The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) intends to issue a Broad Pragmatic Studies (BPS) PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA) on April 1, 2026, seeking to fund patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) projects. This preannouncement provides potential applicants additional time to identify collaborators; obtain patient and stakeholder input on potential studies; and develop responsive, high-quality applications.

Research Initiative Highlights

CER compares at least two available health treatments, services or care delivery strategies. PCORI seeks proposals that compare clinical interventions (e.g., pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments, screening and diagnostic approaches) and healthcare delivery system interventions (e.g., workforce, technologies, healthcare service delivery designs) to evaluate potential benefits and harms of different treatment and care delivery options, thus generating evidence that empowers patients, caregivers and the broader healthcare community with information to make informed choices that reflect their needs and preferences.

Special Areas of Emphasis

For Cycle 2 2026, PCORI is particularly interested in submissions that address the following Special Areas of Emphasis (SAE) within the BPS funding opportunity. The purpose of identifying these SAEs is to encourage submissions to these areas, rather than limiting submissions to these topics. Applicants addressing one of the below SAEs should identify the area that is best associated with their research approach:  

• Addressing Obesity: PCORI is interested in supporting high-quality, patient-centered research to study the comparative clinical effectiveness of interventions that address obesity treatment and/or management, including intensive lifestyle interventions, anti-obesity medications, endoscopic procedures and bariatric surgery, as well as combination approaches, as appropriate. Research evaluating a clinically meaningful, objective and obesity-related primary outcome is highly encouraged.
• Diabetes Prevention, Care and Treatment: PCORI seeks to fund high-quality, patient-centered CER studies on prevention, care and treatment options for people with diabetes and prediabetes.
• Management of Urogynecological and Pelvic Pain: PCORI is interested in funding patient-, healthcare-provider- and/or systems-level CER comparing strategies aimed to improve prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and management of urogynecological and pelvic pain, including but not limited to urogynecological and pelvic pain experienced during pregnancy and postpartum. The inclusion of at least one validated primary outcome focused on pain is highly encouraged.
• Pain Management for Individuals Living With Sickle Cell Disease: PCORI is interested in funding patient-, healthcare-provider- and/or systems-level CER comparing strategies aimed at improving screening, diagnosis, treatment and management of acute and chronic pain associated with sickle cell disease among children and adults. The inclusion of at least one validated primary outcome focused on pain is highly encouraged.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to propose individual- or cluster-randomized controlled trials; however, well-specified natural experiments and well-designed observational studies will also be considered. Proposed studies should be powered with an overall sample size adequate for the precise estimation of hypothesized effect sizes and, where appropriate, for assessing heterogeneity of treatment effect. Applicants are encouraged to pay special attention to issues of intervention implementation to facilitate widespread uptake of findings after completion of the study by utilizing hybrid effectiveness-implementation approaches. However, strict implementation or dissemination studies will not be considered responsive, nor will studies focused on the development of research methods. Applicants should propose well-justified and validated outcomes that are clinically meaningful and considered important by patients, and that can be impacted by the proposed interventions within the study duration.  

In PCORI-funded research, patients and other research partners are expected to meaningfully contribute their lived experience or professional expertise to ensure studies are patient-centered, relevant and useful for healthcare decision making. Applicants must address PCORI’s Foundational Expectations for Partnerships in Research — an evidence-based framework supported by tools and resources to guide effective engagement strategies. Details on each of the Foundational Expectations can be found on PCORI’s website. Applicants are also strongly encouraged to consider the inclusion of a broad range of patient-centered burdens and economic outcomes.

This funding announcement will accept applications with direct costs up to $12 million and up to five years in duration. For this funding announcement, applicants may request coverage of patient care costs (including medical products, procedures and care services) for potential funding by PCORI. These costs are included as part of the overall direct cost maximum. For additional information, please see the full announcement upon posting.  

Broad Pragmatic Studies PFA: Category 1, Category 2 and Category 3 Study Specifications

PCORI will commit up to $120 million in direct costs through this funding opportunity. This funding opportunity contains three categories for funding:  

Category 1

• Category 1 will support research projects with direct costs up to and including $5 million.

Category 2

• Category 2 will support research projects with direct costs greater than $5 million and up to a maximum of $12 million. Applications for funding under Category 2 will be required to provide additional information in the Letter of Intent (LOI) and application to justify the size and scope of the proposed research projects and to explain how additional funds are necessary with respect to the scale, scope and complexity of personnel and material resources needed to address the research question.  

Category 3

• Category 3 will support research projects with direct costs up to $12 million that utilize PCORnet® to conduct observational studies and/or pragmatic trials that are national in scale. Category 3 PCORnet Studies® must include two or more Clinical Research Networks and share study progress, performance metrics and best practices with the network to promote continuous learning and improvement. PCORnet Studies® will leverage the PCORnet Common Data Model® as appropriate. Additional details about Category 3 can be found on the PCORI website.  

Structured Mentorship

All applicants submitting to this PFA may propose coverage of structured mentorship activities for early- or mid-career investigators, investigators making a career transition to patient-centered CER and/or patient and community partners. As detailed further in the PFA, applicants must address specific criteria for potential funding. PCORI funding for requested structured mentorship activities is not assured.

Application Deferral Policy

This policy allows applicants who have submitted an LOI and are invited to submit a full application to defer their application submission once to the immediate next PFA cycle. This request may cross cycle years, if applicable.

Key Dates

Online System Opens

April 1, 2026, 9 am (ET)

Applicant Town Hall

Apr. 9, 2026; 11:30 am - 1 pm (ET)

View Event

Letter of Intent Deadline

April 28, 2026, 5 pm (ET)

Letter of Intent Status Notification

June 2, 2026, 5 pm (ET)

Application Deadline

Sept. 1, 2026, 5 pm (ET)

Merit Review

November 2026

Awards Announced

April 2027 (Subject to Change)

Earliest Start Date

August 2027

Funds and Project Period

Funds Available Up To

$120 million total for all categories (1, 2 and 3)

Budget

Category 1
-- Less than or equal to $5 million in direct costs
Category 2
-- Greater than $5 million; up to $12 million in direct costs
Category 3
-- Up to $12 million in direct costs

Maximum Project Period

Up to five years for all categories (1, 2 and 3)

AI based application success predictor

🧠 1. Clear Patient-Centered Focus

PCORI emphasizes questions and outcomes that matter to patients and caregivers — such as symptom relief, quality of life, care experience, and decision making — rather than exclusively surrogate or laboratory endpoints. PCORI
Tip: Define research questions in terms of patient priorities, not just scientific interest.

🤝 2. Engagement of Patients & Stakeholders

A hallmark of PCORI’s Merit Review is explicit requirements for meaningful involvement of patients, caregivers and other stakeholders during proposal development, design and execution. Engagement is a distinct criterion reviewers consider alongside scientific merit. ScienceDirect
Tip: Build stakeholder engagement plans that demonstrate how patients/communities will influence key decisions (choice of comparators, outcomes, recruitment strategies).

🔍 3. Comparative Effectiveness Design

PCORI requires that studies compare two or more care options relevant to real healthcare decisions — this is central to eligibility. PCORI
Tip: Ensure the comparison (e.g., two treatments, delivery strategies, screening options) reflects real choices patients/clinicians face.

📊 4. Methodological Rigor & Feasibility

Competitive proposals have robust study designs, clear definitions of outcomes and analyses that support valid comparisons, with realistic timelines and scalable recruitment plans. PCORI
Tip: Develop rigorous plans tailored to CER, including statistical methods and pragmatic implementation plans.

📅 5. Alignment With Specific PFA Priorities

Each PFA has defined scope and priorities (e.g., methods for engagement; implementation in health systems). Applications must match the language and goals of the specific funding announcement. PCORI
Tip: Tailor aims to the exact PFA requirements rather than submitting generic CER designs.

📣 6. Dissemination & Uptake Planning

Projects that include clear dissemination and implementation plans — describing how results will be shared with patients, clinicians, health systems, or policymakers — score stronger on relevance and impact. PCORI
Tip: Include strategies for uptake, such as integration into clinical guidelines, digital tools, or decision aids.

📑 7. Organizational Capacity & Collaboration

Because PCORI awards are often larger and multi-site, reviewers value organizational experience in complex CER, including data systems, partnerships with clinical sites or community networks, and multidisciplinary teams. PCORI
Tip: Demonstrate infrastructure for recruitment, data management, and stakeholder engagement.

📌 Practical Application Tips

✔ Start early & follow cycles: PCORI issues repeated funding opportunity cycles (e.g., spring, fall). PCORI
✔ Use PCORI resources: Attend webinars and use application guides and templates provided on the PCORI website. PCORI
✔ Engage stakeholders early: Integrate patient partners before LOI submission to shape the research question. ScienceDirect
✔ Monitor announcements: Subscribe to PCORI emails for updates on new PFAs and registry of funded projects. PCORI

🧠 Summary: PCORI Competitive Funding