PCORI Opens $120 Million in Patient-Centered Research Grants for 2026
April 9, 2026 · 2 min read
David Almeida
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute opened five simultaneous funding tracks on April 1, with the flagship Broad Pragmatic Studies program offering up to $120 million in direct costs for comparative clinical effectiveness research. Letters of intent are due April 28 across all tracks.
Five Funding Tracks, One April 28 Deadline
PCORI's Cycle 2 2026 funding announcements span a range of research priorities:
Broad Pragmatic Studies accepts applications with direct costs up to $12 million per project over five years. PCORI has committed up to $120 million total through this track, making it one of the largest non-NIH health research funding pools available this cycle.
Phased Large Awards for Comparative Effectiveness Research (PLACER) targets high-impact studies that need staged funding to prove feasibility before scaling.
Improving Methods for Patient-Centered CER funds methodological innovation at up to $750,000 per project over three years. This track now explicitly includes artificial intelligence and machine learning methods for clinical research — a new priority area for PCORI.
Addressing Sensory Health seeks studies on care and outcomes for people living with sensory disorders, including hearing and vision conditions.
Advancing the Science of Engagement in Research funds studies building the evidence base on how to effectively engage patients and communities in research design and execution.
Why This Matters in a Tight Funding Year
PCORI operates outside the NIH funding pipeline, which means its cycles are unaffected by the NIH funding delays and lump-sum policy changes that have driven success rates to 30-year lows. For health researchers facing an increasingly competitive NIH landscape, PCORI represents a substantial and stable alternative.
The application process is invitation-only after the LOI stage. Researchers must submit letters of intent by April 28, with invited full applications due September 1, 2026.
Grant seekers comparing health research funding options can track PCORI alongside NIH and foundation opportunities on grantedai.com. In-depth application strategy for PCORI's current cycle is available on the Granted blog.