The 2022 Request for Pilot Study Applications has closed; please come back in January 2023 for the 2023 cycle

The BRIDGE-C2 Center, is one of seven National Cancer Institute-funded Implementation Science Centers for Cancer Control. As a partnership between Oregon Health & Science University's Department of Family Medicine and OCHIN, Inc., the BRIDGE-C2 Center focuses on enhancing use of interventions to reduce care gaps and disparities among patients seen in the healthcare safety net. Our emphasis is on implementing and evaluating the adoption of clinic-based interventions to improve the provision of evidence-based cancer prevention in the primary care setting. We will advance the science of identifying and evaluating the support strategies needed to increase the impact of interventions; how to predict and measure adoption and sustainability, and the adaptation of strategies to meet individual practices' needs. 

The BRIDGE-C2 Center’s grand challenge is to advance implementation science to improve cancer screening and prevention in underserved populations. The BRIDGE-C2 Center’s vision is to ensure cancer preventive care is accessible and appropriately utilized to eliminate disparities. To accomplish this, the Center focuses on enhancing use of interventions to reduce care gaps and disparities among patients seen in the healthcare safety net.   

Overview

The BRIDGE-C2 Center is soliciting applications for pilot studies. The purpose of this small grants program is to advance goals of the BRIDGE-C2 Center by conducting rapid-cycle research that is needed to eliminate longstanding gaps in cancer screening and prevention. Grant awards provide $20,000 direct costs for 6 months.  Pilot studies can be observational, experimental, or quasi-experimental, and should be executed within the primary care clinical systems associated with our participating organizations (OHSU and OCHIN). Pilot studies must: 

  • Have a health disparities/health equity focus 
  • Study mechanisms or develop new methods to advance the implementation science constructs that the BRIDGE-C2 Center focuses on, including: adoption, adaptation, and sustainability 
  • Focus on evidence-based strategies for primary and secondary cancer prevention   

BRIDGE-C2 Center pilot studies can be feasibility studies, pre-implementation evaluation or simulation, tests of study design components, or full experiments, depending on resources. Pilot studies can include: collecting process measures (e.g., implementation fidelity, adaptation, and engagement), or providing estimates of effect sizes for measures of implementation success, and/or measuring implementation impact on quality, safety, and health outcomes.  

Successful pilot proposals will meet the following criteria:  

  • Have a clear goal and contribution to the discipline of implementation science 
  • Expected learnings will be relevant to primary care providers and/or patients 
  • Include a feasible study plan for the award period  
  • Have a clear dissemination strategy for results. There should be a clearly defined and feasible product of the research, such as a paper for a peer-reviewed journal, a conference abstract, and/or (preferred) a grant submission 
  • Identify clear next step(s) for this research (i.e., grant submission for future funding or development of an intervention) 

Pilots that include an intervention must also: 

  • Provide evidence for the intervention being proposed 
  • Describe scalability of the proposed study, including willingness of the clinical system to adopt the program (if successful)
  • Describe effective and efficient use of BRIDGE-C2 Center resources, including mixed-methods analysis support 

Proposals will be given high priority if they also have: 

  • A Principal Investigator who is a junior faculty mentored by a senior faculty mentor  
  • A multi-disciplinary study team that includes clinical and non-clinical members 
  • Supports learner engagement (e.g., students, post-doctoral, K scholars)

Applicant Eligibility

Faculty, Project Scientists, Research Trainees, Postdoctoral Fellows and Community Practitioners at Oregon Health & Science University and OCHIN Inc. are encouraged and eligible to apply. 

Submission and Review Process

1. Call for proposals / Applications open: January 1, 2022 

2. Letter of Intent (LOI) due: 5:00 p.m. (PST) on or before March 1, 2022 

  • LOI’s should be submitted using this LINK and providing the following information: 
    • Title of proposed research 
    • Aim/hypothesis of proposed research 
    • Description of how health equity and implementation science are being addressed in the proposed research  
    • Contact information of Principal Investigator 
  • Early submission is encouraged so PIs have more time to prepare full proposal.  
  • LOIs will be reviewed for relevance, feasibility, and future funding potential. 
  • If necessary, BRIDGE experts will discuss with the PI the proposed research question, study methods, and design. 

3. Acceptance of LOI: April 1, 2022

  • Relevant BRIDGE personnel will review LOI’s and provide notification of acceptance of LOI within 1 months of LOI receipt.  
  • Those with an accepted LOI will then move forward with the full application. Information about included BRIDGE resources will be provided at this time. 
  • Budget consultation – 2-3 hours for budget consultation and mentorship will be provided to those whose LOI is accepted if needed. 

4. Application due: 5:00 p.m. (PST) on or before June 15, 2022

  • See specific guidelines below  
  • Review, third week of June 

5. Award Decision: August 15, 2022

  • Proposals will be reviewed and discussed by the BRIDGE-C2 Review Committee.  
  • Proposals will be reviewed using a modified version of NIH criteria and scoring procedures. The Committee will focus evaluation on project significance/innovation and approach (methodology, feasibility). 

6. Award Meeting: September 15, 2022

  • Funding awarded 
  • Grantees must submit all Just-in-Time materials (e.g., IRB approval) and meet all compliance requirements prior to receiving funds. 
  • Grantees will be given 3 options of dates/times for award meeting within the first 10 days of award.  

7. Faculty Consultation: by September 30, 2022 

  • Applicants who are awarded funding will participate in a consultation session with BRIDGE-C2 Center Investigator during first two weeks of award.  

8. Project completed: by March 31, 2023 

Requirements for Pilot Award Recipients

  • Acknowledgement of BRIDGE-C2 Center support on all publications and presentation related to the pilot study (P50CA244289). 
  • Comply with NIH and Moonshot public policies: https://www.cancer.gov/research/key-initiatives/moonshot-cancer-initiative/funding/public-access-policy    
  • Immediate open-access for publications. Center will cover expenses.  
  • Public Data Sharing from projects 
    • Cancer Moonshot Requirements for Data Sharing: “Under the Policy, applicants for extramural research funding (grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts) (collectively, "Applicants") for Cancer Moonshot Research Projects are required to submit a Public Access and Data Sharing Plan that (1) describes their proposed process for making resulting Publications and to the extent possible, the Underlying Primary Data immediately and broadly available to the public; (2) if applicable, provides a justification to NCI if such sharing is not possible. Underlying Primary Data should be made as widely and freely available as possible while safeguarding the privacy of participants, and protecting confidential and proprietary data.”  
    • “The requirements of this Policy are in addition to those requirements and expectations specified under other applicable NIH public access and data sharing policies.” 
  • Final report of spent funds. 
  • 2-3 sentence narrative summary of the project and two paragraph, lay-friendly description of the project, results, and next steps. 
  • Permission to use any graphics/photos/videos, project summary and results summary for CPCRI/BRIDGE website, quarterly newsletter, and BRIDGE-C2 Twitter as applicable. 
  • Participation in grantee required BRIDGE-C2 Center related activities (e.g., retreats, update presentations, reporting requirements, annual ISC3 meeting, center evaluation efforts, and dissemination activities). 
  • Presentation of study and results at BRIDGE-C2 Grand Rounds at end of award period. 
  • Summary of clinical implications in practice for OCHIN, Inc., the BRIDGE-C2 Center Implementation Lab. 
  • Refer to BRIDGE RFA Handbook for further guidelines and requirements.

Full Application Requirements

  •  Application must meet the following standards: 
    • Research plan, biosketches, budget, and letters of support should be submitted as a single PDF file 
    • Margins of at least 0.5 inch on all sides  
    • Single spaced 
    • Eleven-point font or larger using Arial or Times New Roman 
    • We do not require a specific citation style but please use a single style consistently throughout the application 
    • PDF file should be attached to the cover page/questionnaire online form 
  • Completed cover page/questionnaire located HERE 
    • Please upload research plan document to cover page/questionnaire form prior to submission. 
    • Note: Responses in form cannot be saved to return to later. Please use PDF version of form to draft responses to copy and paste into online form when ready.
  • Research Plan (3 pages, excluding references) –  
    • Specific Aim(s) – State the specific aim(s) and any hypothesis or research questions. Study aims should be reasonable given the 6-month budget period of the grant  – 0.5 page 
    • Background/Significance - Provide the scientific or scholarly background for, rationale for, and significance of the research based on the existing literature – 1 page 
    • Research Design and Methods - Describe the overall approach to the project – 1.5 pages 
    • References (not included in 3-page limit) 
  • NIH biosketch for the principal investigator and any co-investigators you know will be involved in the proposed project 
  • Budget – Provide a detailed budget and brief budget justification of the project  
  • Letters of Support not required but will be accepted - limit two  

Budget Guidelines

  • Pilot study awards provide $20,000 total costs for 6 months.  
  • Funds must be spent within six months of being awarded - all funds not spent by the end date will be returned to the BRIDGE-C2 Center  
  • All allowable expenses must adhere to applicable Oregon Health & Science University policies 
  • Carryforward may be available on a case-by-case basis and will be determined based on pilot progress   

Allowable Direct Costs – Funding will be provided for items essential to the conduct of this research and may include: 

  • Personnel (i.e., salaries and benefits for study personnel) 
  • Supplies and equipment  
  • Participant incentives  

 

Please contact the BRIDGE-C2 Center at [email protected] with questions.

Application Forms

Use the forms below to complete your Letter of Intent (LOI) and Full Application Questionnaire.
*Note - you will not be able to save your form responses to return and complete later. Please utilize PDF to aid in drafting application content to copy and paste into form when ready.

Download the Request for Applications as a PDF

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