Striking the ideal balance of planning, executing, and overseeing clinical trials between research sponsors, contract research organization (CRO) personnel, and study site teams is like the proverbial three-legged stool scenario. Shortcomings on the part of any one of the partners can pitch the whole project askew.
“Clinical studies rely on seamless collaboration between these three stakeholders in what can be massively complicated situations. Misalignment, communication breakdowns, and unclear expectations can slow progress and lead to frustration for everyone,” says Anna Rillo, BSN, RN, Associate Study Director at Bright Research, a medical device CRO for which she regularly leads cross-functional collaborations on clinical trials with up to 500 patients in the U.S. and abroad.
Rillo will examine trust- and teamwork-building approaches to overcoming such challenges alongside Claire Swan, a Clinical Research Associate at Bright Research, in their forthcoming ACRP 2026 presentation on “Three’s Company: Strengthening Sponsor-CRO-Site Relationships” in Orlando. Their goal is to help others first identify and then resolve sources of tension and dysfunction in research partnerships to accelerate study timelines, improve data quality, and reduce burnout.
“We’re going to teach our attendees to recognize common breakdowns in communication and accountability across sponsor-CRO-site relationships. Then we’ll show how to apply proven frameworks leading to productive collaboration, transparency, and role clarity between stakeholders,” notes Swan, who has most recently managed clinical trials in cardiac and orthopedic therapy areas. Her assigned studies often involve more than 20 sites nationally and internationally, as well as their external partners.
Three’s Company: Strengthening Sponsor-CRO-Site Relationships
Join Anna and Claire at ACRP 2026 [April 24-27; Orlando, Fla.] as they explore how to strengthen these essential relationships between sponsors, contract research organizations (CROs), and site teams to accelerate study timelines, improve data quality, and reduce burnout. View complete schedule.
The duo will highlight practices that boost study efficiency like shared onboarding, unified site communications, and streamlined oversight expectations. They’ll also address how to evaluate new approaches to study team engagement that reduce site burden and CRO burnout while meeting sponsor milestones.
“Important perspectives and potential solutions can come from each angle of the sponsor-CRO-site ‘Trial Triangle,’” Rillo says. “We’ll share some real-world case studies, provide a useful toolkit, and ask attendees to share the ‘Trial Triangle’ misalignments they’ve encountered in their day-to-day work.”
Edited by Gary Cramer
