Sharing key to successful CRO knowledge management, say researchers

Clinical trials are a knowledge-intensive exercise that require expertise across multiple fields. For CROs, managing, retaining, and ensuring staff can access the knowhow gained during research is vital according to new research.

The study – published in January – examined how contractors go about ensuring staff working on trials have the right information at the right time. And the key finding is that the most successful CROs are those that manage knowledge most effectively.

“The CRO industry is a knowledge-intensive industry. Professional knowledge and skills are its main requirements, which are also key to the competitiveness of enterprises. Additionally, the accumulation of experience and knowledge, and the maintenance of external relations are both important assets for an enterprise in the clinical trial industry.

“Therefore, improving the competitiveness of an organization through effective knowledge management has become one of the most important issues in business management,” the authors write.

Knowledge management know-how

Effective knowledge management requires several key components according to the study, with an overarching strategy and leadership being the foundation.

The authors also identify teamwork as a key characteristic, explaining that CROs which manage knowledge most effectively are those that create an atmosphere where employees are willing to share knowledge with each other.

“The employees in the organization must receive relevant training courses on a regular basis, and a good incentive mechanism should be provided to encourage contributions to knowledge management.”
The authors looked cited IQVIA and PRA – since acquired by Icon – as examples of CROs that have a “knowledge-sharing atmosphere.”

“They organize different groups from different divisions, with group heads in charge of promoting knowledge sharing. These heads monitor the situations of colleagues implementing knowledge management and suggest a change in knowledge management rules to their supervisors when necessary.”

An appropriate IT infrastructure is also important. The authors write that “in addition to digitizing the information in the organization, the most important purpose is to speed up employees’ search for required knowledge, to increase the frequency of knowledge reuse.”

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