PCORI Call for Proposals for HSII Implementation Projects -- 2024 (HSII Participants Only)

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has released this Call for Proposals (CFP) for Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII) Implementation Projects. This CFP provides HSII Participants an opportunity to propose projects that promote the uptake of specific evidence from PCORI-funded patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) within their healthcare delivery settings. Each HSII Participant may propose one project in response to this CFP.

Project Types

Applicants have the opportunity to propose one of two project types: 

1. HSII Implementation Projects. These projects will have the goal of broadly integrating evidence into care delivery within the health system’s settings. HSII Implementation Projects should accomplish the desired practice change in ways that are sustainable within the HSII Participant delivery setting and scalable within their system, as relevant. Projects will include rigorous program evaluation that documents the execution of implementation activities, as well as the impact on health and healthcare outcomes.
2. HSII Pilot Projects. These projects will have the goal of developing and/or refining a proposed implementation approach — i.e., a bundle of implementation strategies — and then piloting the use of the approach by integrating use of the evidence on a small scale. Project evaluation will be designed to demonstrate the feasibility and readiness of that approach, paving the way for a broader effort within the health system once the HSII Pilot Project is complete.

Evidence Topics

This CFP includes four topics as the focus of proposed HSII Implementation Projects or HSII Pilot Projects. The first two are the same topics included in the first CFP for HSII Implementation Projects. The second two are new topics.

1. Intensive Lifestyle Treatment for Weight Loss in Primary Care Settings.
2. Appropriate Antibiotic Prescribing for Children With Acute Respiratory Tract Infections (ARTIs).
3. Addressing Hypertension in Adults.
4. Monitoring Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes During Cancer Treatment.

Please refer to the Call for Proposals for details on the evidence topics.

Project Budgets

The second CFP includes the following budget levels for HSII Implementation Projects, which vary based on the evidence topic and project scale in terms of the number of participating care delivery sites.

For HSII Pilot Projects, maximum project budgets are $200,000 (total costs).

Supplemental pilot projects on Topic 3 – Option B (Addressing Undiagnosed Hypertension) will also have a maximum budget level of $200,000 (total costs), which may be added to the proposed budget for an HSII Implementation Project on Topic 3 – Option A (Addressing Uncontrolled Hypertension).

Project Duration

• For HSII Implementation Projects: Up to 48 months (four years). Project timelines should be structured to include these phases:
  • Pre-Implementation (up to 12 months): Preparation for implementation.
  • Active Implementation Phase (at least 12 months and up to 24 months for all participating care delivery sites): Delivery of the intervention/program as part of standard care with implementation support.
  • Maintenance Phase (at least six months): Continued delivery of the intervention/program with reduced or no implementation support.
  • Final Reporting and Project Close-Out (three months): Final evaluation activities (e.g., data collection, analysis) and preparation of the final report.
• For HSII Pilot Projects: At least six months and up to 18 months. Project timelines should account for when the implementation approach will be finalized, when the pilot will launch and when data collection and analysis activities will be completed.

Applicant Eligibility

• Eligible HSII Participant Organizations: Health systems that are participating in the Health Systems Implementation Initiative (i.e., that have a fully executed HSII Master Funding Agreement (MFA) with PCORI for HSII) are eligible to submit a proposal in response to this CFP.
• Eligible Principal Investigators: The Principal Investigator must be an MFA Project Lead designated in the MFA entered into by the HSII Participant Organization. If proposing a Dual-Principal Investigator structure, at least one Principal Investigator must be an MFA Project Lead designated in the MFA; the other can be another leader, or a second MFA Project Lead (if there are two MFA Project Leads designated in the MFA).

HSII Participants are encouraged to refer to the HSII FAQs web page for further information and any updates.