Set up the coordination centre

This section contains the following:

Introduction
Things to consider
Additional resources
Further reading

Introduction

Most trials require a Trial Co-ordinating Center to handle administrative matters once participants are being entered. This is usually the base for the Trial Management Group. (link back to recruit staff) This group should meet regularly e.g. weekly to ensure the efficient day-to-day running of the trial, to prepare reports for the steering committee, and to organize and service the data monitoring and ethics committee.

InitialCoordination and organisation tasks include; defining the space for the coordination unit with preparation of equipment to coordinate and manage the trial, such as computers, data collection tools.

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Things to consider

Define the person in charge of the budget management
Select the sites of the study and the collaborators
Select the trial steering committee and data monitoring committee
Select the contact with regulatory agencies
Develop a written description of all trial management systems. This documentation forms the Operating Procedures, often referred to as Standard Operating Procedures (SOPS) and the Manual of Operations.

Additional resources

Efficient management of randomised controlled trials: nature or nurture

Barbara Farrell. Efficient management of randomised controlled trials: nature or nurture. BMJ 1998;317:1236–9

TrialsCentral

TrialsCentral provides free and confidential access to listings of clinical trials. Information about current clinical research helps support informed evidence-based decision making in healthcare. The RESOURCES page links to health care information sites, including medical dictionaries, articles, and links to other evidence-based health care sites.

The Society for Clinical Trials

The Society for Clinical Trials, created in 1978, is an international professional organization dedicated to the development and dissemination of knowledge about the design and conduct of clinical trials and related health care research methodologies.

UK Trial Managers Network

The UK Trial Managers' Network (UKTMN) is a forum for the people who run UK publicly-funded trials. Its primary functions are to link trial managers together to ensure the sharing and dissemination of expertise and experience and to provide training tools developed by the members of the network to new trial managers