AHRQ seeks applications for Resource-Related Research Projects (R24) from applicant organizations that propose to:  1) build or enhance the applicant’s capacity to create an enduring sustainable infrastructure for on-going dissemination of evidence-based health information; and 2) conduct research studies that advance our knowledge of how to extend the reach and impact of evidence-based health information/tools to populations with a demonstrated need for the information.

Applicants must collaborate with stakeholders and the target population in an effort to develop and sustain an enduring infrastructure.  AHRQ encourages applicants to build trans-disciplinary teams and collaborate with institutions well versed in comparative effectiveness methodologies or with research centers and integrated health care delivery systems capable of performing accelerated clinical effectiveness and outcomes research and the translation and dissemination of evidentiary information for health care decision-making, which includes pre-existing networks or organizations.  The resulting infrastructure should have the ability to continue the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based health information begun in this project.  An applicant, in connection with its partners, should aim to increase the impact and effective use of evidence-based health information by developing innovative approaches or strategies for disseminating this information to the target communities, populations, or clinical practice settings, and by conducting research that evaluates these strategies.  Applicants should pursue adaptations, dissemination, and/or implementations focused on non-traditional settings or organizations, including, but not limited to neighborhoods, communities, or faith-based organizations.  .    

Applications that propose simple propagation of unchanged evidence-based information through printing and distribution, email, or listservs will not be considered as enhancing capacity or innovative and will be deemed as non-responsive to this FOA.

AHRQ supports research grants and contracts focusing on comparative effectiveness of different clinical treatments and services, as authorized by Section 1013 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA), Pub. L. 108-173, and Title IX of the Public Health Service Act.  See 42 U.S.C. 299 et seq. (see also http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm).   These grants and contracts support research on the generation, synthesis, and translation of new scientific evidence and analytic tools in an accelerated format and the integration of evidence into practice and decision-making in the health care system.  Research projects are informed by the information needs and inputs from various stakeholders (e.g., policy-makers, clinicians, and patients/consumers) to ensure the most appropriate and important outcome measures for assessing the effectiveness of the interventions are included in the study. 

AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program has invested in building a knowledge base of evidence-based healthcare through a variety of means, including research networks such as the Evidence-Based Practice Centers (EPCs), the Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions about Effectiveness (DEcIDE) network, and the Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs).  Researchers within these organizations help AHRQ to identify, develop, and critically appraise the most important and relevant medical research on treatments, medications, and medical technologies for different kinds of health problems. A key and inter-related component of AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program is the John M. Eisenberg Center for Clinical Decisions and Communication Science which translates the primary scientific findings in plain, actionable language while preserving the fidelity of the more complex primary source.  Additionally, to complete the evidence translation and dissemination efforts undertaken by the John M. Eisenberg Center for Clinical Decisions and Communications Science, funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Pub. L. 111-5, are supporting four dissemination and implementation projects from September 2010 to September 2013: The National Initiative for Promoting Evidence-Based Health Information, Regional Partnership Development Offices, Online Continuing Education, and Academic Detailing. In addition, a separate Systematic Dissemination Program Evaluation project not only develops metrics and collects data for measuring the impact of each project, but also provides continuous feedback for ongoing project improvements