In 2004, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) launched the cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG^®) initiative as part of its mission to advance research on cancer and improve clinical outcomes for patients. NCI recognized that the ability to connect people, organizations, and data through information technology would be critical to fulfilling NCI's mission and to taking advantage of the research opportunities offered by 21st century science.

caBIG^®, overseen by the NCI Center for Bioinformatics and Information Technology (CBIIT), began with a three-year Pilot Phase, in order to test the ability of a complex informatics initiative to achieve measurable goals and produce deliverables toward enhancing cancer research, and to assess the opportunities and challenges of connecting a disparate biomedical community on a national and eventually international scale.

The caBIG^® Pilot Phase concluded in March 2007, followed by a transition to an Enterprise Phase. In the Enterprise Phase, an expanding number of organizations—including additional Cancer Centers, the pharmaceutical and biotech community, and the commercial IT sector—are being invited to achieve connectivity through the adoption of caBIG^® tools and infrastructure. caBIG^® is sharing its experience, expertise, and tools with the larger biomedical community with the hope that this infrastructure can be applied to diseases beyond cancer.

caBIG^® now includes over 1,500 participants from 450 organizations who are working continually to refine and support the adoption of the caBIG^® network and its related tools, standards, and policies.