DOD, Rare Cancers, Resource and Community Development Award | HT9425 23 RCRP RCDA

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the FY23 Rare Cancers Research Program (RCRP) Resource and Community Development Award (RCDA)?

The RCDA is a Department of Defense funding opportunity offered through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). It is designed to strengthen the rare cancers field by building and expanding shared research assets that the community can use and build on.

What is the main goal of this award?

The main goal is to create or expand enabling infrastructure for rare cancers research, such as shared datasets, tools, and platforms that make research more connected, more usable, and more impactful for patient outcomes. The focus is on community-serving resources rather than a single, hypothesis-driven research project.

Is this award meant to fund a single research hypothesis or discovery project?

No. The opportunity emphasizes building clinical or pre-clinical datasets, tools, and infrastructure. It is intended to support the field broadly by creating shared resources that multiple stakeholders can use.

What kinds of deliverables are expected from an RCDA project?

The intended deliverable is a research platform or a coordinated set of resources that actively supports collaboration and information sharing across the rare cancers community. Examples described include curated and standardized datasets, organized collections of clinical or pre-clinical models, mapped molecular pathways relevant to rare tumors, and compiled therapeutic approaches and supporting evidence designed for others to build upon.

What types of resources can be supported under this award?

The description highlights resources such as clinical and pre-clinical datasets, research tools, infrastructure for sharing data and other resources, and organized access to rare cancer models, patient tissues, validated cell lines, and tumor models (as applicable to the proposed platform).

Why does the program emphasize shared assets and infrastructure for rare cancers?

Rare cancers often face fragmentation and scarcity: small datasets, isolated efforts, and limited access to validated models or tissues. The program aims to reduce duplication, improve discoverability and usability of resources, and connect stakeholders so that promising findings and approaches do not remain confined to individual labs or small networks.

What gaps or bottlenecks is the RCDA trying to address?

The opportunity description points to several persistent barriers: weak communication and dissemination of research and clinical findings; too few therapeutics and insufficient mechanistic work to inform treatment development; limited access to key resources such as patient tissues and validated models; and inadequate infrastructure for sharing data and resources in reliable, discoverable, and usable ways.

What does "community development" mean in the context of this award?

It means the proposed resource should be designed for active use by the broader rare cancers community. Success is tied not only to generating or assembling information, but also to dissemination and engagement so that multiple groups can find, access, and use the resource effectively.

Who is the intended audience or user base for the funded platform or resources?

The platform is expected to be oriented toward community use and to consider multiple audiences, including researchers, clinicians, patients, caregivers, and other members of the broader rare cancers community.

How does the RCDA expect funded projects to improve patient outcomes?

By building shared datasets, models, and knowledge systems that accelerate collaboration, increase access to actionable information, and make it easier to find, use, and share rare cancer resources across institutions and stakeholder groups. The intent is to help communities move faster and reduce the isolation of discoveries.

What kind of funding mechanism is used for this opportunity?

The opportunity is described as a discretionary funding opportunity (CFDA 12.420) using either grants or cooperative agreements.

What is the difference between a grant and a cooperative agreement for this opportunity?

The listing indicates that awards may be made as grants or cooperative agreements, and notes that cooperative agreements typically involve more substantial federal involvement or coordination. The specific level of involvement would depend on the individual award.

What does "eligibility was listed as unrestricted" mean?

It means a wide range of organizations could apply, assuming no other restrictions were included elsewhere in the full announcement. The summary provided does not list additional eligibility limits.

When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?

The opportunity was posted on April 19, 2023. The original closing date was September 29, 2023.

How many awards were anticipated?

The opportunity anticipated making about three awards.

Was there a maximum award amount (award ceiling) listed?

The listing showed an award ceiling of 0, which typically indicates the maximum amount was not specified in the summary field. Applicants would be expected to consult the full funding announcement for budget limits or expectations.

What does it mean that the award ceiling is shown as 0?

In the summary context provided, it generally means the ceiling was not populated or not specified in that particular listing field, not necessarily that no funding was available. The full announcement would normally provide the relevant budget guidance.

What kinds of activities could a proposed platform include?

The description suggests activities such as organizing and distributing pre-clinical or clinical research models, curating and standardizing datasets, mapping molecular pathways for rare tumors, and compiling therapeutic approaches and evidence in a way that helps others quickly build on prior work.

How important are dissemination and communication in this award?

They are central themes. The opportunity explicitly highlights weak communication and dissemination as a bottleneck and signals that success includes how effectively the resource connects people to actionable information, not only whether new data are created.

What makes this award different from typical disease-focused research funding?

Rather than funding a narrow project aimed at testing a single hypothesis, this award prioritizes shared infrastructure and community resources that enable many future studies, improve coordination, and increase the practical usability of rare cancer data, models, and knowledge across stakeholders.

What does the RCDA mean by making rare cancers research "more connected" and "more usable"?

It refers to building systems and shared assets that improve discoverability, standardization, access, and sharing across institutions and groups. The intent is to help small and scattered efforts become more interoperable and easier for others to reuse.

Which federal entities are associated with this funding opportunity?

The Department of Defense is the overall sponsor, and the opportunity is offered through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA).

What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA number listed is 12.420.