In an era of austerity, funding for medical research has become increasingly difficult to secure. In addition, the focus of medical research is rapidly shifting towards research that explicitly includes stakeholder perspectives in the research design and studied outcomes.A clearer understanding of the inner workings of two major funding organizations, PCORI and AHRQ, as well as a major stakeholder in the design and implementation of health information technology, ONC HITECH, will assist SMDM researchers in the design and framing of future research studies.

Representatives from ONC HITECH, PCORI and AHRQ will present an outline of the inner workings of their organizations, priorities for research of particular relevance for SMDM scientists, visions for the future direction of medical research and common pitfalls in research goals presented by investigators. The "Reports" will divided in two parts. Participants are welcome to join part or all of the presentations.