Engagement Awards Announce Fall 2021 Funding Opportunities, Including New Special Area of Interest

Since 2014, the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award program has awarded more than $121 million to fund nearly 600 projects that build communities ready to engage in patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) and comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER). Supporting communities to conduct engagement projects is central to our mission to help people make informed healthcare decisions, and improve healthcare delivery and outcomes, by producing and promote high-integrity, evidence-based information that comes from research guided by patients, caregivers, and the broader healthcare community.

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We are pleased to share the October 2021 Cycle funding announcements, which include new and returning special areas of interest in the Capacity Building and Stakeholder Convening Support funding opportunities. These opportunities continue to reflect the Engagement Award program’s support of projects that encourage active integration of patients, caregivers, clinicians, and other healthcare stakeholders as integral members of the PCOR/CER enterprise.

Building Capacity for PCOR/CER

This funding opportunity will continue to support projects that help communities increase their facility with and ability to participate across all phases of the PCOR/CER process. Our announcement contains two special areas of interest: intellectual and developmental disabilities and maternal morbidity and mortality. More information on these special areas of interest is below. Projects can be for up to two years in duration and up to $250,000.

Learn more about the Engagement Award: Capacity Building

Disseminating Research Findings

This funding opportunity aims to support projects that help organizations and communities plan for or actively bring relevant PCORI-funded research findings to those seeking to make better-informed decisions. Applicants for an Engagement Award: Dissemination Initiative must focus their project on one of two tracks—Building Capacity for Dissemination or Active Dissemination. Projects can be up to two years in duration and up to $250,000.

• Building Capacity for Dissemination projects lay the groundwork for disseminating and implementing PCORI-funded evidence through organizations with strong ties to patients, clinicians, communities, and others who can use this information to inform healthcare decisions.
• Active Dissemination projects aim at spreading awareness and increasing knowledge of PCORI-funded evidence, designed by organizations and communities with established relationships with, and targeted directly to patients, clinicians, communities, and others who can use this information to inform healthcare decisions.

Learn more about the Engagement Award: Dissemination Initiative

Supporting Stakeholder Convenings

This funding opportunity aims to support projects that include multi-stakeholder convenings, meetings, and conferences aligned with PCORI’s mission and facilitate expansion of PCOR/CER through collaboration. Our announcement contains three special areas of interest: Consideration of the Full Range of Outcomes Data, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and Maternal Morbidity and Mortality. Projects can be up to one year in duration and up to $100,000.

Learn more about the Engagement Award: Stakeholder Convening Support

Special Areas of Interest in the Engagement Awards

PCORI reminds prospective applicants that special areas of interest exist to encourage submissions on a topic, not to limit submissions to that topic only. PCORI continues to welcome and accept Engagement Award Letters of Intent on all topics related to PCOR/CER that fall within the guidelines of the program.

Consideration of the Full Range of Outcomes Data

Available in the Engagement Award: Stakeholder Convening Support only

PCORI’s authorizing law, as amended by the 2019 reauthorizing legislation, includes a provision requiring PCORI-funded research to consider, as appropriate, the full range of outcomes data, including potential burdens and economic impacts. Consistent with this mandate, PCORI has adopted Principles for the Consideration of the Full Range of Outcomes Data in PCORI-Funded Research.

Thus, PCORI is particularly interested in applications under the Engagement Award: Stakeholder Convening Support funding announcement for convenings focused on defining appropriate and relevant burdens and economic impact data, identifying sources of data or gaps in data, and opportunities to advance the rigor and standards when conducting research that considers the full range of outcomes data, consistent with the principles. Advancing the fundamental basis of data collection and methodology in this area is critical to ensuring that PCORI-funded research is appropriately considering the full range of outcomes data.

We are seeking applications from organizations engaged in advancing patient-centered care, specifically as it relates to defining appropriate and relevant patient-centered burden and economic impact data and/or refining methodologies to capture and consider patient-centered perspectives and preferences in PCOR/CER. We are particularly interested in applications from organizations seeking to build collaborations or partnerships with diverse stakeholders to advance consideration of patient-centered burdens and economic impacts in PCOR/CER and/or other healthcare decision-making.

For organizations considering submitting an Letter of Intent (LOI) for an Engagement Award: Stakeholder Convening Support focused on topics related to the full range of outcomes data, please review PCORI’s Principles for the Consideration of the Full Range of Outcomes Data in PCORI-Funded Research for additional context and implementation goals. Please also refer to the funding announcement for important information regarding responsiveness considerations. We strongly encourage applicants for this special area of interest to consider requesting a program fit call while developing their LOI. Applicants may direct questions and requests for a program fit call to [email protected]

Capacity Building and Stakeholder Convening for New Research Priorities: Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Maternal Morbidity and Mortality

Available in the Engagement Award: Capacity Building and Engagement Award: Stakeholder Convening Support

PCORI’s reauthorizing legislation in 2019 included two new research priority areas, one centered on intellectual and developmental disabilities and one centered on maternal morbidity and mortality. These priority areas provide more focused support for engaging diverse stakeholders and facilitating PCOR/CER, which are critical for understanding and addressing the needs of those impacted by issues related to this topic. Because of our national priorities, LOIs focused on these areas are of particular interest to PCORI.

For organizations considering applying for an Engagement Award focused on topics related to our new research priority areas, please review the Engagement Awards Special Area of Interest: Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and the Engagement Awards Special Area of Interest: Maternal Morbidity and Mortality web pages.