Engagement Award: Dissemination Initiative

The Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award: Dissemination Initiative for the Fall 2025 cycle is a funding opportunity offered by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), a non-profit organization focused on supporting patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER). PCORI was established to fund research that helps patients and stakeholders make informed healthcare decisions. It prioritizes engagement with patients, caregivers, clinicians, and the broader healthcare community throughout the research process. PCORI's Engagement Award Program encourages meaningful involvement in CER by non-research entities through dissemination, capacity-building, and engagement projects that do not involve the conduct of research themselves. This specific funding opportunity supports projects that aim to actively disseminate findings from PCORI-funded patient-centered CER. Eligible projects must be community- or organization-led initiatives that help patients, caregivers, families, clinicians, or other stakeholders understand and apply PCORI-funded evidence. Dissemination must be active, tailored, and targeted—projects relying solely on passive methods like mass mailings or general publication of findings are not eligible. Examples of eligible dissemination strategies include targeted training, webinars, social media outreach, community-based events, and leveraging trusted messengers or partners to share research results. Projects must focus on evidence generated through PCORI-funded research. Acceptable sources of evidence include published results from patient-centered CER funded by PCORI, PCORI-funded systematic reviews, and PCORI Evidence Updates. The findings must be relevant to the audiences targeted by the project. Applications should clearly outline the key messages being disseminated, justify the chosen strategies, and include metrics for measuring reach, uptake, and impact. Organizations applying must demonstrate prior experience working with the intended audience and must submit letters of support from all project partners, including patients and community members. The award offers up to $300,000 in total costs per project for a project period of up to two years. Funding covers direct and indirect costs but may not exceed the total budget cap. PCORI anticipates awarding up to $25 million across the entire Engagement Award Program during fiscal year 2026. Applications exceeding the budget or timeline limitations will not be reviewed. Projects must plan to spend the majority of their time and funds on dissemination activities and project evaluation, rather than planning or tool development. Use of PCORI-funded tools is encouraged where relevant and requires documented permission and letters of support. The application process begins with a required Letter of Intent (LOI), due by September 29, 2025, at 5:00 pm ET. Applicants will be notified of LOI status within 60 calendar days. Only those invited may submit full proposals, which are due by January 12, 2026, at 5:00 pm ET. Projects may begin as early as July 1, 2026. Applications are evaluated on program fit, project plan and timeline, qualifications of the project team, engagement plan, past performance, and budget justification. Applicants must adhere to PCORI’s Foundational Expectations for Partnerships in Research, including sustained, representative, and meaningful engagement. For questions, applicants may contact the Engagement Award Program at ea@pcori.org or by phone at 202-370-9312. PCORI typically responds to inquiries within two business days. Additional resources, submission instructions, and templates are available at the Dissemination Initiative webpage hosted on the PCORI website. While this opportunity does not recur on a rolling basis, it is part of a recurring funding program with future cycles anticipated. Applicants should refer to the PCORI Engagement Award webpage for the most current information on future submission opportunities.

Include partner Letters of Support, use PCORI tools where appropriate, and ensure majority of project focuses on active dissemination.