What problem does this programme actually solve?

This programme addresses trial participant recruitment challenges by strengthening team dynamics and working relationships across all parties involved in a clinical study. It focuses on leadership and behavioural factors that cause recruitment delays despite having a sound strategy, including inconsistent site engagement, limited influence across stakeholders, slow decision-making and reactive firefighting.

By empowering all team members involved in recruitment to become active drivers of recruitment success, the programme enables sponsors to build internal leadership capability and reduce reliance on recruitment vendors. Strengthening this capability supports earlier recruitment delivery and more predictable timelines, which in turn contributes to faster study completion and, where applicable, earlier time to market for new therapies.

How is this different from recruitment vendors or study rescue support?

Vendors intervene study by study and support sites by doing what the sites struggle to do. Using vendors reinforces the approach that the recruitment is an external affair by sites and study teams. This programme builds internal capability once, so teams can deliver recruitment more predictably across multiple studies without repeated external spend. It equips study teams with the skills and tools to empower sites to do what they are contracted to do in the first place.

In addition, this programme is classified as training and may therefore be tax deductible, depending on the country in which your company operates. Recruitment vendors, by contrast, are funded from individual study budgets and typically need to be contracted for each study, driving cumulative costs.

Is this a cost per study?

No. It is a one-off investment per individual enrolled in the programme. The capability gained is reused across all future studies and it is transferrable in other areas of any study. Although, this programme is focused on trial participant recruitment, the skills could be used to boost data entry and lead to accelerated study read-outs and strengthen site engagement across other aspects of trial conduct.

How does this compare financially to current recruitment spend?

The cost per cohort is a drop in the ocean compared with recruitment vendors. Typically, it is a few thousand pounds/ dollars per individual. Final costs are confirmed through a Request for Proposal (RFP). Recruitment vendors, by contrast, incur costs on a per-study basis and frequently reach several million dollars.

What level of impact should we expect?

If participants fully engage with the programme and apply the learning, outcomes include reduced recruitment risk, improved site engagement and a more consistent level of delivery across all studies they are involved in, rather than outcomes depending on the experience or personal efforts of a small number of individuals.

Does this replace vendors?

No. It reduces over-reliance on them. Vendors remain a tactical option that your company may want to keep, while this programme strengthens internal leadership capability that are believed to reduce the reliance on vendors overtime.

How scalable is the programme?

It is designed to scale across all functions involved in trial participant recruitment at sponsor/ CRO and site levels. The more people (at global, local levels and sites) are trained, the stronger the compounding effect.

Who is this programme for?

This is a great programme for Global Study Leaders, their supportive team Global Study Managers, the Local Study Leaders and the CRAs. It is also possible for Empowering Ripples to devise training specifically for the site staff. Having this thorough cover will have a maximum success.

I am a decision-maker in a CRO. Is this programme relevant to my organisation?

Yes. The programme is highly relevant to CROs operating in Phase 2 and Phase 3 environments.

For CROs, recruitment performance is closely linked to sponsor satisfaction, study retention and long-term partnerships. This programme strengthens leadership and behavioural capability across CRO teams, enabling more consistent site engagement, clearer communication with sponsors and faster recovery when recruitment timelines slip.

By building internal recruitment leadership capability, CROs reduce dependence on reactive study rescue, improve delivery predictability and strengthen their value proposition to sponsors. The programme also supports consistent delivery standards across multiple sponsor programmes, which is a key differentiator in competitive outsourcing models.

Is this another recruitment methodology or toolkit?

No. Although, the programme includes some tools to support the operations, the programme focuses on leadership, influence and behavioural skills that determine how effectively recruitment strategies are executed.

How will this help me in my role?

You gain stronger influence within your team, sites and CROs (if applicable), greater confidence in trade-offs and faster decision-making when recruitment pressure escalates.

Will this help when studies are outsourced?

Yes. The programme specifically addresses influence without authority, which is critical in CRO-led delivery models.

Is this relevant if I already have experience?

Yes. Experienced leaders often use these skills intuitively. The programme makes them explicit, transferable and repeatable across teams. The programme will also use psychology, coaching and will provide skills that most project leaders haven’t had the opportunity to explore in their clinical trial experience.

Will this add workload?

The programme is designed to reduce firefighting and cognitive load by improving how recruitment challenges are handled day to day. The time invested in participating in the programme will be well spent and will support you and your team to be more strategic and less led by firefighting.

I am a project manager at a CRO. Is this programme useful for me?

Yes. CRO project managers often carry significant delivery and recruitment accountability without having direct authority over sites or sponsor decisions.

The programme focuses on influence without authority, stakeholder alignment and decision-making under pressure. It equips project managers with practical leadership skills to manage competing priorities, engage sites more effectively, challenge constructively and navigate sponsor expectations with confidence.

Programme participants typically experience reduced firefighting, clearer escalation pathways and stronger credibility with both sponsors and site teams. These skills are directly transferable across studies and sponsors and support both performance and career development.

Is this relevant at local level?

Absolutely. Local leaders are the closest to sites and carry significant recruitment pressure without formal authority. The programme strengthens site influence, prioritisation and difficult conversations.

Will this help with site engagement issues?

Yes. A core focus is improving how leaders engage, motivate and align sites beyond standard communication.

Is this only for global roles?

No. Local leaders and CRAs often see the fastest personal benefit because the skills directly impact daily interactions with sites.

Can I attend even if I am not a decision-maker?

Yes. Attendance is typically sponsored by management, but study leaders often initiate the conversation because the programme directly benefits their role. By strengthening recruitment leadership capability, the programme also supports earlier recruitment delivery, which contributes to faster study progress for the organisation.

You can share Empowering Ripples’ details with your line manager or another decision-maker and invite them to contact us for further information. This approach often benefits wider teams, and the more participants your organisation assigns to the programme, the more cost-effective it becomes per individual.

If you do not have colleagues who would benefit, you may also request the programme as an individual training option. Please contact us to discuss individual participation.

How is this different from project management training?

This is not about project planning, tools or process. It focuses on leadership behaviours that influence outcomes when plans are under pressure. It also focuses on communication and teams’ dynamics although it does provide helpful strategic tools.

Will this help me manage competing priorities?

Yes. Participants develop clearer decision-making frameworks and confidence in escalating, challenging and prioritising effectively.

Is this relevant if I am not responsible for recruitment strategy?

Yes. Recruitment outcomes are influenced by how study teams communicate, align and respond to issues, regardless of who owns the strategy. If you are a global manager, a local manager or a CRA, this programme is perfect to support you with seeing the bigger picture, and understand your impact and therefore your potential actions, even if this was not clarified by your leadership team.

Will this support career development?

Yes. The skills developed are transferable leadership capabilities valued across roles and organisations.

Is this programme relevant for CRAs?

Yes. CRAs play a critical role in site engagement, motivation and early identification of recruitment risk. It helps CRAs manage difficult site conversations and become the driving force that will lead their sites to become great recruiters.

Will this help with difficult site conversations?

Yes. The programme strengthens communication, influence and confidence in managing resistance, disengagement or underperformance.

Is this about adding more responsibility to my role?

No. It is about equipping you with skills that make your existing responsibilities easier and more effective. It gives you a different perspective on your role and impact in the trial and beyond.

Can CRAs access the programme?

Yes, typically through team or management sponsorship as part of leadership or capability development. This programme is highly recommended for CRAs. The benefits could go from building and improving your relationship with your site’s staff to being a driving force for their high performance whether be it in recruitment or data entry and cleaning while reducing protocol deviation and other issues usually encountered in clinical trials.

Is this training theoretical or practical?

It is a mixture of theoretical aspect that is provided during the workshop and practical aspect grounded in real study delivery experience that is part of the workshop and throughout the 12 months of the programme. The programme participants work on real recruitment challenges supported by a coach.

Is this a one-off workshop or ongoing support?

The core programme includes a one-off workshop followed by a 12-month support through online group coaching and Q&A sessions. The learning acquired during the workshop will be put in practice in your real time studies. However, you will be supported throughout the year in case you encounter hurdles.

Why does it need to be a workshop instead video courses?

Workshop will allow more engagement from the programme attendees and will allow them to be away from any other distraction that could dilute the learning. There will be short videos available after the workshop to reinforce the learning in addition to live online group coaching and Q&A sessions. All these components constitute the programme over a 12-month period. The benefits will be palpable straight after the 3-day-workshop though. The 12-month will provide support as the methodology is put into real life use.

What is the duration of the programme?

The workshop will provide the core of the programme over a face-to-face-3-day workshop. The programme will last 12 months including video lessons, monthly group coaching, monthly group Q&A sessions and optional 1:1 coaching sessions (upon request only). The programme attendee will also have access to a community through an access-limited confidential group for further support.

What is included in the programme?

The programme includes a one-off 3-day workshop, supported by short video lessons and practical exercises delivered throughout the year. It also includes monthly live online group coaching, monthly live online Q&A sessions, optional one-to-one coaching, and access to a confidential community where programme participants can share challenges and receive ongoing support from a coach and peers.

How much does the programme cost and how can I pay for this?

The programme is typically contracted by your organisation, either a pharmaceutical company or a CRO. Organisations may enrol as many participants as they want. Pricing is provided following a Request for Proposal (RFP), once needs and cohort structure are defined by your company.

Each cohort includes up to 20 attendees to ensure quality and engagement. A single contract may include multiple cohorts, and the greater the number of cohorts, the more cost-effective the programme becomes per participant.

If your organisation does not wish to sponsor a group, you may request individual sponsorship as part of your training and development. Alternatively, self-funded participation may be possible, with the option to split payment into four monthly instalments.

For cost information, please contact [email protected]

How do I raise this internally?

You can position it as leadership and delivery capability training rather than recruitment support. A short overview can be provided to support internal discussions.

Please contact us on [email protected].

What is the first step if we are interested?

An exploratory discussion to assess relevance, audience and sponsorship model would be a good start. Please book a 30-minute call for a chat.