Clear guidance and best practices for clinical research projects falling under the Human Research Ordinance
From 2021 to 2024, SCTO Platforms will place an emphasis on supporting clinical research projects falling under the Human Research Ordinance (HRO). Increasingly more projects are being run in this field; however, clear guidance and best practices are still missing. The SCTO’s topic-based platforms will work on closing this gap in order to support the clinical research community and help improve the quality of such projects.
Impact monitoring for better clinical research infrastructures
Does the SCTO provide a return on investment? In order to get clearer answer to this question, the SCTO is planning to build up a monitoring system for its impact and performance as a research infrastructure. Furthermore, at the European level, we are leading a task force to establish an impact monitoring system for ECRIN. This will allow us to collect valuable information on how a research infrastructure can be evaluated by adapting it to a national context.
Implementing patient and public Involvement (PPI) in academic clinical research
The SCTO is committed to implementing and fostering patient and public involvement in clinical research. Therefore, one of our key strategic goals for the current 2021–2024 performance period is to work together with all relevant stakeholders to establish a central coordination and contact point that is pathology-independent and works across organisations (working title: Swiss PPI Hub). The conceptional framework will build upon the results of a mapping exercise that has already started.
Regional clinical research infrastructure clusters (CRICs)
The SCTO plans to collaborate more closely with other institutions and infrastructures involved in clinical research in Switzerland. Regional CRICs bring together cantonal and private hospitals and other clinical research organisations from one region to exchange ideas, learn from each other, and harmonise processes. The local CTU is in the lead for all CRIC activities in its region. The SCTO’s Executive Office supports CTUs in administrative matters and promotes the national importance of this initiative.
Virtual inter-university faculty for clinical research
Clinical research is a complex enterprise, and experience has shown that high-quality clinical research leading to patient-relevant results is best performed by multidisciplinary teams with complementary sets of skills. Extending the Clinical Research Careers web portal to all clinical research professionals would improve the coordination of clear and defined pathways for various clinical research careers, and it would enhance the overall quality of clinical research in Switzerland, thus increasing its visibility.
Swiss early development network
In order to close the translational gap and best utilise the existing expensive infrastructure for early development, the SCTO suggests building up a Swiss network to improve the collaboration of existing facilities. The aim is not to create a new infrastructure, but to build a national network that coordinates existing local expertise and facilities, focusing on the common denominator of early development.