ECRIN-IA

ECRIN-IA involves the development of infrastructure to support scientific research rather than the implementation of a particular research project. This case study provides insight into how funding can help build research infrastructure that improves capacity and creates new tools for research.

Aims of the project

The European Clinical Research Infrastructures Network (ECRIN) is a clinical trial network founded in 2004 by Jacques Demotes, who currently serves as Director General of ECRIN. It aims to create a European ‘single area’ for clinical trial studies to facilitate the operation of multinational trials within Europe. The ECRIN-IA (‘IA’ for ‘Integrating Activity’) project specifically concentrated on further strengthening ECRIN. To do this, ECRIN-IA  comprised three main activities: increasing funding for multinational clinical trials, developing or upgrading national infrastructure, and fostering interoperability. ECRIN-IA received funding from the FP-7 Infrastructures programme from January 2012 until December 2017.

Project achievements

Since the establishment of the ECRIN-IA program, the number of member countries who both belonged to ECRIN and who chose to participate in related EU schemes expanded from Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and Portugal to also include the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, and Switzerland (as a permanent observer) by the end of 2017. Furthermore, ECRIN-IA established a specific pillar within ECRIN dedicated to paediatrics. ECRIN-IA also delivered several ICT solutions, such as Campus, a navigational tool to help clinical trial staff understand the ethical and regulatory systems for clinical trials across Europe. They also developed a risk-based monitoring toolbox, which included a variety of risk-based, cost-effective monitoring strategies for clinical trials to ensure patient protection, data quality, and robustness of results without unnecessary burden and costs. 

Project impacts, barriers and enablers

While societal impacts are forthcoming, the facilitating forces behind the project, which include the long history of ECRIN prior to ECRIN-IA and the obtainment of European Research Infrastructure Consortium ERIC status, a pan-European research infrastructure, increase the chances that intended final impacts are realised; these demonstrate the value that investments in network-building exercises can create in the long-term.