Improving Methods for Conducting Patient-Centered Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research PCORI Funding Announcement -- Cycle 3 2026

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Upcoming Improving Methods for Conducting Patient-Centered Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research PCORI Funding Announcement -- Cycle 3 2026

Research

Cycle 3 2026 Notice of Upcoming PCORI Funding Announcement Key Dates PFA Opens

Aug. 4, 2026 Applicant Town Hall

View the recording Letter of Intent (LOI) Deadline

Sept. 9, 2026; 5 pm (ET) LOI Status Notification

Oct. 14, 2026 Application Deadline

Jan. 12, 2027; 5 pm (ET)

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) intends to issue an Improving Methods for Conducting Patient-Centered Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research (Methods) PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA) on Aug. 4, 2026, seeking to fund studies that address high-impact methodological gaps in patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER). This preannouncement provides potential applicants additional time to identify collaborators; obtain patient and stakeholder input on potential studies; and develop responsive, high-quality applications.

PCORI seeks to fund projects that address important methodological gaps and lead to improvements in the strength and quality of evidence generated by CER studies.

For the Cycle 3 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 (new as of Cycle 2 2026) Methods To Support the Use of Real-World Data (RWD) in Multi-Site Patient-Centered CER 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

This funding announcement will accept applications with direct costs of up to $750,000 and up to three years in duration.

In PCORI-funded research, patients and other research partners are expected to meaningfully contribute their lived experience or professional expertise to advance studies that 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…

Topic areas: Life Sciences and Health, Public Policy and Governance.

Funding amount

This grant provides Varies in funding.

Deadline

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; there is no single fixed deadline.

Who can apply

This opportunity is open to the following applicant types:

• Not specified by the program.

Eligibility

The program did not publish a separate eligibility statement. See the official opportunity page for the full eligibility criteria.

Agency

Improving Methods for Conducting Patient-Centered Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research PCORI Funding Announcement -- Cycle 3 2026 is administered by Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), listed via Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.