Business intelligence team is a south London research asset
- 19 April 2023
- 2 min read
A senior research delivery director has praised CRN South London’s business intelligence team for providing crucial data to support the setup and delivery of studies.
The business intelligence team provides analysis and presents research study recruitment and staff data to help the research system operate more effectively across south London.
Caroline Murphy, Director of Operations at the King’s Clinical Trials Unit (KCTU), has commented on the impact of business intelligence on the planning and performance of clinical trials. She said:
“Clinicians want to contribute to research studies, and the data available from CRN South London has immense value in planning clinical trials. There is a natural tendency toward optimism in research which can lead to unrealistic targets, particularly relating to the speed of site setup and recruitment of volunteers.
“The data allows the KCTU team to see relevant competing studies and the performance in similar studies of research sites they are considering inviting to join a collaboration, avoiding unrealistic expectations on those sites. Accurate and unbiased data to support estimates can reduce the risk of underperforming research in the future.
“The business intelligence team is a great resource which has been hugely valuable to KCTU. They are helpful, informative, responsive, and have the necessary skills to interrogate the available data.”
The mission of the KCTU is to ensure excellence, efficiency and transparency in the design, conduct, analysis and reporting of clinical trials for the benefit of patients and broader society.
CRN South London’s Information Systems Manager Michael Garvey-Eckett, who is the lynchpin of data within the business intelligence team, said:
“We have a vast data source that goes back at least a decade, and our job is to help and guide researchers in using that information to make informed decisions when designing studies by showing them what has worked and what hasn’t.
“We want to raise awareness of the services we can offer to the research community. Our expertise can help researchers to use the data to set the right targets for their research. If the targets are right, then this will, in time, bring greater benefits to everyone who takes part in the research.”
For more information, please contact our business intelligence team directly via Helpdesk.SouthLondon@nihr.ac.uk.
