NCI Professional Judgment Budget Proposal

This budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2022 includes investments in critical research to advance progress in understanding and treating cancer as well as support for the infrastructure and training that enables cutting-edge research to succeed.

The budget proposal also includes $50 million for the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative as well as Cancer Moonshot^SM funding, which was authorized in the 21st Century Cures Act. Cancer Moonshot funding ends in FY 2023.

Investments in investigator-initiated research supported through research project grants (RPGs), including R01 grants, are the source of some of the most innovative ideas in cancer research.

The FY 2020 budget increase allowed NCI to further invest in RPGs by restoring noncompeting grants to 100% of their committed levels and increasing R01 paylines by 25% compared with the FY 2019 level. The FY 2022 budget proposal will allow NCI to sustain recent growth in RPGs and to further improve the payline for R01 grants from the 10th to the 12th percentile—and will get the institute closer to achieving the 15th percentile payline by FY 2025.

Additional key investments include training the next generation of cancer researchers and supporting the NCI-Designated Cancer Centers and practice-changing clinical trials programs, which enroll patients in clinical trials at more than 2,500 academic and community sites across the country.

Key Messages

• To pursue the immense opportunities across the cancer research continuum, investments are needed across a multitude of funding mechanisms. Capitalizing on these future opportunities will lessen the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients diagnosed with cancer.
• Strong congressional support led to a nearly 20% increase in NCI’s budget from FY 2013 to FY 2019. During this time, a dramatic increase in new investigators entered the cancer field resulting in a 50% increase in R01 grant applications submitted to NCI. Continued infusion of funding into research project grants is necessary to capitalize on today’s scientific opportunities.
• The FY 2022 budget proposal will give NCI the ability to support grant commitments and further improve the payline for R01 grants from the 10th to the 12th percentile. Doing so would allow NCI to fund a greater number of meritorious applications and make progress toward achieving the 15th percentile R01 payline by FY 2025.
• With steady and sustained budget increases supporting a cadre of talented researchers, NCI will be able to support promising research opportunities that improve our understanding of cancer and reduce the burden of the disease.