As a learning organization, PCORI continuously strives to evaluate all aspects of our work to improve its reliability, efficiency, and value. The PCORI Evaluation Framework is an important part of that assessment. The framework helps us prioritize our activities and share our plans with all our stakeholders, including patients, clinicians, and researchers.
When we began constructing our Evaluation Framework in 2013, we focused on capturing all the questions that stakeholders and staff had raised about PCORI’s unique approach to research funding and its effect on the research that we fund, progress toward our strategic goals, and ultimately health decisions, care, and outcomes across the nation. This early draft PCORI Evaluation Framework 1.0 compiled those questions.
Now we are describing how we are answering the questions. For each question, we specify what we plan to measure to answer the question (metrics), how we plan to use that data (methods), and where we plan to find the information we need (sources).
How Will We Answer the Questions?
Our new document, PCORI Evaluation Framework 2.0, and corresponding Executive Summary maps out our approach by first considering questions regarding the overall impact of PCORI and then those addressing six key ingredients of PCORI’s recipe:
- Topic capture and research prioritization
- Merit review
- Developing a PCOR community
- Engagement in research
- Infrastructure development
- Communication, dissemination, and implementation
Figure 1. What is the overall impact of PCORI?
Figure 1 (above) describes how we will evaluate overall impact of PCORI. It presents the relationships between the way PCORI does its work, the CER information PCORI produces, and the impact of that information on health outcomes.
In each section, we include a figure illustrating our approach and a table that details our plans for answering the relevant questions. For example, to evaluate the effect of PCORI’s approach to merit review on our funded portfolio of patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER), we need to answer intermediary questions: What is the effect of PCORI’s approach to Merit Review on how perspectives are incorporated into the review? What is the effect of PCORI's approach to Merit Review on the selection of research projects for funding. Figure 2 (below) represents this pathway.
Figure 2. What is the effect of Merit Review?
We then provide a table (right) that spells out our plans.
What Do You Think?
This PCORI Evaluation Framework 2.0 is a living document, and we plan to update it with your feedback.
Does it reflect the questions you have about PCORI? Do our approaches to answering the questions seem appropriate?
Please see our website for more information on planning our evaluation and reporting the results.
