How We Developed our National Priorities and Research Agenda

As one of our first responsibilities, we were charged with identifying National Priorities for Research and a Research Agenda based on those priorities. We were instructed to take into account factors including:

• Disease incidence, prevalence, and burden (with emphasis on chronic conditions)
• Gaps in evidence in terms of clinical outcomes
• Practice variations and health disparities in terms of delivery and outcomes of care
• Potential for new evidence to improve patient health, well-being, and quality of care

In fall of 2011, workgroups of PCORI's Board of Governors, the Methodology Committee, and staff members, with input from stakeholder groups, developed a draft National Priorities and Research Agenda.

We held a 53-day public comment period, from January 23 to March 15, 2012. We received 474 public comments through our website, postal mail and email, and during a meeting with patients and other stakeholders.

Fifteen major themes emerged from an analysis of the comments following a systematic process. In response, the Board voted on April 25, 2012, (transcript available) to amend the draft Research Agenda. The Board did not change the draft National Priorities for Research because public comments did not identify significant gaps in the five proposed priorities. The final PCORI Revised Draft National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda was adopted by the PCORI Board of Governors on May 21, 2012.

To learn more about how we incorporated public input into our National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda, click here.

Posted: May 18, 2012; Updated: September 2, 2014