Is there a minimum qualification for a Principal Investigator (PI)?

PCORI does not have minimum qualifications for the PI. However, please keep in mind the following factors when determining whether your research team has the right experience and capabilities: 

• Are the investigators appropriately trained and suited to carry out the planned studies?
• Is the work proposed appropriate to the experience level of the PI?
• If the investigator does not have PCOR experience, are there appropriate collaborative arrangements with experts in PCOR?
• Does the study team have complementary and integrated expertise?
• Are the team’s leadership approach, governance, and organizational structure appropriate for the project?
• Do the PI and other research team members have a sufficiently high level to achieve the study aims as described?

We encourage our applicant's to look at the Merit Review Criteria for more information on the specific criteria that their application will be reviewed against.