Applications open for Advancing the Science of Engagement in Research (US)

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Funding Announcement (PFA) for Advancing the Science of Engagement, also referred to as the “SoE PFA,” aims to fund studies that address high-priority gaps in the science of engagement in research focused on development and/or assessment of validity of measures and the evaluation of engagement methods. For measurement proposals, PCORI will give preference to projects that rapidly develop and/or assess the validity of measures of engagement.

Priorities

• Measuring Engagement in Research (Category 1): The first priority and goal of this funding opportunity is to develop reliable and valid measures that enable future comparative effectiveness research of engagement methods. Measures might address several purposes, including enabling research project teams to conduct monitoring and process improvement, for researchers to study best practices and to assess engagement impact. The following topics are priorities for Cycle 3 2024:
  • Structure/Context: Measures that assess key contextual factors that may influence the conduct of engagement and/or the outcomes of engagement. Priorities include stakeholder diversity and representativeness, barriers and facilitators to engagement, and capacity and readiness for engagement.
  • Process: Measures that assess aspects of how engagement is planned, conducted, or sustained. Priorities include facilitating equitable and inclusive participation of diverse partners and measures to systematically describe activities and structures by which patients and stakeholders were engaged and the level of engagement achieved at various stages of the work.
  • Outcomes: Measures that assess the outcomes that result from engagement in research. Priorities include patient centeredness of studies, perceptions of relevance and trustworthiness of findings for end users, and ability to recruit and retain diverse and representative research study participants.
• Developing and Testing Engagement Methods in Research (Category 2): The second priority of this funding opportunity is to support research projects that evaluate the impact of various engagement methods on key processes and outcomes of engagement and research. Consistent with complex intervention frameworks, PCORI seeks to fund projects that will generate evidence on effective approaches to engagement and, critically, also generate evidence on how or why these approaches are or are not effective. The following are specific priorities for Cycle 3 2024:
  • Which engagement methods work in what settings, especially for ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion among engaged stakeholders and research project participants, and how do they do so?
  • Which engagement methods result in high-quality engagement, especially for historically underrepresented populations?
  • How do engagement methods need to be adapted to be effective for different stakeholder and patient populations, especially those that have historically been excluded or underrepresented in research projects and research partnerships?
  • Which engagement methods achieve the goals of making research more patient-centered, timely, relevant to patient concerns, culturally sensitive, and trustworthy, or other outcomes or constructs if well justified, and how do they achieve these goals?

Funding Information

• Category 1
  • Grant amount: Less than or equal to $1 million in direct costs.
  • Maximum period: 2 years.
• Category 2
  • Grant amount: Less than or equal to $1.5 million in direct costs.
  • Maximum period: 3 years.

Eligibility Criteria

• In general, applications for the conduct of research and management of funding may be submitted by appropriate academic research, private sector research, or study-conducting entities. This may include, among others, agencies and instrumentalities of the federal government, nonprofit and forprofit research organizations, and colleges and universities.

For more information, visit PCORI.