This opportunity supports projects that include multi-party convenings, meetings and conferences which bring together communities of patients, families, caregivers and other members of the broader healthcare community. These must align with PCORI’s mission and help expand patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER). All proposed projects must show how they will expand patient-centered CER.

Funding Tracks

• Your project must focus on one of two funding tracks — Convening Around Patient-Centered CER or Convening Around Dissemination of PCORI-Funded Research Findings — and you will self-select the focus at the time of LOI submission.
  • Convening Around Patient-Centered CER: These projects promote discussion of research topics, prioritizing research questions and/or engagement plans for patient-centered CER.
  • Convening Around Dissemination of PCORI-Funded Research Findings: These projects communicate results from eligible PCORI-funded studies to targeted audiences who will use the results through convening(s) as the primary method for active dissemination.

Funding Information

• Award total costs may not exceed $125,000. The maximum budget includes all direct and indirect costs.
• Maximum Project Period: Up to 2 Years.

Deliverables

• Research agendas and/or prioritized research questions for patient-centered CER.
• Strategic plans and/or road maps for future patient-centered CER.
• Strategies/approaches for patients, families, caregivers and the broader healthcare community to engage in patient-centered CER after the project period.
• Summaries of research topics and priorities, including the processes used to identify and prioritize the information.
• Strategies for disseminating PCORI-funded research results with demonstrated success.

Ineligible Projects

• The Engagement Award Program does not fund projects that:
  • Lack a clear focus on patient-centered CER.
  • Include a cost-effectiveness analysis of alternative approaches to providing care.
  • Focus solely on increasing patient engagement in health care or health systems rather than healthcare research, particularly patient-centered CER.
  • Design or test healthcare interventions.
  • Involve the use of a drug or medical device.
  • Create clinical practice guidelines, care protocols or decision support tools.
  • Create coverage, payment or policy recommendations or guidelines.
  • Address only quality measures, quality improvement or engagement around quality measures.
  • Recruit and enroll participants for clinical trials.
  • Involve patients only as subjects.
  • Conduct research studies, such as randomized controlled trials, observational studies, pragmatic clinical studies or systematic reviews.
  • Create or maintain a registry or recruit people for a registry.
  • Are designed solely to validate tools or instruments not created through a PCORI-funded project.
  • Develop funding proposals, grant applications or similar requests for project or research funding.
  • Involve grantmaking, such as giving grants using PCORI’s project funds.
  • Focus solely on social determinants of health, with no focus on patient-centered CER.
  • Plan to disseminate research results without including PCORI-funded research or related products.
  • Implement PCORI-funded findings in a clinical practice setting. PCORI funds this type of project in a different program.
  • Aim to influence, directly or indirectly, any federal, state or local laws, regulations, judicial decisions or the like, including preparation or planning activities, research and other background work related to or in contemplation of lobbying activities.
  • Aim to create an independent corporation (nonprofit or for-profit), limited liability company, partnership or other legal entity.

Eligibility Criteria

• Nonprofit and for-profit organizations may apply.
• U.S.-based applicants must have a Federal Employer Identification Number. This is assigned by the Internal Revenue Service.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Individuals may not apply.

For more information, visit PCORI.

https://www.pcori.org/funding-opportunities/announcement/engagement-award-convening-support-fall-2025-cycle