Advancing the Science of Engagement in Research Program

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is a nonprofit organization authorized by Congress to fund patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research. PCORI supports research that helps patients, caregivers, clinicians, and other healthcare stakeholders make better-informed decisions. This funding announcement, Advancing the Science of Engagement in Research, is part of PCORI’s Cycle 2 2026 research funding opportunities and is designed to build a stronger evidence base on how engagement in research should be defined, measured, supported, and evaluated. The opportunity is open for applications in a two-stage process that begins with a required Letter of Intent. This funding opportunity supports studies that address high-priority gaps in the science of engagement in research. PCORI defines engagement as the meaningful involvement and partnership of patients and stakeholders throughout the research process, from planning and conducting the study to disseminating findings. The announcement explains that, although PCORI has required engagement in its funded research for more than a decade, major evidence gaps remain. There is still no clear consensus on how to measure engagement, which engagement methods are most effective, how engagement practices should vary across settings and communities, and how engagement produces its effects. The program therefore seeks studies focused on validating engagement measures and testing engagement methods in research settings. PCORI identifies two main project categories under this announcement. Category 1 supports the development and validation of measures that capture the structure or context, process, and outcomes of engagement in research. These projects may include developing new measures, validating previously developed measures, or adapting measures from related fields, provided they are broadly applicable across populations and settings. Category 2 supports the development and testing of engagement methods to generate evidence on which approaches to engagement work best, in what settings, and why. Projects in this category must include robust testing of at least one engagement method and may not be limited to development alone. Studies focused only on patient engagement in clinical care or self-care, stakeholder input without meaningful partnership, recruitment or retention alone, or purely qualitative evaluation of engagement methods are not responsive to this announcement. Funding is available at two levels depending on project type. Category 1 projects may request up to 1 million dollars in direct costs and may last up to 24 months. Category 2 projects may request up to 1.5 million dollars in direct costs and may last up to 36 months. PCORI states that it intends to commit up to approximately 36 million dollars through this opportunity. The budget maximum includes research-related and peer review-related costs, and the announcement does not allow exceptions to either the stated budget caps or the maximum project periods. Patient care costs are not covered under this funding announcement. Applicants are also expected to budget for meaningful engagement activities, partner compensation, and participation in the Science of Engagement Learning Network, including travel and related costs for annual in-person meetings. Eligibility is broad for organizations able to conduct research and manage funding. Appropriate applicants may include academic research institutions, private sector research or study-conducting entities, nonprofit organizations, for-profit research organizations, colleges and universities, and agencies and instrumentalities of the federal government. Individuals are not permitted to apply. Foreign organizations and nondomestic components of U.S. organizations may apply, but they must justify how the research will benefit healthcare in the United States and must show that engagement plans include U.S. patients and stakeholders and are relevant to U.S. healthcare. Applicants must be able to comply with PCORI’s methodology standards, transparency and conflict-of-interest requirements, data sharing and privacy requirements, and other contractual conditions. They are strongly encouraged to review the standard research contract before submitting. The application process uses a required Letter of Intent stage followed by invitation-only full applications. The online system opens on April 1, 2026. The Letter of Intent deadline is April 28, 2026, by 5 pm ET, and PCORI plans to notify applicants of LOI status on June 2, 2026. The full application deadline is Sept. 1, 2026, by 5 pm ET. Merit review is scheduled for November 2026, awards are expected to be announced in April 2027 subject to change, and the earliest project start date is August 2027. Applicants are encouraged to use PCORI’s inquiry channels to ask programmatic or technical questions. Programmatic and technical inquiries may be sent to [email protected], and the helpdesk phone number is 202-627-1885. PCORI also identifies Flavia Bianchi and Madelyne Greene as scientific or research leads for the announcement. Applications are reviewed on the basis of the importance of the methodological gap addressed, the potential to improve engagement measures or methods, scientific merit, investigator qualifications and environment, patient-centeredness, and patient and stakeholder engagement. Applicants must show how their engagement strategies address PCORI’s Foundational Expectations for Partnerships in Research, including representative involvement, early and ongoing engagement, dedicated funding for engagement, capacity building, meaningful inclusion in decision-making, and ongoing assessment of engagement. Awardees are required to participate in the Science of Engagement Learning Network throughout the project period. Overall, this funding opportunity is intended to strengthen the evidence base for engagement in research by supporting rigorous, patient-centered studies that clarify which engagement approaches are effective, how they work, and how they can be adapted across research contexts.

Ensure strong stakeholder engagement plans aligned with Foundational Expectations; clearly justify methodological approach and theoretical framework; focus on measurable impact of engagement methods; avoid nonresponsive topics such as clinical patient engagement interventions