Clinical research sites are at a transformative juncture, facing heightened demands to deliver trials with greater speed, efficiency, and quality than ever before. As the industry embraces rapid innovation, digital transformation, and more complex protocols, pressures are intensifying at the site level, where budget constraints, funding cuts, and operational demands continue to grow. Today’s research sites must navigate a multifaceted landscape, contending with fragmented communications, persistent technology changes, and the need to recruit and retain skilled talent, among other obstacles.
Clinical research participants should reflect the disease population in question. This statement is a no-brainer; however, drug and device developers and clinical trials teams have failed countless times at accomplishing this task.
The clinical research enterprise shapes the medicine of today and tomorrow, serving all people through meaningful collaboration. However, we cannot achieve impactful outcomes without buy-in from all of its stakeholders, whether as caregivers, personal advocates, healthcare professionals, clinical research professionals, industry partners, or participants.
The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) released comprehensive findings from the first-ever workforce survey focused on the evolution of the clinical research enterprise. Successes, setbacks, predictions, and areas for ‘bending the curve’ were identified from 735 survey participants.
Just over a year ago a small team from ACRP and Continuum Clinical got together to discuss developing a new survey of the clinical trial community. I remember that meeting well, because we were all very excited about the idea. We had just one challenge we couldn’t quite figure out. One small question: Why?