Addressing Health Outcomes for Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and/or Rare Diseases (RD) PCORI Funding Announcement
PCORI funds research to improve health outcomes and care strategies for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and/or rare diseases through patient-centered comparative effectiveness studies.
Funder: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Due Dates: September 9, 2026 (Letter of Intent) | January 12, 2027 (Full application)
Funding Amounts: Up to $12 million total costs per project; maximum project period of 5 years.
Summary: Supports comparative effectiveness research to improve health outcomes and care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and/or rare diseases.
Key Information: Applicants may focus on either IDD or rare diseases, or both; patient and stakeholder engagement is required.
Description
This funding opportunity from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) seeks to support high-impact, patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) addressing the needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and/or rare diseases (RD). The initiative aims to fill critical research gaps by soliciting studies that focus on the diverse health needs and lived experiences of these populations, who often encounter significant barriers in care, diagnosis, and support throughout their lives.
PCORI encourages research across a broad range of topics, including strategies to improve access to patient-centered care, health system approaches for better care transitions, pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions to enhance physical and mental health, and support for caregivers. Meaningful engagement of patients, caregivers, and other stakeholders is a core requirement, and all proposed outcomes must be clinically relevant and designed to inform real-world healthcare decisions.
Applications may address either IDD or RD, or both, but there is no requirement or advantage to covering both populations unless appropriate for the research question. Both cross-cutting and single-condition studies are eligible.
