The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) www.ahrq.gov just raised its budget cap on large investigator-initiated research grants which are now eligible for up to $400,000 per year total cost for up to five years. During leaner times, the agency lowered the budget cap in order to support as many research projects as possible at a lower level.
Comments were heard from the research community that as indirect institutional costs continue to increase, so do the costs of fringe benefits. Also, interdisciplinary teams are more important than ever but cost more than researchers working alone. Lastly, there is an explosion of data sources but the data can be costly to obtain.
Since the cap will be raised, this may mean that AHRQ will fund slightly fewer projects each year. The hope is that some projects may be completed more quickly, by allowing researchers to concentrate their efforts rather than stretch out a project over a longer time period.
AHRQ’s four core priorities for new research are to:
- Improve healthcare quality by accelerating implementation of Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
- Make healthcare safer
- Increase accessibility
- Improve healthcare affordability, efficiency, and cost transparency
AHRQ is always interested in research that will reduce disparities in care and outcomes for disadvantaged groups.
For information on funding, go to http://funding/fund-opps/index.html.