ABSTRACT: DEVELOPMENTAL FUNDS Developmental Funds are an integral tool utilized by the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) and were specifically and strategically deployed in this cycle to support the path to comprehensiveness. These directions were established to meet the goals set forth by the Center’s strategic plan in supporting strong transdisciplinary research, addressing cancer-relevant problems within the catchment area, understanding and supporting the needs of the community, and training the next generation of researchers and clinicians carrying out the SKCC mission. Under Dr. Chapman’s leadership the SKCC leverages funding from the CCSG and Institutional/Philanthropic support to: 1) present the SKCC community with a multitude of pilot project opportunities, aligned with the goals of our strategic plan (IMPACT PHL) and catchment area priorities spanning across all research continuums. These include research projects directed to specifically increase the Center’s NCI funding base, support collaborative large-scale projects to address catchment area needs and priorities (such as social determinants of health), 2) provide SKCC investigators with funds to utilize other NCI-designated cancer center shared resources to expand research capabilities beyond the walls of the consortium and; 3) support for early-stage clinical investigators and, funds dedicated for the utilization of external NCI-supported shared resources. Distribution of these funds will allow the center to increase the pace of discovery, enhance the depth and breadth of research and develop collaborations for strong transdisciplinary research bridges to be established. The SKCC has implemented a rigorous process for Developmental Funds administration to ensure scientifically meritorious projects are selected to produce a substantial return on investment (ROI) for the Center. The highly functioning Developmental Funds infrastructure remains intact with the continued use of the InfoReady platform for automation of processes from collection to selection, and the additional development of the Developmental Funds tracking module inside the SKCC Member Administrative Reporting Tool (SMART) to produce real time ROI for funded projects. Oversight of SKCC Developmental funds under the bolstered scientific rigor has led to successful outcomes for many projects during the project period. SKCC awarded $300K in CCSG Developmental Funds that resulted in $9.1M in cancer-related funding, and 66 peer-reviewed publications. Additional funding from the Institution in the amount of $3.9M was distributed to support key strategic initiatives, such as population science research, multi-PI consortium submissions, and Phase I clinical research projects, which combined yielded $13.6M, 325 publications, and the initiation of 17 clinical trials. Overall, the Center was able to secure $22.7M in cancer-related research funding resulting in a 5.25:1 ROI.