Conquer Cancer International Innovation Grant 2027: Up to $20,000 for Cancer Control Research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Conquer Cancer International Innovation Grant 2027: Up to $20,000 for Cancer Control Research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

The International Innovation Grant (IIG) is a one-year research award from Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation. It supports novel projects that could make a significant difference to cancer control in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The 2027 award is up to $20,000, paid in two installments. Projects should respond to a cancer burden in the applicant’s local community and produce findings that may be useful in other LMIC settings.

The cycle is in its second stage. The public letter-of-intent (LOI) deadline was 27 August 2026. That entry window has closed. Conquer Cancer invites applicants whose LOIs meet its eligibility and research-project criteria to submit full proposals, and the official program page lists 10 December 2026 as the application deadline. That date is relevant only to invited applicants; a new applicant cannot start with a full proposal now. The award term is 1 April 2027 through 31 March 2028. The official page labels the cycle open, but does not announce a later cycle or a new public LOI window.

Key details

What the grant is designed to support

The IIG backs research intended to improve cancer control, rather than short-term operating support for routine services. A proposal should identify a meaningful local problem, explain how the research will address it, and make a credible case that the resulting knowledge could matter beyond one institution or community. The program describes its goal as reducing cancer burden in local communities while supporting approaches potentially transferable to other LMIC settings.

The official program page describes the grant at a broad level and does not prescribe a single discipline or research design. Applicants should therefore explain the local cancer-control question and why the selected method fits it. A study may be most useful when it clarifies a barrier to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or supportive care; tests a practical way to improve delivery; or generates evidence that helps local decision-makers choose among approaches. The essential connection is between the research question and a cancer-control need in the setting where the work will take place.

Keep the project proportional to a one-year award and the available amount. A focused study with a clear endpoint can be easier to explain and complete than a broad program that depends on substantial infrastructure or multiple institutions. The proposal should state what will be learned, how the team will judge progress, and what the findings could inform. The funder emphasizes novelty and innovation, but novelty alone is not a case for support: show why the idea addresses an important local need and how the evidence could be applied.

Award amount and payment

The award is up to $20,000 for one year and is payable in two installments. The first installment is expected around the start of the award term. The second depends on satisfactory progress and on the grantee organization submitting the required mid-year reports satisfactorily. Budget and timing should account for this staged payment. The organization receiving the funds needs to be able to administer them for the approved project and plan its spending around the award conditions.

Treat the maximum as a ceiling, not as an automatic payment or a reason to inflate the project. A sound budget connects each requested cost to an activity and deliverable in the research plan. Before submitting, check the current Request for Proposals for the applicable budget rules, reporting obligations, and any limits on individual cost categories. The official opportunity page refers applicants to that document for the controlling application requirements; these details should be taken from the current RFP rather than from an old application or a third-party summary.

Who may apply

There are organization-level and Principal Investigator requirements. The applicant organization must be a registered not-for-profit with a charitable purpose, such as a medical society, advocacy organization, foundation, hospital, or university, or it may be a government agency. It must be located in a country categorized by the World Bank as low-income, lower-middle-income, or upper-middle-income. The organization must be able to administer the grant funds solely for the project, have at least one full year of operations, maintain acceptable management structures and processes, and be financially solvent with or without grant support. The program also says the organization should have experience carrying out activities with tangible outcomes.

The Principal Investigator (PI) must be a current ASCO member in any membership category or submit a membership application with the grant application. Conquer Cancer notes that ASCO offers free membership to physicians and others in low- and lower-middle-income countries. The PI must be a citizen or permanent resident of an eligible World Bank country, must currently reside in that country, and must be affiliated with the applicant organization.

These requirements apply together. A qualified researcher still needs an eligible organization capable of receiving and administering the grant. Likewise, an eligible organization does not replace the PI’s citizenship or residence requirements. Confirm the current World Bank country classification and the organization’s legal and administrative status before planning a submission. If you are not sure which classification applies, use the country references linked from the official program materials rather than relying on an older list.

Most importantly for this cycle, the LOI stage is over. The official process has two steps: an LOI followed by a full proposal. Only applicants invited after LOI review may submit that proposal. Eligibility for the grant does not reopen the first stage or provide an invitation by itself. If you submitted an LOI, use the status and instructions communicated by Conquer Cancer to determine whether you may proceed.

Current application steps

For an applicant who received an invitation, the remaining action is to prepare and submit a full proposal through the official Application Portal by 10 December 2026. Follow the current Request for Proposals and the instructions displayed in the portal. All application materials must be in English. The funder will not accept paper submissions or applications sent by email or fax.

Use this sequence to keep the process clear:

1. Confirm that the PI received an invitation following LOI review. The full-proposal stage is not open to people who did not advance from the LOI.
2. Open the official program page and retrieve the current Request for Proposals and application resources. Check the requirements there before drafting; the RFP governs the materials and format.
3. Confirm that the organization and PI meet the criteria, including the institution’s country, legal status, operating history, financial capacity, and the PI’s ASCO membership, affiliation, citizenship or permanent residence, and current residence.
4. Develop a full proposal that is consistent with the research project presented at LOI. The program describes the full proposal as the second step of that same process; contact the grant team if circumstances have changed and the scope may need to be revised.
5. Prepare the required materials in English, follow the portal and RFP instructions, and submit through the Application Portal by 10 December 2026.

Do not treat the full-application deadline as an extension of the LOI window. The dates describe two different stages, and the invitation is the gate between them. Applicants who did not file an LOI, or whose LOI was not invited forward, should not assume that they can submit a new application in December. The official program page does not identify a late-submission process or a rolling intake.

Shaping a strong proposal

Start with the problem in the setting where the research will occur. Explain who experiences the gap in cancer control and why the gap matters. A proposal is clearer when it names the population, service, or decision that the research concerns rather than relying on a general statement about cancer burden. Then connect the proposed research to evidence the team can produce during the award term.

Make the logic easy to follow: local problem, research question, method, expected evidence, and potential use. Describe what is novel about the proposed approach and why that difference is valuable in the local context. If the idea is intended to transfer to other LMIC settings, specify which elements might travel and which depend on local conditions. Transferability should follow from the design and findings, not appear as a broad claim detached from the project.

Show that the work can be completed with the proposed team and organizational support. The applicant organization must be able to administer the grant and the program expects acceptable management and financial processes. Explain how the team will carry out the work, how progress will be monitored, and how it will make the findings available to relevant audiences. Keep the budget aligned with the study activities, timeline, and stated outputs.

The award is modest in size and lasts one year. This makes prioritization useful: distinguish essential activities from attractive additions, identify dependencies early, and define a feasible scope. A proposal that promises a large service expansion may not make clear what research the grant will support. Describe the evidence-generating work and its relationship to improved cancer control, not simply the service the organization hopes to provide.

Planning for the award period

The announced grant term runs from 1 April 2027 through 31 March 2028. Use that period to build a realistic schedule for approvals, recruitment or data collection, analysis, interpretation, and sharing results, as relevant to the study. The official page states that the second installment depends on satisfactory progress and submission of required mid-year reports, so the organization and PI should plan to document progress and expenditures in a timely way.

Think about what the organization will need to administer the project from the start. Confirm who is responsible for the funds, who will coordinate research activity, and how the team will retain the records needed for reporting. The award is paid to the organization, not directly to an individual PI. Align these arrangements with the organization’s existing management processes and the requirements in the RFP and grant agreement.

Plan for useful outputs beyond completion of the funded work. The program’s stated interest in transferability makes it worthwhile to consider who could use the results, how the team can communicate them, and what context another LMIC institution would need to interpret them. A clear plan can also make the project more useful locally, where the organization, clinicians, patients, or health decision-makers may act on the findings.

Common planning errors

Confusing the two deadlines. The LOI date was 27 August 2026; the 10 December 2026 date is for the full proposal stage. Only invited applicants can proceed.

Assuming eligibility is enough to apply now. The organization and PI criteria are necessary, but the current stage also requires an invitation based on an LOI.

Treating the maximum award as a fixed budget. Request an amount supported by the project design and check all cost rules in the current RFP.

Describing service delivery without a research question. The IIG supports research for cancer control. Explain what the work will test, measure, or establish.

Making transferability a slogan. Identify what could be useful elsewhere and explain how the project’s evidence supports that claim.

Relying on old application instructions. The official page directs applicants to the current RFP. Recheck that document and the portal for controlling forms, formats, and requirements.

Frequently asked questions

Can someone submit a new LOI now? The official 2027 LOI deadline was 27 August 2026. That stage is over, and the official page does not announce a late or rolling LOI process.

Can anyone submit a full application by 10 December? No. The funder invites applicants whose LOIs meet its criteria. The December deadline is for those invited to the full-proposal stage.

Is the 2027 cycle discontinued? No discontinuation is announced on the official program page. It lists the 2027 cycle as open and gives a full application deadline in December. The public LOI stage has closed; the next cycle has not been announced there.

How much does the grant provide? Up to $20,000 for a one-year project, payable in two installments. The second installment depends on satisfactory progress and reporting.

What organizations are eligible? A registered not-for-profit with a charitable purpose or a government agency located in an eligible World Bank income category may apply, subject to the operating, management, financial, and project-administration conditions.

Can the PI live outside the project country? The PI must be a citizen or permanent resident of an eligible country and currently reside there, as well as be affiliated with the applicant organization.

How must the application be sent? Invited full applications must follow the RFP, be prepared in English, and be submitted through the Application Portal. Paper, email, and fax applications are not accepted.

Official information

The ASCO International Innovation Grant page is the authoritative source for the 2027 cycle’s award amount, eligibility, two-stage process, key dates, and submission method. It links applicants to the current Request for Proposals and application resources. Because the LOI stage has closed and full proposals are invitation-only, prospective applicants should not interpret the December deadline as an opportunity to enter the cycle without an invitation.

For program questions, use the grants contact information provided on the official ASCO page and in the current Request for Proposals. Verify the live portal and current RFP before taking action, since the RFP supplies the detailed submission instructions that govern invited proposals.