I. What You Need to Know to Apply

Step 1: Learn What We Fund

The Engagement Award program supports PCORI’s Engagement Imperative—defined in our Strategic Plan—and provides a platform to increase engagement in research, that is, the meaningful involvement of patients, caregivers, clinicians, and other healthcare stakeholders throughout the research process. We expect projects selected for an Engagement Award to result in tools and resources that may be useful to other awardees for increasing patient and/or other stakeholder engagement in PCOR and CER, PCORI, and the broader PCOR community. We are committed to using and broadly sharing this information. 

Step 2: Learn What We Don't Fund

LOIs and applications will be considered nonresponsive for an Engagement Award if they propose:

• Projects solely intended to improve patient engagement in healthcare service delivery, patient self-care, or patient-centeredness of care (e.g., shared decision making)
• Projects intended to increase the number of patients who agree to be research subjects or participants
• Research projects (PCORI funds these through other opportunities.)
• Planning or pilot studies
• Projects designed solely to validate tools or instruments
• Delivery of health care
• Development of registries
• Recruitment of research or registry participants
• Development of decision support tools or clinical practice guidelines
• Meetings that don’t focus on PCOR or CER
• Full-fledged projects to translate PCORI research findings into products and/or disseminate PCORI research results (Engagement Awards are for the purpose of capacity and infrastructure development; PCORI will fund dedicated dissemination efforts through the Limited PCORI Funding Announcement: Dissemination and Implementation of PCORI Funded Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Results and Products in Real World Settings and/or may fund them through other funding announcements)
• Projects proposed by PCORI-funded investigators to prepare for applying (i.e. “bridge funding”) to the Limited PCORI Funding Announcement: Dissemination and Implementation of PCORI Funded Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Results and Products in Real World Settings.

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

Engagement Award: Accelerating the Adoption of Tools and Resources provides support for projects that give organizations and community groups the opportunity to scale up or adopt meaningful engagement tools and processes with more communities, stakeholders and patients with the intent to further build capacity/skills for PCOR/CER.

Engagement Award: Community Convening Around Patient-Centered Outcomes Research provides funding to organizations and community groups to hold multistakeholder convenings that include patients, researchers, clinicians, purchasers, payers, health system leaders, and other stakeholders. These convenings will have a focus on, and commitment to, supporting collaboration around PCOR/CER.

Step 4: Apply for an Engagement Award

Applying for an Engagement Award is a two-stage process. A Letter of Inquiry 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.

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II. Eligibility

Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) may be submitted by community groups, researchers, and organizations seeking to 1) scale and/or 2) adopt previous funded PCORI Award engagement tools or resources to increase capacity for PCOR/CER. 

Organizations: Applications may be submitted by any private or public-sector organization, including any nonprofit or for-profit organization or any unit of local, state, or federal government. All US applicant organizations must be recognized by the Internal Revenue Service. Nondomestic components of organizations based in the United States and foreign organizations may apply, if there is demonstrable benefit to the US healthcare system, and US efforts in the area of patient-centered research can be clearly shown. Organizations may submit multiple applications for funding. Individuals are not permitted to apply.

Personnel: The Project Lead (PL) or Principal Investigator (PI) of the original PCORI-funded project or research project must write a Letter of Support if he or she is not the proposed PL/PI of the current application. If the organization submitting an application in response to this is not affiliated with the original PCORI awardee institution, then the PI of the original PCORI-funded project or research project must be involved as key personnel in the proposed project.

Evidence: The following may serve as the basis for tools or resources (trainings and processes) used under this award: 

• Tools or resources developed under PCORI Funded Research, Engagement, and Infrastructure Awards

Funding Priorities

Background

This new special project funding announcement will provide funding support to scale/adopt engagement work that has been  created or developed under: 1) a Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award; 2) a PCORI-funded Research Award; or 3) a PCORI Infrastructure Funding Award (collectively, “PCORI Awards”).  Some of the engagement materials from the PCORI Awards or information about them may be displayed on PCORI’s website on the Engagement Tool and Resource Repository for PCOR (Repository).  Projects funded by PCORI Awards have often resulted in building communities, infrastructure, and partnerships to promote patient- and stakeholder-engaged research and dissemination of results. This PCORI special project funding announcement seeks to provide funding to expand upon and scale pre-existing, quality engagement work.  Letters of Intent (LOIs) may be submitted by organizations seeking to 1) scale and/or 2) adopt previously developed engagement tools/resources under PCORI Awards to increase capacity for PCOR/CER.

Award funds are intended to allow organizations and community groups to accelerate and/or adopt relevant engagement resources from PCORI Awards to new and/or expanded stakeholders and communities so that they may be more equipped to be active participants in PCOR/CER. The materials used for scale up/adoption that are eligible for support under this announcement include tools and resources developed as part of a PCORI Award to build capacity for PCOR/CER in/with priority populations or key stakeholders.  Information about some of these engagement tools and resources from previously funded PCORI Engagement Awards and PCORI Research Awards  are available on PCORI’s website in the Engagement Tool and Resource Repository for PCOR.

Important Information Regarding Eligibility and Activities

• If the organization applying in response to this funding announcement is not the original PCORI awardee institution, then the PI/PL of the original PCORI-funded project must be involved as project personnel in the proposed project. If the organization applying in response to this funding announcement is not the original PCORI awardee institution, then the PI/PL, or other key personnel affiliated with the awardee institution of the original PCORI-funded project must be involved as project personnel in the proposed project.
• The PI/PL of the original award must give written permission in a letter of support for the tool/resource to be used. Approval to use and, if applicable, adapt, tool(s) and resource(s) from  the relevant copyright owner of the tool(s) and/or resource(s) (which will typically be the awardee institution of the original PCORI Award project team) in the form of a written letter of support. The relevant owner must grant the applicant rights in the engagement tool(s)/resource(s) sufficient to carry out the project.
• This award mechanism does not fund the use or adaptation of materials without prior approval from the relevant copyright owner of the material to be used or adapted (which may typically be the awardee institution of the original PCORI award). PCORI is not responsible for facilitating the connection between applicants and the copyright owner(s) of the materials. If adaptation of material such as a tool or resource is a component of the proposed project plan, specific language regarding support for adaptation is required by the PL/PI and organization that owns the material (e.g., tool or resource).
• More than one resource or tool may be used if there is a logical justification for the use of multiple for the proposed project.
• Preference will be given to applications submitted by organizations that have already completed their original PCORI-funded award.

Context 

PCORI seeks to fund the accelerated adoption of engagement tools and resources that equip communities and stakeholders to participate in and engage with PCOR/CER.  The purpose of this special project funding announcement is to:

1. Accelerate the use of promising engagement resources to equip more stakeholders and communities to participate in PCOR/CER
2. Implement tested engagement approaches, processes, and strategies in a specific community to advance PCOR/CER 
3. Evaluate preexisting engagement tools and resources to demonstrate success and make improvements  

Successful Applications Will Include

• Description of the engagement tool(s) or resource(s) selected and justification for its continued and expanded use.  Information about prior use/implementation of the tool(s) or resource(s), including any data on its effectiveness to build capacity for patient and stakeholder engagement in PCOR/CER should be provided.
• Detail about how the engagement tool(s) or resource(s) chosen will be adopted and scaled up to expand patient and stakeholder capacity to engage in PCOR/CER including a comprehensive workplan of how the tool(s) or resource(s) will be used in different populations or contexts.
• Rationale that there is a need for additional patient and/or stakeholder capacity to participate in PCOR/CER with a clear and direct link to participation in research opportunities. 
• Commitment from the patient and/or stakeholder communities to be involved in the project, and clear patient and/or stakeholder involvement/leadership in all stages of the project from LOI development to dissemination of project results.
• The potential impact of acceleration/adoption of engagement tool(s)/resource(s)
• Evaluation metrics for assessing the success of engagement strategies (see Evaluation section below)
• The organization’s relationship to the population and/or context, and track record in engagement.
• Approval to use and, if applicable, adapt, tool(s) and resource(s) from  the relevant copyright owner of the tool(s) and/or resource(s) (which will typically be the awardee institution of the original PCORI Award project team) in the form of a written letter of support. The relevant owner must grant the applicant rights in the engagement tool(s)/resource(s) sufficient to carry out the project.

Augmenting Existing Initiatives

The special project funding announcement seeks to elaborate on a body of engagement-focused work that has already been completed with PCORI funding. The focus of the Engagement Award program is to support projects that build communities prepared to participate in PCOR/CER as well as serve as channels for disseminating study results. The Engagement Award program also supports PCORI’s engagement imperative to increase engagement in research, or meaningful involvement of patients, caregivers, clinicians, and other healthcare stakeholders throughout the research process. This funding announcement offers an opportunity for organizations and community groups to actively scale up and adopt engagement approaches and strategies as well as evaluate implementation and effectiveness within different settings and stakeholder groups.

Examples of Project Ideas

• Train-the-trainer sessions on how to train patients and stakeholders on the basic premises of research and how to work together as partners in research.  Topics include: patient engagement, partnering with practitioners, and how to be effective in meetings. 
• A mock community studio training where a clinical scenario within a community will be addressed by community stakeholders and researchers. Topics to be addressed include identifying and clarifying who the researcher should consult with to ensure that the study will be accepted by community, how to get populations to engage in and remain in the study, and when patients should be integrated into a study.
• Using a health topic prioritization process (like a Nominal Group Technique or Delphi Method) in a specific community to garner engagement in the research process.
• Implementing available tools, process, or programs, alone or in combination, in a new population or geographic area such as a new network of oncology social workers, patient advocates, and academic researchers, who will work together to ask and then answer PCOR/CER questions arising in the practice of psychosocial care for cancer patients and their families.
• Using multiple tools, scale up a training for community health workers (CHWs) including existing curricula and evaluation processes to prepare CHWs to be champions for patient-centered outcomes research.  Topics to be addressed include what research is, what research issues are important to patients, what it means to conduct research in an ethical manner, and different ways to gather data.

III. Review Process

Letters of Inquiry (LOI) should be submitted by the application deadlines. Full proposal submissions are by invitation only, after review and approval of the LOI. Letters of Inquiry will be screened for responsiveness to the call for applications and fit to program goals. Only those selected will be permitted to submit full applications. LOIs will be reviewed within 40 days of submission. A full proposal, submitted upon invitation only, should be submitted within 40 days of receiving the invitation. PCORI may request additional information from the applicant after the initial review of the full proposal. PCORI aims to provide a final decision on the full proposal, via e-mail, within 90 days of receipt. If the full proposal is awarded, a PCORI staff member will coordinate arrangements to begin contracting negotiations. Typically contracts negotiations take about eight weeks.

To select high-quality patient-centered projects, PCORI’s Engagement and Contract Management and Administration teams, and internal and external subject matter experts (as necessary) will review all Letters of Inquiry (LOI) and applications.

Review Criteria:

1. Program Fit
2. Project Plan and Timeline
3. Qualifications of the Project Lead
4. Personnel and Collaborators
5. Past Performance
6. Budget/Cost Proposal

For additional details on the review process click here.

IV. Applicant Templates

• Biosketch Template
• Board of Directors Template
• Budget Justification Template
• Budget Template
• Project Deliverables/Milestones Template
• Project Workplan and Timeline

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​V. Applicant Resources

Guides:

• Application Checklist
• Application Guidelines
• LOI Question Guide (Please note: this is only for the Engagement Award: Accelerating the Adoption of Tools and Resources LOI)
• PCORI Online: Pre-award User Guides
• Reporting Tool for Evaluation Template

Web Resources:

• Applicant FAQs
• Review Process
• Blog Post: Updates to Engagement Award Program
• Funded Projects Portfolio: Engagement in Research
• Webinar: Key Information and Updates

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​VI. Questions?

If you have any additional questions, please contact PCORI at [email protected] or (202) 370-9312. PCORI will provide a response within three business days.

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