Updated: October 10, 2007
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the mission of the CRCC?
The mission of the CRCC is the support of promising new directions of research into all aspects of the cancer problem, including its origin, prevention, and cure. The CRCC provides one-year seed grants of up to $50,000 direct costs to members of the Academic Senate on the ten UC campuses. - Who is eligible to apply for CRCC funds?
Note: New eligibility guidelines are in effect for the 2008-2009 award year. See Instructions for new eligibility limitations. In general, any individual holding an Academic Senate title and employed at least 50% time on a UC-administered payroll with a UC appointment date of July 1, 2006 or earlier is eligible to apply. - What are the application categories and their
implications?
The two categories are New Assistant Professor applications (NAP) and Regular applications (REG). Faculty members who are Assistant Professors at the time of application and for whom the award year will be their third through sixth year of appointment as UC faculty are considered NAPs. All others are considered REGs. NAP applications are not subject to the “logical extension” limitation on funding described below. Assistant Professors whose “tenure clock” has been modified by circumstances such as family leave, illness, etc., can have their eligibility as NAPs extended. Contact the CRCC office for details. - Are clinical researchers eligible?
Yes, provided they meet the criteria described above. The CRCC receives comparable numbers of proposals from clinical and non-clinical researchers, and proposals from both groups have similar success rates. - How can the application form and instructions
be obtained?
The application form and instructions are available for download in several formats from the CRCC website (http://crcc.ucdavis.edu/forms.html). Hard copy forms are available from each campus’ Contracts and Grants (or comparable) Office, or directly from the CRCC Office (email crcc@ucdavis.edu). - What is the application due date?
For the 2008-2009 fiscal grant year, applications are due in the CRCC office, in hard copy form with all necessary copies and signatures, no later than 5 PM, Friday December 14, 2007. Every application to the CRCC must be processed through a campus Contracts and Grants Office, without exception. - How are proposals evaluated?
Each proposal receives a detailed mail review by at least two committee members, who evaluate it numerically for scientific merit and relevance to the cancer problem. For this purpose committee members are selected on the basis of expertise in the relevant area(s) of research and may not be based on the same campus of residence as the author of the proposal. All proposals are subsequently discussed by the full committee, which votes by secret ballot on merit and relevance. Members from the same department or comparable unit as the author of the proposal are excused from the discussion and voting. The committee has the option of "triaging" proposals for which the mail review scores indicate that the likelihood of funding is extremely low. - What does the Committee look for in a proposal?
The proposals received by the CRCC are as diverse as the disciplines associated with the broad field of cancer research. However, in keeping with the mission of the CRCC, hypothesis-driven research proposals, supported by established science, rigorous logical reasoning, and appropriately detailed experimental design, are typically received most favorably. If the proposal experiments are outside your areas of expertise obtain and document assurances of assistance from qualified individuals. Preliminary results are not required but, if available, should be described in sufficient detail (and cited, if published) for the Committee to be able to evaluate. We encourage applicants to have their proposals reviewed before submission by colleagues who have received CRCC awards or who have served on the Committee. - I wanted to include figures and/or data as an
Appendix. Is this permissible?
No. Everything that the applicant wishes to be evaluated scientifically must be contained in the five-page body (Explanation of the Project) of the proposal. - I obtained preliminary data in support of my
proposal after the due date. May I submit it to the Committee?
No. - My research is in an unusual area, and I’m
concerned about how the CRCC will evaluate it scientifically.
The CRCC is composed of 18-25 scientists representing a wide variety of fields associated with the cancer problem in the broadest possible sense. Turnover in committee membership is typically 25% per year, ensuring that individuals with expertise in newly developing fields are always available to review proposals. Should a proposal be received whose subject matter falls outside the scope of expertise on the committee, outside reviewers will be solicited. - How is the payline determined?
The availability of CRCC funds determines the payline. At least 50% of the money distributed in any given year is required by the CRCC bylaws to fund applications in the New Assistant Professor category. - What is the source of CRCC funds?
Funding for CRCC grants derives entirely from the annual income generated by some 35-40 accounts which have been established as endowments by private donors to the University of California for the purpose of supporting cancer research. - What is the success rate for CRCC proposals?
Recent overall success rates have been in the vicinity of 30%, somewhat higher for New Assistant Professor applications, slightly lower for applications in the Regular category. - I received a letter informing me that, although
my CRCC proposal received a good score, it would not be funded.
Under what circumstances does this occur?
There are three main situations under which CRCC funding will be denied to a proposal otherwise deemed to be scientifically worthy of funding:
OVERLAP—The proposed work is substantially similar to that described in a funded or pending extramural grant. If the latter is pending, the CRCC grant may be approved for funding, contingent upon the extramural proposal not being funded. Applies to all proposals to the CRCC.
LOGICAL EXTENSION—The proposed work continues a direction of study already established in a current or recently funded extramural grant, rather than describing a new area. As a general guideline, if the proposed work could reasonably be expected to appear in the renewal application of a current grant, it is likely to be considered a logical extension of that research. Applies only to CRCC proposals in the REG category; Applicants in the NAP category are exempt from this limitation.
WELL-FUNDED LABORATORY—The proposal has been submitted by a laboratory which may have total extramural research support in excess of $350,000 available to the PI for the award year. If some of this funding is in the form of pending proposals, CRCC support may be awarded, contingent upon extramural funding not exceeding this amount. When reporting research support for your laboratory include only the actual amount available to the lab; exclude any administrative "taxes" that are technically budgeted as direct costs but are not directly available for support of your laboratory’s research (eg fee remission charges that go into a campus pool for fee waivers, or funds that are deducted to subsidize departmental services, etc).
Decisions on the applicability of these provisions are made on a case-by-case basis by vote of the entire Committee and are not subject to administrative review. It is the responsibility of the PI to fully explain any apparent similarities in content between the CRCC proposal and other grants, and why the science proposed to the CRCC does not constitute overlap or (REG applications only) logical extension. - My CRCC proposal was not funded. Can I request feedback?
Written reviews will be mailed with the notification letter. Please note that these reviews were written prior to the CRCC Grant Review Meeting and therefore do not necessarily reflect the discussions of your proposal that took place at the meeting. It is not unusual for these discussions to result in changes in the original reviewers’ opinions regarding the proposal, which will not be reflected in the written reviews. If you wish additional information, please contact the CRCC office by email. Arrangements can be made for a member of the Committee to contact you to discuss some of the issues and concerns the Committee had and to offer suggestions for improving the proposal for resubmission. - When does the funding period begin?
Funding decisions are communicated to applicants no later than May 31, and funding commences on July 1. - My CRCC grant has been funded, but the funds have not yet arrived.
When can I expect this to occur?
All intercampus transfers of intramural funds in the UC system require a certain amount of time to be completed. The Systemwide CRCC accounts receive the proceeds from the corresponding endowments in July. Requests for transfers from Systemwide to the accounts of the PIs on the campuses are made shortly thereafter, but may not show up on the actual Departmental ledgers for an additional month or two. The Notice of Grant Award document sent to every CRCC grant recipient is an absolute commitment that those funds will be forthcoming. PIs are therefore encouraged to communicate with the responsible officials in their units in advance to make all possible arrangements to permit spending to commence as early in the fiscal year as possible. It is not uncommon practice for units to advance funds to PIs on this basis. - Who can I pay with CRCC funds?
CRCC funds can be used to pay graduate students, post-docs, and technicians. CRCC funds may not be used for the salary of any UC employee with an academic title. - Can overhead be taken out of CRCC grants?
No. - I have a CRCC grant. Can I apply for a second year of
funding?
No. - I still have questions. Who can I consult for further information?
Contact the CRCC office by phone (530-754-7608) or email (crcc@ucdavis.edu).
