The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) on November 16th released a funding announcement to address methodological gaps in research. PCORI plans to award $12 million for up to fourteen contracts to study knowledge gaps and how this lack of knowledge is affecting the advancement of the field of comparative clinical effectiveness research.
PCORI is an independent, non-profit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. PCORI’s mission is to fund research that will provide patients, caregivers, clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better informed healthcare decisions.
According to PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby, MD, “Our goal is to improve this research field by building data infrastructure, improve analytic methods, and train researchers, patients, and other stakeholders to participate effectively when conducting research.”
This PCORI Funding announcement is part of PCORI’s fifth priority area “Accelerating Patient-Centered and Methodological Research”. It is the first of a number of funding announcements PCORI expects to issue in conjunction with this specific priority.
“To improve the quality and effectiveness of care, we need evidence-based information that patients can trust and use,” Selby said. “Developing strong, rigorous patient-centered research methods has the potential to transform our ability to provide patients and caregivers with the information they need to take care of the patient.”
Go to www.pcori.org/funding-opportunities for application materials. The online application system is open and letters of intent are due January 15, 2013. Awards are expected to be announced in the spring of 2013.
