The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), an independent, non-profit organization, opened its second year of funding of patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER), revising its broad funding announcements to clarify key review criteria and application definitions.

PCORI plans to award up to $81 million in this newly announced round of PCORI Funding Announcements (PFAs). With this latest funding opportunity, plus previous calls for research proposals and plans to offer additional PFAs later this year, PCORI aims to commit to at least $355 million in support for patient-centered CER in 2013.

The revised PFAs released respond to feedback PCORI received during previous funding cycles and include several improvements designed to make it easier for applicants to understand the criteria and features that make PCORI's process distinctive.

"We are committed to facilitating a new approach to conducting health and healthcare research, one that focuses on the research questions of most importance to patients and that actively involves patients, clinicians and other end-users of the research in the way it is conducted," said Joe Selby, MD, MPH, executive director of PCORI. "We've taken several steps to help researchers meet the high standards we've set for selecting patient-centered questions and for engaging patients and other healthcare stakeholders in studies. Our revamped funding announcements reflect our commitment to research that will help patients, caregivers and clinicians make better-informed health care decisions."

As with all PCORI-supported research, applicants must show they have considered how their results could be disseminated and implemented and that they will make their study protocols available so that other interested researchers can seek to replicate their results.

The PFAs seek proposals for innovative projects that address the five focal areas of PCORI's National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda:

• Assessment of prevention, diagnosis and treatment options — projects that address critical decisions that patients, their caregivers and clinicians face with too little information.
• Improving healthcare systems — projects that address critical decisions that face healthcare systems, patients and caregivers who rely on these systems and clinicians who work within them.
• Communication and dissemination — projects that address critical elements in the communication and dissemination process among patients, their caregivers and clinicians.
• Addressing disparities — projects that will inform the choice of strategies to eliminate disparities.
• Accelerating patient-centered outcomes research and methodological research — studies to address gaps in methodological research relevant to conducting patient-centered outcomes research.

In addition to making significant improvements to its PFAs and corresponding review criteria, PCORI upgraded its online application system, guidelines and templates. The PFAs now include clearer descriptions of the types of research PCORI seeks and how patients should be engaged in the research process. The online application process has been streamlined to provide a better overall experience.

Complete funding announcements are available in the Funding Opportunities section of PCORI's website, www.pcori.org. Required letters of intent from applicants are due June 15 and applications are due August 15. Awards for this cycle will be made in mid-December.