´óÏóÊÓƵ

Letter From the ´óÏóÊÓƵDirector

As stewards of taxpayer funds, ´óÏóÊÓƵmust deliver results that matter to the public. Today, I’m pleased to announce that ´óÏóÊÓƵis moving toward a strategy that aligns our priorities and funding approaches to fulfill this commitment. Through this strategy, we will leverage the missions of each Center to fund the most meritorious research, address urgent health needs, and sustain a robust health services research workforce, as we adhere to the President’s priorities and those of his administration.

A central pillar of this approach is balancing scientific opportunity with AHRQ’s mission of enhancing the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of health services and access to such services, through scientific research and the promotion of improvements in clinical and health system practices, including the prevention of diseases and other health conditions. ´óÏóÊÓƵis sharpening its focus on the prevention and care of chronic health issues that affect Americans, including chronic childhood diseases and nutrition-related problems such as obesity. We are also prioritizing next-generation tools such as artificial intelligence and alternative testing models, as we continue to rely heavily on real-world data in our efforts.

´óÏóÊÓƵwill expand support for replication studies when appropriate and strengthen our capacity to advance groundbreaking quality, effectiveness and prevention research. At the same time, ´óÏóÊÓƵremains dedicated to fostering open, competitive, and accountable science and supporting investigators as they pursue innovative, and sometimes controversial, questions grounded in rigorous methodology.

A core function of ´óÏóÊÓƵand its Centers is to assess scientific merit within the context of AHRQ’s broader strategic goals and administration priorities and develop appropriate research funding plans accordingly. In an environment where ´óÏóÊÓƵreceives more meritorious applications than it can fund, this review process is increasingly critical. To that end, ´óÏóÊÓƵwill make funding decisions that reflect administration and agency priorities, scientific opportunity, program balance, workforce needs, and other core principles that will be consistently applied across the agency.

Taxpayer dollars are a finite resource, entrusted to ´óÏóÊÓƵofficials to invest in the nation’s future. By transparently establishing priorities and aligning our goals, we aim to demonstrate to the American public that we take this commitment seriously—and that we are doing all we can to honor their trust.

Roger D. Klein, M.D., J.D.

Director, AHRQ