee in senior management (Director, Chairman, etc.).

The letter must contain:

• Description of the applicant's leadership role in relation to the research team
• Certification that the applicant has sufficient protected research time to successfully lead the research team
• Certification of the department's commitment to provide the physical facilities and administrative services necessary to conduct the research throughout the award term

Pertinent Prior Publications (Optional)

Up to two prior publications that are relevant to the proposal may be uploaded. The Principal Investigator or a Co-Investigator must be one of the authors.

Budget and Justification

All funds will be paid directly to the sponsoring institution. The Principal Investigator must have a position at the sponsoring institution.

In this section, applicants must enter a total budget for each grant year that details:

• Personnel and salary information
• Budget for equipment, supplies, travel, patient care costs, etc.
• Justification for all budget costs. Justification must be entered in the "Notes" section for each line item
• Totals of any expenses that will be subcontracted to other institutions

If the proposal includes subcontracts to another institution, each institution must provide an individual budget in addition to the combined total budget. Budgets for subcontracting institutions must include information on indirect costs for the subcontract. The combined total budget should be entered in this section and the individual institution budgets should be uploaded in the "Additional Uploads" section of the application.

The following limitations will apply to all budgets:

• The grant amount is $450,000 per year for 3 years. The budgeted amount must not exceed this $1.35 million
• Indirect Costs: Indirect costs will be limited to 25% of the total costs, or $112,500 per year
• Travel: Travel will be limited to $2,500 per year, including the ASCO Annual Meeting
• Personnel: Salary limits will be equivalent to the NIH limits ($196,700 in 2009)

Supporting Documentation (Optional)

You may use this section to upload budgets for subcontracting institutions or to upload any other documentation that you feel is necessary for proper review of your proposed project. Please do not upload additional publications.

Institutional Approval

An Institutional Approval Officer representing the institution of the Principal Investigator must approve the complete application (including project proposal and budget) before submission. This official is normally an officer in the institution's Office of Research or an employee in senior management at a non-academic institution.

Principal Investigators will enter the name, title, and contact information for their Institutional Approval Officer. Once the application is complete, the Principal Investigator should click "Notify." This will send the Institutional Approval Officer an e-mail with login information describing how to enter the online system.

When the Institutional Approval Officer logs in, he or she will be able to view a .pdf file of the application. If the application is approved, the Institutional Approval Officer must upload an Institutional Approval Facesheet that says that they approve the application. If it is not approved, the Institutional Approval Officer should contact the applicant directly to have them fix any problems before approval.

Once the Institutional Approval Officer uploads the approval facesheet and submits it, the Principal Investigator will get an e-mail confirming that this task is complete. The Principal Investigator must then login and submit the completed application. No more changes should be made to the application once it has been approved by the Institutional Approval Officer.