Extramural Coordinated Funding


UM Submission Instructions: The Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Data Innovation Challenge 2026

Sponsor:
National Institutes of Health (NIH),National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Award Title:
The Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Data Innovation Challenge
Amount:
$566,665
Potential prize of Up to $566,665 per winning entities for up to 30 proposals across both tracks and topic areas. Both tracks in Phase I are milestone-driven cash prizes. Milestone 1: $100,000, Milestone 2: $150,000, Milestone 3: $316,665
UM Deadline:
10/01/2026
Sponsor Deadline:
11/13/2026
Description:
Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Data Innovation Challenge seeks innovative solutions and approaches that will enrich resources (data, methods, or tools) within the CCDI Data Ecosystem, build a federated learning health system, and enable exploration, visualization, interoperability, integration and analyses to benefit the outcome of childhood and AYA cancer patients. The Challenge will comprise two distinct phases, with each not exceeding 36-months. This announcement will primarily focus on Phase I of a multi-phase Challenge, where NCI invites the broad community to submit creative solutions to populate the CCDI Data Ecosystem with additional data or analytic resources that would be leveraged to understand the risk of developing childhood cancer, improve cancer screening and detection in children and AYA populations, optimize therapies, and improve quality of life during treatment and survivorship. Selected innovators will join a collaborative network in partnership with the CCDI. By leveraging CCDI resources—either independently or in combination with their own—innovators will contribute to a growing ecosystem designed to enable learning from every child. Phase I of the Challenge comprises two tracks offering a total cash prize pool of up to $17 million with as many as 30 winners across both tracks. Eligible participant(s) for this Challenge are individual(s) or groups of individuals who will compete on behalf of their affiliated institution(s) (not in their own independent capacity). Therefore, they must register to participate in the Entities category (see How to Enter). Participating Entities are eligible to enter into both tracks, one submission maximum per track. Winning Entities may each receive up to $566,665 in cumulative cash prizes. In the case where a winning entity comprises members from more than one institution or entity, a Lead Point of Contact (POC) from a Lead Entity will be responsible for agreeing to the terms and conditions of the Challenge. The Lead Entity (and not the Lead POC) will receive the total prize purse and is encouraged to further distribute the total cash prize to other participating entities. The Phase II of this Challenge is planned for subsequent years and anticipated to focus on cross-platform testing, validation, and implementation of data-focused technologies and methods, expansion of knowledgebase and evidence-based clinical applications, as well as public dissemination of tools, methodologies, approaches and outcomes.
Number of Applicants University is Allowed to submit:
1
Additional Requirements:
None
Sponsor Guidelines:
https://www.nih.gov/challenges/childhood-adolescent-young-adult-cancer-data-innovation-challenge (opens in a new window)
UM Nominations Process:

Internal Submission

Those interested in applying should submit the following as a single pdf document to collabor@umn.edu no later than 4pm on 10/1/2026:

1. Cover Page: Include PI name, department, contact information, project title, any co-PI's name and department, and one paragraph project abstract.

2. Project Overview: The project overview should not exceed 2 pages and must summarize the project by stating its goals and outlining the proposed approaches to achieve them.

3. Biosketch(es) of PI and any co-PI's (NIH format, 2-5 pages).

4. A list of 3-5 names of possible UMN reviewers (NOT References) (with no Conflicts of Interest) plus 5 keywords to be used as search terms for possible reviewers (can be added to Cover Page).

RIO's target date for selecting nominee(s): 10/30/2026

Peer Review Coordination:
Research and Innovation Office contact email
Status:
The internal deadline has passed with no applicants. Contact us if interested.
Please note:
To be considered for peer review and internal selection, faculty must follow the above submission guidelines and meet the UM deadline as set by the office coordinating the peer review for this opportunity.

General Information


  • Each posting has information about the external sponsor and opportunity as well as the internal application instructions.
  • Opportunities can be sorted by column headings; just click on the heading to re-sort by that column.
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  • If you know of an opportunity that is not on the list, please contact Kristin Mead.

Internal Requirements


  • Sponsor: Name of funder.
  • Award Title: Funding opportunity nameAmount: Range/Maximum dollar amount awarded.
  • UMN Deadline: Submission deadline for internal proposal as determined by the coordinating office.
  • Sponsor Deadline: External deadline identified by the sponsor.
  • Description: General information about the sponsor and the funding opportunity. Usually describes the purpose of the funding opportunity, overview of what the sponsor is looking for, including distinctive criteria. This is not meant to take the place of the sponsor guidelines; please read the sponsor guidelines before deciding to apply.
  • Number of Applicants University is Allowed to Submit: The maximum number of applications the sponsor will allow the university to submit.
  • Additional Requirements: Identifies any special requirements such as cost sharing, partners, etc.
  • Sponsor Guidelines: Link to the sponsor’s funding opportunity website.
  • UMN Nominations Process: Contains specific internal submission requirements including internal proposal instructions, deadline, eligibility, internal nomination process, contact information.
  • Peer Review Coordination: The name and contact email of the office coordinating the funding opportunity. RIO coordinates most limited submissions, but opportunities coordinated by other offices or programs are also posted on this webpage.
  • Status:
    • Open: UM deadline has not passed and the opportunity is open for application.
    • Forecasted: The funder has not yet formally published the opportunity. The deadline has yet to be determined.
    • Archived: The opportunity has been archived by the funder.
    • Spots Remaining: UMN deadline has passed, with some applicant spots still available. Contact collabor@umn.edu if interested
    • First-Come, First-Served: Applicants accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact collabor@umn.edu if interested
    • Contact Us: The internal deadline has passed, but no applicants were selected. Please contact the office coordinating the peer review for more information.
    • In Review: Peer review process is in progress for the opportunity.
    • PI Selected: The PI(s) have been selected as the official UMN nominees.
    • Closed: UMN is no longer accepting applications.

UMN Selection Process


  • Once the internal deadline has passed, if the number of applicants is less than or equal to the number of spots the university is allowed to send forward, the applicants automatically become the UMN nominee(s).
  • If the status of an opportunity is "First-Come, First-Served", there was not time to hold an internal review. Applicants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • If there are no applicants, the status will change to "Contact Us". At this point, the opportunity changes to a first-come, first-served opportunity.
  • If there are multiple applicants, the office coordinating the nomination will determine the review criteria and coordinate the review process. The status will change to "In Review".
  • Once the review has been completed all parties will be notified via email.
  • Nominees will be provided with an email from RIO (or the designated coordinating office) indicating that they are the university's nominee. This letter should accompany the nominee's proposal.
  • SPA is notified of the university's nominee(s) and the status is updated to "PI(s) Selected".