Whitlock Evelyn P, Selby Joe V, Dunham Kelly M, Fernandez Alicia, Forsythe Laura P, Norquist Grayson
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Washington, DC, 20036, USA.
San Francisco School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
F1000Res. 2019 Mar 14;8:288. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.18471.2. eCollection 2019.
International experts have recommended actions that funders can take to improve the value of research investments. They state that self-assessment and public sharing are the basis for accountability and improvement. We examined our policies and practice to determine the extent to which the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute's (PCORI) policies and practices as a research funder align with international best practice recommendations. A self-audit of current policies and practice against 17 recommendations and 35 sub-recommendations representing five major stages of research production, based on adapted methods used for self-assessment by another funder, was performed. Fit of existing PCORI policies and practices with 35 sub-recommendations, qualitative assessment of adequacy (area of strength; area of partial strength; area of growth; not applicable) for 17 recommendations for five stages of research production was assessed. Of the 17 recommendations, 15 were applicable to PCORI's research mission and focus. PCORI has policies and practices in place for all elements of six recommendations ("area of strength") and policies that address each element but with some still in active development for three ("area of partial strength"). PCORI is partially addressing six of the 15 relevant recommendations ("area of growth"). Areas for growth include making study protocols publicly available, improving policies on data sharing, and enhancing collaboration with other funders to reduce redundant funding. A voluntary consortium of international funders is underway to encourage further progress, including additional self-assessment and public sharing for accountability. These findings indicate PCORI has undertaken efforts to align its funding practices with international recommendations to ensure the value of public dollars invested in research. Further efforts will likely require additional coordination and collaboration between funders and stakeholders.
国际专家推荐了资助者可以采取的提高研究投资价值的行动。他们指出，自我评估和公开分享是问责制和改进的基础。我们审视了我们的政策和实践，以确定以患者为中心的结果研究所（PCORI）作为研究资助者的政策和实践在多大程度上符合国际最佳实践建议。基于另一个资助者用于自我评估的改编方法，针对代表研究产出五个主要阶段的17项建议和35项子建议对当前政策和实践进行了自我审计。评估了PCORI现有政策和实践与35项子建议的契合度，以及对研究产出五个阶段的17项建议的充分性（优势领域；部分优势领域；发展领域；不适用）进行了定性评估。在这17项建议中，有15项适用于PCORI的研究使命和重点。PCORI针对六项建议的所有要素都有政策和实践（“优势领域”），针对每项要素都有政策，但仍有三项处于积极制定中（“部分优势领域”）。PCORI正在部分落实15项相关建议中的六项（“发展领域”）。发展领域包括公开研究方案、改进数据共享政策以及加强与其他资助者合作以减少重复资助。一个国际资助者自愿联盟正在开展工作以鼓励进一步进展，包括进行更多自我评估和公开分享以实现问责制。这些发现表明PCORI已努力使其资助实践与国际建议保持一致，以确保投入研究的公共资金的价值。进一步的努力可能需要资助者与利益相关者之间进行更多协调与合作。
