Society for Medical Decision Making

Today, we began accepting proposals for patient-centered outcomes studies through eight PCORI Funding Announcements (PFAs): 

• Our first call for proposals through our new Large Pragmatic Clinical Studies Initiative. We'll award up to $90 million to fund up to nine large, multi-year CER studies in the first of two such announcements we plan this year. Priority topics we'll fund are based on the previous work of respected health care organizations and the input of our multi-stakeholder advisory panels.  
• Up to $20 million to fund up to two trials comparing obesity treatment options - such as dietary counseling, increased physical activity, and behavioral therapy - in primary care settings. Because low-income, minority, and rural individuals experience higher rates of obesity, this PFA focuses on how well these options help these underserved populations lose weight.  
• Up to $15 million to fund a comprehensive study to determine which clusters of transitional care services work best at reducing preventable hospital readmissions and improving outcomes among at-risk patients, such as those with multiple chronic illnesses. The study will also determine which of these services are most effective in various healthcare settings and payment contexts.
• Up to $81 million for the Spring 2014 Cycle of funding under our five broad National Priorities for Research. This includes $5 million, through our funding announcement on improving methods, for studies focused on the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) of the National Institutes of Health.   

The deadline for required Letters of Intent for each of these PFAs is 5 p.m. (ET) Friday, March 7. LOIs for the pragmatic studies, transitional care, obesity, and improving methods PFAs will be reviewed for how well they fit with our programmatic goals; applicants will be notified whether they are invited to submit full applications. Information on other key dates is included in each PFA.

We'll host informational town hall and training webinars for interested applicants in February and March. More information is available here.

Applicants for these new funding opportunities will find a number of changes and improvements in our application process, including greater clarity about the types of studies we are and are not seeking, guidance on how to note adherence to PCORI methodology standards within the research plan, and new resources to guide the development of required engagement plans indicating how patients and other stakeholders will be meaningfully involved in the research project. Find out more about these in a new blog post by our Science and Contracts Management teams.

These PFAs are part of a dramatic increase in the amount of funding we're investing in patient-centered CER starting this year and, with the first call for large pragmatic studies proposals, a broadening of the types of studies we'll support. You can find out more about these initiatives in a new blog post by PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby, MD, MPH.

We appreciate your interest in PCORI and hope you'll explore all these opportunities and consider applying.