CDMRP: FY26 Rare Cancers Research Program (RCRP)

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Executive Summary:

The FY26 Rare Cancers Research Program (RCRP) is a Department of Defense-funded grant program that supports research on cancers affecting six or fewer persons per 100,000 people per year in the United States. The program aims to improve outcomes for people with rare cancers through discovery, community building, and expansion of knowledge across the cancer landscape. Research must be relevant to Service Members, Veterans, military beneficiaries, and the American public.
RCRP offers three separate funding opportunities in FY26:

• Concept Award – supports highly innovative, untested, potentially groundbreaking ideas.
• Idea Development Award – supports promising research ideas that are ready for further development and could generate high-impact findings.
• Resource and Community Development Award – supports development of research resources, datasets, infrastructure, and community-building platforms for rare cancers research.

Applicants interested in the Idea Development Award or Resource and Community Development Award must submit a required preproposal by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), August 19, 2026. Applicants interested in the Concept Award must submit a required Letter of Intent by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), September 16, 2026, and a full application by 11:59 p.m. ET, September 30, 2026.

How much funding would I receive?

Funding depends on the award mechanism selected:

Concept Award

• Up to $140,000 total costs

• Maximum period of performance: 2 years

• Approximately 18 awards expected

Idea Development Award

• Up to $490,000 total costs

• Maximum period of performance: 3 years

• Approximately 15 awards expected

Resource and Community Development Award

• Up to $1.12 million total costs

• Maximum period of performance: 4 years

• Approximately 5 awards expected

What could I use the funding for?

Projects must address rare cancers and align with one or more FY26 RCRP focus areas.

Concept Award and Idea Development Award focus areas

• Biology

• Preclinical Research Models

• Therapy, including drug repurposing

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Models
  Resource and Community Development Award focus areas

• Platform Development

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Models

Examples of activities supported under the Resource and Community Development Award include:

• Biospecimen repositories

• Patient registries

• Databases and centralized data-sharing platforms

• Omics resources

• Longitudinal natural history studies

• Resource-sharing infrastructure

• AI/ML-enabled discovery platforms

Are there any additional benefits I would receive?

In addition to funding, successful applicants gain access to a nationally recognized Department of Defense cancer research program focused on advancing rare cancers research and improving outcomes for patients, Service Members, Veterans, and their families.

The Resource and Community Development Award specifically supports the creation of lasting research resources, stakeholder networks, and community infrastructure intended to continue benefiting the field beyond the award period.

What is the timeline to apply and when would I receive funding?

Concept Award

• Letter of Intent Deadline: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), September 16, 2026

• Full Application Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET, September 30, 2026

• Peer Review: December 2026

• Programmatic Review: March/April 2027

• Awards supported with FY26 funds will be made no later than September 30, 2027.

Idea Development Award

• Preproposal Deadline: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), August 19, 2026

• Invitation to Submit Full Application: September 30, 2026

• Full Application Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET, November 18, 2026

• Peer Review: February 2027

• Programmatic Review: March/April 2027

• Awards supported with FY26 funds will be made no later than September 30, 2027.

Resource and Community Development Award

• Preproposal Deadline: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), August 19, 2026

• Invitation to Submit Full Application: September 30, 2026

• Full Application Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET, November 18, 2026

• Peer Review: February 2027

• Programmatic Review: March/April 2027

• Awards supported with FY26 funds will be made no later than September 30, 2027.

Where does this funding come from?

The Rare Cancers Research Program is managed by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) within the Defense Health Agency Research and Development organization. Congress established the program in 2020 to support research of exceptional scientific merit in rare cancers. The FY26 appropriation is $17.5 million.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligible applicants include:

• Foreign and domestic organizations

• For-profit organizations

• Nonprofit organizations

• Public entities

• Private entities

• Extramural and intramural organizations
  Principal Investigator eligibility varies by mechanism:

Concept Award

• Independent investigators at or above the level of postdoctoral fellow (or equivalent)

Idea Development Award

• Independent investigators at all career levels

Resource and Community Development Award

• Independent investigators at all career levels

Who is not eligible to apply?

The solicitation does not provide additional eligibility exclusions beyond the stated organizational and investigator requirements.

However:

• Awards are made to organizations, not individuals. - An investigator may only serve as Principal Investigator on one application within each FY26 RCRP award mechanism.

What companies and projects are likely to win?

The strongest applications will closely align with the intent of the selected mechanism.

Concept Award

• Highly innovative, untested, potentially groundbreaking concepts

• High-risk ideas that open entirely new avenues of investigation

• Novel approaches that challenge existing paradigms in rare cancers research

Idea Development Award

• Research supported by preliminary data

• Projects with strong scientific rationale

• Ideas capable of generating high-impact findings and major advancements in rare cancers research

Resource and Community Development Award

• Platforms, datasets, repositories, and infrastructure that fill major gaps in rare cancers research

• Projects with strong plans for community engagement, dissemination, sustainability, and resource sharing

• Efforts that can benefit multiple rare cancer types or subtypes

How competitive will this solicitation be?

The program is expected to be highly competitive.

Historical data provided in the solicitations show:

Concept Award

• 979 applications received

• 90 recommended for funding

Idea Development Award

• 862 applications received

• 85 recommended for funding

Resource and Community Development Award

• 103 applications received

• 23 recommended for funding

Are there any restrictions I should know about?

Across all three mechanisms:

• Clinical trials are not allowed. - Projects must focus on cancers affecting six or fewer persons per 100,000 people per year in the United States. - Research must be relevant to Service Members, Veterans, military beneficiaries, and the American public.
  Additional Resource and Community Development Award requirements include:

• At least two rare cancer Patient Advocates must participate as integral members of the research team.

• Community building, dissemination, and sustainability plans are required.

How long will it take me to prepare an application?

Preparation effort depends on the mechanism selected.

Concept Award

• Requires a Letter of Intent and a short blinded application package.

• Generally expected to require the least preparation effort of the three mechanisms.

Idea Development Award

• Requires a preproposal followed by an invited full application.

• Preliminary data with disease-specific rationale are required.
  Resource and Community Development Award

• Requires a preproposal followed by an invited full application.

• Requires extensive planning around community engagement, patient advocacy, dissemination, sustainment, and resource-sharing infrastructure.

How can BW&CO help?

BW&CO can support applicants with:

• Opportunity assessment and mechanism selection

• Eligibility and project fit review

• Preproposal and Letter of Intent development

• Full proposal writing and editing

• Scientific and commercialization positioning

• Reviewer-focused narrative development

• Patient advocate engagement strategy

• Budget development and compliance review

• Final submission support

Additional Resources

Review the solicitation here.