Announcing the PCIG PASS Program for the HTAi 2023 Annual Meeting

You can apply if you:

1. have lived experience as a patient or carer,
2. represent patients (such as in a patient or community organisation, including online groups), or
3. represent patients in an HTA committee (such as a consumer/patient/public/lay member)
4. have an HTAi Participation Grant and fall into one of the above three categories and need a ‘partial’ PCIG PASS to cover a gap between the Grant and the PASS.

The PCIG PASS gives you

• Economy (coach) class travel to/from Adelaide, Australia and accommodation (lodging) for up to six nights booked by HTAi so you are not out of pocket
• Complimentary early bird registration for HTAi Annual Meeting
• Complimentary pass to HTAi Patient and Citizen Involvement in HTA Interest Group’s pre-conference workshop, Saturday 24 June 2023
• Ability to claim incidentals up to USD 300 Pre-HTAi Annual Meeting briefing (virtual)
• Option of having an Annual Meeting buddy
• Patient slack chat
• Daily roundup email
• Invitation to PCIG informal dinner (self-funded)

PCIG asks you to please help us make the program work this year and ensure we can attract sponsorship for future years by:

1. Accepting or declining any offer of a PASS by 27 March 2023 so we can give another person the chance attend if you cannot.
2. Answering booking information requests by deadlines
3. Contacting us as soon as possible if for some reason you cannot attend.
4. Completing our post-Annual Meeting evaluation so that we can continue to provide the PASS and improve patients experience of Annual Meeting

Upcoming dates of importance

• 17 March 2023 – PCIG PASS 2023 application deadline
• 21 March 2023 – Successful applicants notified by email
• 27 March 2023 – Deadline for applicant acceptance of award
• 28 March 2023 – Unsuccessful applicants notified by email
• 30 March 2023 – Early-bird registration deadline
• 30 May 2023 – Online briefing for successful applicants
• 24-28 June 2023 – HTAi Annual Meeting, Adelaide, Australia

Our sponsors

PCIG is grateful to our sponsors: Sanofi, Janssen and Intuitive for their sponsorship of these grants and commitment to patient participation in HTAi’s Annual Meeting.

How to apply

1. Make sure you have a letter of support if you have not applied for a PCIG PASS in the past five years.
2. Complete the online form.

Letter of support

Please provide a short letter from someone from your organization (other than yourself) or an organisation familiar with your work which demonstrates their support for you attending HTAi 2023 Annual Meeting. If you have provided this letter for the PCIG PASS before, you do not need to do this again.

Online form

The online form asks the following:

1. Full name (as per passport)
2. Email address
3. WhatsApp number (if we can’t reach you by email we will message you)
4. Alternative contact (a trusted person we may speak to if we can’t reach you before a deadline)
5. Country of residence
6. Organisation (if a representative or member of a patient group)
7. Brief description of your role in a patient organisation, community or patient advocacy
8. Brief description of your interest or experience in health technology assessment and/or PCIG and why you want to come to the HTAi 2023 Annual Meeting
9. Session name if you are presenting at Annual Meeting or contributing in a specific role
10. Flight departure location
11. Passport expiry date
12. Additional needs

Scoring and selection of PASS applications

Although our sponsors are very generous each year, international travel to Australia is expensive and we regret that we cannot give a PCIG PASS to everyone. A team of PCIG volunteers review applications to ensure they meet the criteria before scoring them to prioritise those with demonstrated:

• Interest or experience in HTA or PCIG
• Contribution to HTAi Annual Meeting

Finally, a filter of condition area and geographical location will be applied to encourage a diversity of participation. Each application will be reviewed by at least two volunteers and all volunteers are asked to declare any conflicts of interest.

Additional information

PCIG recognizes that patient participation at the HTAi Annual Meeting has an important role in capacity building and we value ongoing contributions and attendance. Therefore, past grant recipients are encouraged to apply, and applicants should note that receiving a grant this year WILL NOT RULE YOU OUT next year.

The PCIG PASS is non-transferable.

What is PCIG?

PCIG is HTAi’s Patient and Citizen Involvement in HTA Interest Group. We are a group of volunteers from HTA bodies, industry, research, healthcare, not for profits and patient organisations from around the world who work to improve HTA with patient and citizen involvement. We were established in 2005, just two years after HTAi was formed. Since then we have developed tools, resources and methods and shared good practice.

What is the HTAi 2023 Annual Meeting in Adelaide?

The HTAi Annual Meeting is a five-day conference that brings together the global HTA community to discuss and debate the role of HTA in leading health innovation. The meeting is held in a new, international location each year. The 2023 Annual Meeting will be held in Adelaide, Australia from June 24 to 28, 2023. HTAi Annual Meetings include two days of pre-meeting workshops, and three days of presentations. More information is available here: https://htai.eventsair.com/htai-23-adelaide-am/

Any questions should be directed to: [email protected] 

Note that this email is in use only for the PCIG PASS process and should not be used for regular contact with the Interest Group or its Chair. If you have further questions you can send them to this email and our volunteers will answer within 48 hours.