AMRC Consultation 2025
Defining and demonstrating quality in multisite clinical research
15 October – 3 December 2025
Introducing AMRC’s first industry consultation
A consultation is a structured process where an organisation (like AMRC) formally invites feedback from stakeholders on a defined issue.
The aim is to gather evidence, perspectives, and practical suggestions that will shape future advocacy and standards. A consultation typically frames a problem or question that needs collective input, helping to extend important conversations to the wider industry.
What are we consulting on?
Multisite clinical research corporations (MCRCs) play an increasingly central role in clinical development. They bring scale, speed, and consistent operations, but too often their strengths are under-recognised when it comes to “quality.”
Our research suggests that, across 23 operational areas, Sponsors and CROs selected MCRCs as best-in-class 26% of the time, almost equal to Academic Medical Centres (AMCs) at 29%. Despite the fact that MCRCs are highly associated with consistency, faster start-up, scalable infrastructure, and access to diverse patient populations – arguably the most important factors in site selection – there is an ongoing perception that this model doesn’t deliver high quality results. When asked to rate MCRCs for quality, those who’d worked with them rated them as ‘good’, whereas AMCs were considered ‘excellent’.
Sponsors and CROs continue to favour academic medical centres, not because of performance, but because of perception. Investigator CVs and institutional prestige dominate decision-making, while measures like continuity, data consistency, and patient outcomes receive less weight.
This gap between perception and performance matters. If operational excellence is not understood as a marker of quality, MCRCs will continue to be undervalued — and the industry risks overlooking models that deliver reliable data and better patient experiences.
AMRC is therefore launching this consultation to ask a simple but vital question: how should multisite networks define and demonstrate quality on their own terms?
AMRC’s aim with this consultation
We are seeking feedback on how networks can better define and demonstrate quality. Key areas include:
- Defining quality: metrics that meaningfully distinguish top performers
- People and professionalism: staff retention, training, standard operating procedure (SOP) adherence, oversight
- Data maturity and technology: validation tools, benchmarks, and AI-enabled solutions
- Patient recruitment and outcomes: accessibility, consistency, and patient experience at scale
Who should respond?
We welcome submissions from:
- MCRCs (members and non-members)
- Academic medical centres and other site networks
- Sponsors and CROs
- Trade associations and charities
- Policymakers, regulators, and individual professionals
How your input will be used
Responses will directly inform AMRC’s 2026 advocacy priorities, including new benchmarks and tools to strengthen the industry’s understanding of MCRC quality.
At the end of the consultation period, AMRC will:
- Publish an anonymised summary of public feedback, available to all
- Share our 2026 strategy, highlighting how findings have been incorporated
Timeline
Opens
Wednesday 15 October 2025, 08:00 ET (13:00 BST)
Closes
Wednesday 3 December 2025, 17:00 ET (22:00 GMT)
Where to submit
Completed consultations must be emailed to info@amrc.org by the deadline.
