Supplemental Instructions for Preparation of the Centers of Excellence
in Cancer Communications Research Grant Application

These supplemental instructions for preparation of the CECCR application
cover aspects of grant preparation that are not addressed by, or that
supplant the PHS 398 instructions. Continue to check
<http://dccps.nci.nih.gov/communicationcenters/> for additions or
corrections, in addition to a Frequently Asked Questions Page.

[Face Page]{.underline}

Use the Face Page of the PHS 398 form for the CECCR application as a
whole. This is Page 1 of the application. On item 2, check "YES", and
type Centers of Excellence in Cancer Communications Research RFA
#CA-03-007. Where human subjects and animal subjects approvals are
requested, type "see page \_\_ for summary". These summary instructions
are provided below.

# 

[Description, Performance Sites and Personnel Page]{.underline}

Write a Description that provides the theme and aims of the project as a
whole, enumerates and briefly describes the individual components, and
outlines the interdisciplinary strategy for the CECCR. Performance Sites
and Personnel (all Sites and all Key Personnel in the CECCR) are to be
entered as described in the PHS 398 instructions. Use extension pages as
necessary.

# 

# Table of Contents Page for the CECCR application as a whole 

Use **Attachment 1** as the Table of Contents for the entire CECCR,
which shows the order of all forms and subsections. Number pages
sequentially through the entire application. Use **Attachment 2** as the
Table of Contents page for the individual Research Project Plans and
**Attachment 3** for Cores.

[Human Subjects protocol summary]{.underline}

Refer to PHS 398. IRBs are a "Just in Time" item and need not be
included in the application. If the application is successful, the
applicant will be asked to provide all of the "Just in Time" items
during the award process.

[Animal Subjects protocol summary]{.underline}

Refer to PHS 398. Provide a list summarizing the IACUC status of all
research project plans, cores and pilot projects. You will also need to
include IACUC approval at the time of submission of the application or
within 60 days.

# Detailed Budget for Initial Budget Period (DD) 

# Include this page in the front section of the CECCR application. This page is a summation of all project costs in the first year of funding. The CECCR P.I. should show his or her percent effort and salary information where appropriate in the individual research project plans, cores, and pilot projects. Total effort should be listed on this form as well.

[Budget for Entire Proposed Project Period (EE)]{.underline}

Provide aggregate figures that encompass all Research Project Plans,
Cores, and Pilot Projects across all project years. Also, provide budget
Justification information here if it relates to the CECCR as a whole.
This form should also be used in the Individual Research Project Plans,
Cores and Pilot Projects.

[Consolidated Direct Costs for First Year of Requested
Support]{.underline} - Use **Attachment 4** for the overall CECCR
budget, across all Research Project Plans, Cores and Pilot Projects.
Note that standard 398 budget pages and justifications of budget items
and personnel should be embedded within the individual sections, as
outlined in the PHS 398 application packet.

[Percent Distribution of Professional effort on this
application]{.underline} - **Use Attachment 5**.

[Percent Distribution of Core Resources]{.underline} -- Use **Attachment
6**.

[Gender and Minority Inclusion]{.underline} - Use targeted plan
enrollment table from PHS 398 form.

[Biographical Sketch]{.underline}

As described in the PHS 398. Include the CECCR Principal Investigator's
Biosketch first and then list Biographical Sketches for all other PIs
and key personnel in alphabetical order.

[Other Support]{.underline}

Information on Other Support is "Just in Time" and need NOT be submitted
with the application. This information is required, however, for all
applications that are to receive grant awards. NIH will request complete
and up to date \"Other Support\" information from applicants at an
appropriate time after peer review. The Institute\'s scientific program
and grants management staff will review this information prior to award.

[Resources]{.underline}

This page relates to the CECCR as a whole, including off-site
collaborative facilities. Use extension pages if necessary.

## 

## Research Plan of the CECCR as a whole

[Introduction and overview of the entire CECCR application]{.underline}.

This section should not exceed **five pages, exclusive of literature
references**.

> Sub-sections of the overview should include:

-   Specific Aims of the CECCR, including brief descriptions of each
    Center component (including Core(s)). Include here a brief overview
    of the interdisciplinary strategy with regard to interactions and
    collaborations.

-   Setting and Facilities, including a statement of institutional
    commitment (this does not supplant the Resources form). Describe
    here how the institution will make the CECCR an area of high
    priority. If the CECCR is being submitted from an institution
    already designated as an NCI clinical or comprehensive center,
    clearly delineate the relationship of the CECCR (P50) to the cancer
    center (P30).

-   Proposed animal models and species, and/or proposed use of human
    volunteers (e.g., patient populations, epidemiological samples)

-   CECCR organization and administration, including a brief description
    of the Principal Investigator and other Scientific Leadership.

-   Applications are strongly discouraged from naming individual members
    of "advisory committees" or "scientific boards" until the time the
    application has been funded.

[Detailed Description of the Interdisciplinary
Collaboration]{.underline}. Explain how all of the projects fit together
across disciplines to promote synergy and syntheses. This section also
should identify creative strategies to foster intra- and inter-center
collaborations of a formal and informal nature to identify and address
overarching scientific and methodological issues. The NIH is especially
interested in opportunities to engage arts and sciences university
faculties and schools of public health in collaboration with medical
schools, or cancer center faculty. Budget pages and other 398 forms
should be included in this section *if relevant*. **Five page limit,
exclusive of forms and literature references.**

[Individual Research Projects and Cores]{.underline}

There is required at minimum three research projects concurrently active
in any given year of the CECCR. It is not necessary, however, for all
projects in the CECCR to span the 5-year period. An application can, for
example, propose an initial project to begin and end in 2 years followed
by a different 3-year project, while two other projects concurrently
span the entire 5-year period. Across all projects, different aspects of
cancer communications research should be addressed; ideally, these
should include research, from basic to applied, oriented toward
critically needed areas, and should stimulate and sustain novel
collaborations and test novel ideas. Although a detailed description of
the interdisciplinary collaboration (above) will describe the overall
interdisciplinary collaboration across all of the CECCR's projects and
cores, it would be helpful within each Project Plan, Core and Pilot
Project to describe its integration with the entire CECCR.

Each Research Project Plan of the CECCR should be written as a separate
and contained PHS 398 application. [Do not, however, use the face page
of the 398 package for the title page of the individual Research Project
Plans or Cores]{.underline}. Use the title page format provided in
**Attachments 2** and **3**. Otherwise, use all of the required 398
budget and other forms and sections for each individual research project
plan. Each Research Project Plan is limited to **25 pages.** The page
limit refers to the Specific Aims, Background and Significance,
Preliminary Studies, and Research Design and Methods sections. Refer to
the PHS 398 instructions for guidance regarding inclusion of children in
research protocols.

Similarly, each Core of shared administrative, clinical, statistical,
training or other resources and activities (e.g., Administrative Core,
Scientific Core, Clinical Core) should be written as a separate 398
application, again using the title page format provided in **Attachment
2**, followed by the 398 forms and sections as appropriate. The Core
sections need not conform exactly to the layout of the Research Project
Plans (for example, a research design and methods section may be
inappropriate for a Core description). Try to follow the table of
contents outline, but if a section category is not applicable, type a
dash "-" in the page number column in the table of contents page. Each
Core description is limited to **10 pages, exclusive of forms and
literature references.**

As described in the RFA, a Career Development Plan must be included that
will target either new investigators or established investigators who
wish to expand their research skills. Recruitment must include qualified
women and minorities. To this end, propose a clear policy and plan for
recruitment of career development candidates. State the number of career
development candidates proposed, the criteria for eligibility and for
selection of candidates, and describe the selection process. Also
indicate potential mentors who are already in place at the proposed
CECCR, briefly describe their research programs, and describe
complementary activities that contribute to the interdisciplinary
environment for career development (e.g., existing training grants,
other career development mechanisms and relevant programs). **Do not
exceed 10 pages**.

[Pilot Research Selection Process]{.underline}

A CECCR should use pilot funds to stimulate projects that take maximum
advantage of new research opportunities by carrying out developmental
research that will facilitate new collaborations and the opportunity to
pursue challenging ideas. Such projects may be collaborative among
scientists within one or more CECCRs, or with scientists outside the
CECCR environment. There is no limit to the number of pilot projects
that can be proposed, nor is there a budgetary cap for each or all of
the pilots, apart from the budgetary cap for the entire CECCR. The CECCR
application should propose **an institutional review process** (do not
exceed 2 pages) for future pilot projects (i.e., those that are not
included in the initial CECCR review) which represent the most
innovative and interdisciplinary communication research ideas, and which
are likely to have the greatest impact on reducing the burden of cancer
and its consequences. Future Pilot projects should be able to be
submitted by investigators both inside and outside of the CECCR team.
The application may also include examples of **up to two** pilot
projects. Each example should not exceed **2 pages.**

[Checklist]{.underline} -- Use one for the entire CECCR application.
This is the last page of the application.

[Appendix]{.underline}

*Do not include appendix material with the CECCR application; they will
not be accepted.* Following submission of the proposal, the Scientific
Review Administrator may allow a P.I. to send original glossy
photographs or other color images. If such permission is granted (and
only if) by the SRA, these photos are to be sent directly to the SRA.

# Attachments

Attachment 1: Table of Contents for CECCR application as a whole

Attachment 2 &3: Table of Contents page for individual Research Project
Plans, Cores, and Pilot Projects

Attachments 4-6: Tables for consolidated budget and percent distribution
across CECCR components