Clinical Researcher—January 2020 (Volume 34, Issue 1)
CHAIR’S MESSAGE
Paul Evans, PhD
In the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life, hero George Bailey learns what the world would have been like had he never been born. For the few of you who haven’t seen it, I won’t ruin the film. Suffice to say, the world is better for George Bailey being part of it.
Watching the film recently got me to thinking about ACRP. What if it didn’t exist?
As the incoming chair of the Association Board of Trustees for ACRP, our organization has been on my mind a lot recently. I’m so impressed with the caliber of people working in this industry and the passion I so often find for the important work you do, but what if we weren’t here? What would change?
I think ACRP’s purpose is clear and two-fold: providing development opportunities for individual members, whether that is certification, training, or networking, and helping to raise the professional bar for the entire clinical trial workforce. These aren’t mutually exclusive goals by any means, and we need to make sure we don’t lose sight of our dual purpose.
Over the past few years, ACRP has become established as a leader in workforce development in the pharmaceutical industry. We will continue to extend initiatives such as our Workforce Innovation Steering Committee (WISC), which saw us provide input to lawmakers on Capitol Hill developing the Cures 2.0. Act.
At an individual member level, I’m excited about our plan for working more closely with our vital ACRP Chapters in 2020. As Jim Kremidas mentions in his first Executive Director’s Message of the new year elsewhere in this issue, we’re launching three pilot programs this year that we hope will reinvigorate our Chapters and reduce some of the administrative burden on their leadership. The idea is to free them of the administrative burden of running a Chapter to do the more important work of raising awareness of ACRP and clinical research as a vital profession.
We’re also in the midst of a massive website upgrade. I know some of you have been frustrated at times when interacting with ACRP online. We heard you. We’ve made major strides toward improving your user experience and the investment we will be making in our back end systems this year will go further in providing the service you deserve. I welcome your feedback on past or current experiences. We’re always looking for ways to further enhance the value you get from membership in ACRP.
Ultimately, we’re all part of the same important mission: Speeding the safe delivery of lifesaving and life enhancing drugs and devices to patients. I look forward to working with old friends and colleagues and meeting new ones throughout 2020. A great place to meet is of course at any of our regional meetings, and if you haven’t already made plans to join us at the next one for what I’m sure will be a great event, then add it to your New Year’s resolution list.
If you have any thoughts about how you can contribute to ACRP, or how we can help the clinical trial industry, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at pevans@velocityclinical.com.
Paul Evans, PhD, is President and CEO of Velocity Clinical Research, and Chair of the Association Board of Trustees for ACRP in 2020.
