Mark your Calendar! PCORI to Announce New Funding Opportunities for PCORnet® Studies

On April 1, PCORI will release the Broad Pragmatic Studies (BPS) PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA) to support high-quality patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER). Category 3 supports PCORnet® Studies with direct costs of up to $12 million.

PCORnet® Studies are defined as those that:

  • Include two or more PCORnet® Clinical Research Networks (CRNs)
  • Share study progress and performance metrics
  • Exchange best practices with the network to promote continuous learning and improvement
  • Leverage the PCORnet® Common Data Model as appropriate

PCORI has identified four specific areas of emphasis for this PFA: addressing obesity; diabetes prevention, care and treatment; management of urogynecological and pelvic pain; and pain management for individuals living with Sickle Cell Disease.

Letters of Intent (LOIs) are due April 28.  

Ready to learn more and apply?  Take these three steps to prepare:

  1. Contact the PCORnet® Front Door as soon as possible.  All applicants submitting to the BPS Category 3 PFA are required to contact the PCORnet® Front Door prior to submitting their LOI. The PCORnet® Front Door can advise on study feasibility and costs associated with using PCORnet, provide data to inform study design, offer best practices for stakeholder engagement, and more.
  2. Register for the April 9 PCORI Applicant Town Hall to learn more about this PFA and how to submit a responsive LOI and application.
  3. Check out this webinar for an overview of PCORnet and the specific requirements for the Category 3: PCORnet® Studies option in the BPS PFA. 

On April 1, PCORI will also release a PFA on  Improving Methods for Conducting Patient-Centered Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research PCORI Funding Announcement.

This PFA seeks to fund studies that address high-impact methodological gaps in patient-centered CER and might lead to improvements in the strength and quality of evidence generated by CER studies. Applicants considering this PFA are encouraged to partner with PCORnet® Network Partners.

The preannouncement provides potential applicants additional time to identify collaborators, obtain patient and partner input and develop responsive, high-quality applications.

For the Cycle 2 2026 Methods PFA, PCORI has identified the following areas as program priorities:

  • Methods To Support the Use of Patient-Centered Measurement in Patient-Centered CER
  • Methods To Support the Use of Real-World Data (RWD) in Multi-Site Patient-Centered CER (formerly Methods to Support Data Research Networks)
  • Methods To Improve the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in Patient-Centered CER
  • Methods To Improve Study Design in Patient-Centered CER

To learn more about this funding opportunity, attend the PCORI Applicant Town Hall on April 6, noon – 1 pm (ET).

Additional PFAs opening April 1 (with LOIs due April 28) include:

 

Title LOI Due Date Applicant Town Hall Date
Broad Pragmatic Studies (BPS) PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA) April 28 April 9, 11:30 am – 1 pm (ET)
Learn more 

Category 3 webinar

Improving Methods for Conducting Patient-Centered Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research PCORI Funding Announcement April 28 April 6, noon – 1 pm (ET)
Learn more
Addressing Sensory Health Needs Across the Lifespan April 28 April 7, noon – 1 pm (ET)
Learn more 

 

Phased Large Awards for Comparative Effectiveness Research PCORI Funding Announcement April 28 April 8, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm (ET)
Learn more 

Contact the PCORnet® Front Door to learn how PCORnet can support your patient-centered research.