National Relaunch of Recruitment Innovation Center Supported by UR CTSI

The Recruitment Innovation Center (RIC), a collaborative group of researchers involved in recruitment and retention of research participants, will be formally re-launched as part of the renewal of the Trial Innovation Network, a collaborative initiative within the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program. The RIC was approved for funding under the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR) grant application, of which Carrie Dykes, PhD, of the UR CTSI, is a co-investigator.

The RIC’s purpose is to share best practices, identify solutions to barriers, and develop collaborative translational science projects benefiting those involved with recruitment and retention of study participants.

Dykes has been a key contributor to the RIC since its formation. When first starting at UR CTSI, Dykes managed the recruitment and retention function. Dykes contacted other CTSA Program sites to gather information on how they were conducting recruitment and retention for clinical research trials.

“I formed a group that had representatives from all CTSA Program institutions,” Dykes said. “We created an email listserv, held meetings with presentations on best practices every month, fostered collaborations, gathered resources, and published research on the topic.”

The group eventually moved to an online platform managed by VICTR. This enabled a streamlined process of sharing resources and collaborating on recruitment and retention projects. Dykes managed the group’s membership and continued to share relevant information and resources to keep the collaborative discussions and questions ongoing.

When it came time to renew the Trial Innovation Network, the group proposed creating a more formalized community of practice modeled after the Research Electronic Data Capture system—an online resource used to capture and manage research and clinical study data—one that could benefit researchers beyond the CTSA Program institutions. This proposal was recently approved for funding by the National Institutes of Health.

“I will be collaborating with the Vanderbilt CTSA to manage the RIC platform and to get more involved with identifying and organizing resources, tools, and presentations beneficial to the group,” Dykes said.

The new RIC’s kickoff meetings are scheduled for September and October, with the formal launch of the group to follow. For those interested in learning more about the RIC or best practices in recruitment and retention of study participants, contact the UR CTSI Help Desk at ResearchHelp@urmc.rochester.edu.

Michael Hazard | 8/29/2023

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