PCORI offers up to $452 million through new health research funding opportunities on various topics

WASHINGTON, DC — The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) today began inviting proposals for new studies and implementation projects through nine funding opportunities. These PCORI Funding Announcements (PFAs) include four offering up to $452 million for comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) studies comparing health care approaches to help patients and their caregivers make better-informed health choices given their particular circumstances. Additional PFAs offer funding for a range of projects that support and advance patient-centered CER and use of PCORI-funded research results.

"With these latest funding opportunities, PCORI proudly continues to fulfill its role as a leading funder of patient-centered, comparative clinical effectiveness research," said Nakela L. Cook, M.D., MPH, PCORI’s executive director. "The research funded through these opportunities will generate sound evidence to help patients, their clinicians and caregivers understand their care options and become more empowered decision makers across a range of health conditions. Projects funded through these opportunities also will generate data and strategies that advance PCORI’s National Priorities for Health."

The largest funding announcement, the Phased Large Awards for Comparative Effectiveness Research (PLACER) PFA, seeks proposals for bold, innovative, large trials on important decisional dilemmas that begin with an initial feasibility and planning phase ahead of the full study. PCORI requires submissions under this PFA to align with the organization’s National Priorities for Health and encourages alignment with Topic Themes approved by the PCORI Board of Governors and which reflect health issues facing large numbers of Americans, including reducing maternal morbidity and mortality and improving care for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. PCORI is offering up to $200 million total through this PFA.

The second-largest funding announcement, the Broad Pragmatic Studies PFA, similarly seeks proposals for CER studies aligned with PCORI’s National Priorities for Health and that also may address one or more of the approved Topic Themes. In addition, PCORI welcomes submissions in a new category within this standing funding opportunity explicitly inviting proposals for projects that will use PCORnet^®, the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network funded by PCORI, to conduct studies that are national in scale. PCORI is offering up to $162 million total through this PFA.

The first of two Targeted PFAs seeks proposals for CER studies focused on comparing pharmacologic and/or evidence-based nonpharmacologic treatments for the prevention of migraine. The second targeted PFA seeks proposals on health system strategies to address disparities in hypertension management and control. PCORI is offering up to $90 million through these two PFAs.

PCORI encourages investigators who respond to any of these funding opportunities to identify and collect data on the full range of patient-centered and clinical outcomes relevant to patients, caregivers and the broader health and health care community. In addition to health outcomes and clinical effectiveness, relevant outcomes could include, as appropriate, potential burdens and economic impacts.

Another PFA seeks proposals for studies to improve methodologies for conducting patient-centered CER to enhance scientific rigor across this field of research. PCORI is offering up to $12 million through this PFA.

In addition to funding research, PCORI also supports initiatives to accelerate the uptake of useful CER evidence into practice to improve health care and health outcomes. Three implementation PFAs seek proposals for projects to support the uptake of PCORI-funded research results and advance approaches to effective shared decision making in practice settings.

An additional PFA seeks proposals for studies focused on strengthening and enhancing the science of engagement in health research. This groundbreaking initiative is a natural evolution of PCORI’s leadership in funding patient-centered research and supports more strategic approaches to promoting meaningful involvement and partnership of stakeholders throughout the research process. PCORI is offering up to $4.5 million through this PFA.

“Guided by our National Priorities for Health, PCORI’s latest funding opportunities build on the organization’s success in funding research that that provides patients and other health care decision  makers with the information they need to make better-informed choices among their health care options,” said Harv Feldman, M.D., MSCE, PCORI’s deputy executive director for patient-centered research programs. “These opportunities also reflect PCORI’s commitment to continuously improving the quality of research methods, stakeholder engagement in research, and enabling the generation of sound evidence to be adopted into clinical practice where it benefits patients, clinicians and health systems.”

To date, PCORI has invested approximately $4 billion to fund patient-centered CER and other research-related projects. Details about the most recent funding announcements are on PCORI’s website.