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PCORI

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

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    About Us

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    Fact Sheets: Learn More About PCORI

    Download fact sheets about out work, the research we fund, and our programs and initiatives.

    Find It Fast

    Browse through an alphabetical list of frequently accessed and searched terms for information and resources.

    Subscribe to PCORI Email Alerts

    Sign up for weekly emails to stay current on the latest results of our funded projects, and more.

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    Research & Results

    • Explore Our Portfolio
    • Research Fundamentals
    • Research Results Highlights
    • Putting Evidence to Work
    • Peer Review
    • Evidence Synthesis
    • About Our Research

    Evidence Updates from PCORI-Funded Studies

    These updates capture highlights of findings from systematic reviews and our funded research studies.

    Journal Articles About Our Funded Research

    Browse through a collection of journal publications that provides insights into PCORI-funded work.

    Explore Our Portfolio of Funded Projects

    Find out about projects based on the health conditions they focus on, the state they are in, and if they have results.

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    Topics

    • Addressing Disparities
    • Arthritis
    • Asthma
    • Cancer
    • Cardiovascular Disease
    • Children's Health
    • Community Health Workers
    • COVID-19
    • Dementia and Cognitive Impairment
    • Diabetes
    • Kidney Disease
    • Medicaid
    • Men's Health
    • Mental and Behavioral Health
    • Minority Mental Health
    • Multiple Chronic Conditions
    • Multiple Sclerosis
    • Obesity
    • Older Adults' Health
    • Pain Care and Opioids
    • Rare Diseases
    • Rural Health
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    • Telehealth
    • Transitional Care
    • Veterans Health
    • Women's Health

    Featured Topic: Women's Health

    Learn more about the projects we support on conditions that specifically or more often affect women.

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    Engagement

    • The Value of Engagement
    • Engagement in Health Research Literature Explorer
    • Influencing the Culture of Research
    • Engagement Awards
    • Engagement Resources
    • Engage with Us

    Engagement Tools and Resources for Research

    This searchable peer-to-peer repository includes resources that can inform future work in patient-centered outcomes research.

    Explore Engagement in Health Literature

    This tool enables searching for published articles about engagement in health research.

    Research Fundamentals: A New On-Demand Training

    It enables those new to health research or patient-centered research to learn more about the research process.

  • Funding Opportunities
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    Funding Opportunities

    • What & Who We Fund
    • What You Need to Know to Apply
    • Applicant Training
    • Merit Review
    • Awardee Resources
    • Help Center

    PCORI Funding Opportunities

    View and learn about the newly opened funding announcements and the upcoming PFAs in 2021.

    Tips for Submitting a Responsive LOI

    Find out what PCORI looks for in a letter of intent (LOI) along with other helpful tips.

    PCORI Awardee Resources

    These resources can help awardees in complying with the terms and conditions of their contract.

  • Meetings & Events
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    Meetings & Events

    • Upcoming
    • Past Events

    PCORI Webinar: February 2, 2pm ET

    Hear from PCORI leaders about ways to get involved in PCOR, improvements to our funding opportunities, and more. Register

    Confronting COVID-19: A Webinar Series

    Learn more about the series and access recordings and summary reports of all six sessions.

    2020 PCORI Annual Meeting

    Watch recordings of all sessions, and view titles and descriptions of the posters presented at the virtual meeting.

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  • Funding Opportunities
  • What You Need to Know to Apply

What You Need to Know to Apply

Key Information You Need to Submit an Application

Step 1: Learn What We Fund

PCORI funds projects that answer patient-centered questions about health and health care. By highlighting comparisons and outcomes that matter, we expect research findings to inform decisions by patients, caregivers, clinicians, and other healthcare stakeholders.

We are looking for projects that assess the benefits and harms of interventions related to preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, or palliative care or the healthcare delivery system.

In most research projects that we fund, researchers partner with patients and other stakeholders from the planning stages through the final dissemination of findings. (We recognize that in some highly technical and methodological projects, patients may not make appropriate partners.)

Our Funding Center lists all open funding announcements, as well as upcoming and past opportunities.

Step 2: Learn What We Don't Fund

PCORI doesn't fund:

  • Research aimed primarily at developing and validating an instrument
  • Cost-effectiveness analysis measuring dollar-cost per quality-adjusted life-year
  • Comparisons that focus on the relative costs of care as the primary criterion for choosing between alternatives
  • Most projects that do not include patients or other healthcare stakeholders throughout the research process, unless they are highly technical or methodological projects

Step 3: Select the Funding Opportunity that Best Aligns with Your Proposed Research

Funding announcements are posted on our website approximately four weeks before the Letter of Intent (LOI) deadline. Specific deadlines for LOIs and Applications can be found in the Funding Center. PCORI offers several types of funding opportunities:

  • Broad PCORI Funding Announcements (PFA) seek investigator-initiated applications for patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) projects aligned with our five priority areas for research. An announcement in each area is posted twice a year. We are looking for your best ideas to address needs of patients, caregivers, clinicians, and other healthcare stakeholders in making personalized clinical decisions across a wide range of conditions, populations, and treatments.
  • Targeted PCORI Funding Announcements seek applications on specific, high-impact topics selected in response to input from patients and other stakeholders through our Advisory Panels and public workshops. These are one-time opportunities.
  • Pragmatic Clinical Studies PCORI Funding Announcements seek applications for pragmatic clinical trials, large simple trials, or large-scale observational studies that compare two or more alternatives for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or management of a disease or symptom; improving health care system–level approaches to managing care; or eliminating health or healthcare disparities.
  • Engagement Program Awards, primarily our Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Awards, are not research awards, but they encourage better integration of patients and other stakeholders into the research process. Our Pipeline to Proposal Awards Program, which is no longer active, also sought to provide funding to build research partnerships.
  • Special One-Time Funding Opportunities

Step 4: Apply for a Research Award​

Applying for funding from PCORI is a two-stage process. Please note each funding announcement has a distinct set of requirements and application templates that must be followed for your application to be reviewed and funded.

A Letter of Intent must be submitted and an organization must be invited to submit a full application. Specific requirements and guidance to complete a successful LOI and subsequent full application are found in the full funding announcement, application guidelines, and application checklist for each specific funding opportunity.


Posted: September 10, 2014; Updated: December 11, 2020

What You Need to Know to Apply

  • Glossary
  • Tips for Submitting a Responsive LOI
  • Funding Application Submission Guidelines

About Us

  • Our Programs
  • Governance
  • Financials and Reports
  • Procurement Opportunities
  • Our Staff
  • Our Vision & Mission
  • Contact Us

Research & Results

  • Explore Our Portfolio
  • Research Fundamentals
  • Research Results Highlights
  • Putting Evidence to Work
  • Peer Review
  • Evidence Synthesis
  • About Our Research

Engagement

  • The Value of Engagement
  • Engagement in Health Research Literature Explorer
  • Influencing the Culture of Research
  • Engagement Awards
  • Engagement Resources
  • Engage with Us

Funding Opportunities

  • What & Who We Fund
  • What You Need to Know to Apply
  • Applicant Training
  • Merit Review
  • Awardee Resources
  • Help Center

Meetings & Events

February 2
PCORI 2021 and Beyond: Opportunities for Funding and Involvement in Patient-Centered Research
February 9
Board of Governors Meeting: February 9, 2021
February 11
Advisory Panel on Patient Engagement Winter 2021 Meeting

PCORI

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Patient-Centered Outcomes
Research Institute

1828 L Street, NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 827-7700 | Fax: (202) 355-9558
[email protected]

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