Advancing the Science of Engagement in Research PCORI Funding Announcement –- Cycle 2 2024

This PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA) seeks to fund studies that build an evidence base on engagement in research, including:

• Measures to capture structure/context, process, and outcomes of engagement in research
• Techniques that lead to effective engagement in research
• How effective engagement techniques should be modified and resourced for different contexts, settings, and communities to ensure equity in engagement and research

To learn more about PCORI's priorities in measures of engagement, please see our article on Measuring What Matters for Advancing the Science and Practice of Engagement.

Over the past decade, PCORI has transformed how research is conducted by requiring the engagement of patients, families, caregivers, and the broader health and healthcare community. Engagement in research is defined as the meaningful involvement and partnership of stakeholders throughout the research process—from planning and conducting the study to ultimately disseminating study results.

Much has been learned about engagement in research from PCORI’s investments, yet significant evidence gaps remain. There is presently no consensus on how to define or measure engagement, and there has been little systematic study of which engagement techniques are most effective. Methods for engaging and facilitating the inclusion of historically underrepresented populations as study partners is a further critical gap.

Through more than 10 years of funding engaged research, PCORI has learned that engagement is a complex intervention, and there is not yet an in-depth understanding of how engagement in research produces its effects. Understanding how engagement supports successful research will advance PCORI’s National Priorities for Health. Consistent with complex health intervention frameworks and the Donabedian Structure/Context-Process-Outcomes framework, studies must first define the activities and behaviors that engagement entails—and measure them—to understand which components predict success and the causal mechanisms underlying them.

Research Initiative Highlights

PCORI’s PFA on the Science of Engagement will solicit applications that focus on:

• Development and validation of measures to capture structure/context, process, and outcomes of engagement, for both stakeholders and investigators
• Development and/or testing of engagement methods to generate evidence on the most effective approaches for engagement in research, particularly for underrepresented populations, and how effectiveness varies by context