Deadline: 23-Sep-2025
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has opened an exciting Phased Large Awards for Comparative Effectiveness Research (PLACER) opportunity under its Cycle 3 2025 funding announcement.
It invites investigators to develop ambitious, patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research projects that address pressing healthcare decisions where gaps in evidence still exist. These projects must involve randomized controlled trials—either individual or cluster level—comparing established interventions already in widespread use or with proven efficacy.
Applicants should structure their proposals into two distinct funding phases. The first is a feasibility phase lasting up to 18 months and funded up to $2 million. This phase is designed to refine the study design, build infrastructure, deepen patient and stakeholder engagement, and test operational readiness—such as recruitment, enrollment, and randomization—without evaluating efficacy or effect size. Only after achieving specified milestones can a project advance to the full-scale trial phase, which may span up to five years with up to $20 million in direct costs.
To align with PCORI’s evolving research priorities, applicants may choose up to three themes from the institute’s Research Project Agenda, or select “other” if their proposal addresses critical need in areas not explicitly listed. Importantly, all funded proposals must include meaningful, systematic patient and stakeholder engagement, leveraging PCORI’s “Foundational Expectations for Partnerships in Research.” It is expected that engagement efforts span a spectrum from gathering input to true shared leadership.
Given the complexity and scale of the trials sought, each application must also include shared trial leadership through a Data Coordinating Center, which plays a vital advisory role across both feasibility and full-scale phases in analytical, statistical, and data management domains. Funding caps are substantial yet precise: direct costs must not exceed $22 million total across both phases. Applicants can request up to $2 million for feasibility and up to $20 million for the full trial, maintaining a total within the specified limit.
Eligibility for this funding is broad and inclusive. Applications may be submitted by appropriate academic research institutions, private sector research organizations, or other entities capable of conducting large-scale studies and managing significant funding. This includes agencies and instrumentalities of the federal government, nonprofit and for-profit research organizations, as well as colleges and universities. The openness of eligibility ensures a wide range of capable organizations can bring forward proposals that reflect diverse expertise and approaches.
With a commitment of up to $120 million across successful awards, this PLACER announcement represents a rare chance to pursue large-scale, high-impact comparative trials that center patients and meaningful stakeholder partnerships, tackling the most critical choices in current healthcare practice.
For more information, visit PCORI.
