PCORI Engagement Rubric
The PCORI Engagement Rubric helps researchers and stakeholders work together meaningfully throughout the research process. It offers practical guidance on how to involve patients, caregivers, and other health care stakeholders in planning, doing, and sharing research, especially in patient-centered comparative effectiveness studies.
At a glance
Use when
Designing patient-centered research, applying for PCORI funding, planning stakeholder involvement in research projects
Avoid when
When a prescriptive checklist or evaluation metric is needed; when engagement is not a project priority
Inputs
Stakeholder input, research plans, project goals, context of the clinical question
Outputs
Engagement strategy, documented stakeholder roles, improved research design and dissemination plans
How it works
Developed by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) in 2017, the Engagement Rubric synthesizes literature, qualitative input from patients, analysis of funded project engagement plans, and expert review. It provides a structured framework including principles of engagement, stakeholder definitions, key considerations across research phases, potential engagement activities, and examples of promising practices. It aims to operationalize meaningful stakeholder engagement in clinical research, particularly for PCORI-funded projects.
- HTA domains
- Organisational aspects, Patient and Social Aspects, Aspects Beyond HTA
- Assumptions
- Meaningful engagement improves research relevance and outcomes; stakeholders bring valuable perspectives; researchers are willing to share decision-making power
- Strengths
- Developed through rigorous synthesis of evidence and stakeholder input,Provides concrete examples and practical guidance,Applicable across multiple phases of research
- Limitations
- Not a scoring tool; not intended for evaluation or assessment,May require adaptation for non-PCORI or non-U.S. contexts,Does not prescribe mandatory actions
- Also known as
- PCORI Engagement Framework, Engagement Rubric
Questions this answers
- › How can patients and stakeholders be meaningfully involved in research?
- › What are best practices for planning stakeholder engagement in research?
- › Which activities support effective engagement during research conduct and dissemination?
- › What principles should guide partnerships between researchers and stakeholders?
- › How can engagement improve the relevance and impact of clinical research?
- › What does meaningful patient-centered engagement look like in practice?
References & sources
Similar by meaning
- A New Taxonomy for Stakeholder Engagement in Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
- Roadmap for Sustaining Meaningful Patient Engagement
- PUBLIC AND PATIENT INVOLVEMENT IN HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT: A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION
- ISPOR Roadmap for Patient-Preference Studies in Decision Making
- Patients' Perspectives in HTA: A Route to Robust Evidence and Fair Deliberation
Beta record. Generated from the primary source via AI extraction and independent audit, pending final human review.