Whether you are an investigator, research coordinator, research ethics administrator, patient engagement specialist or research institute leader, your engagement and contributions can make a difference in realizing BC’s collective vision for clinical trials.
Here are a few ways that you can get involved and help advance clinical trials in British Columbia.
Communities of practice (CoPs)
CoPs are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. CoPs are powerful vehicles for learning or system change by enabling collective problem-solving, resource or knowledge sharing, spreading innovation, and aligning practices.
- Clinical Research Professional Certification study cohort: A supportive community with the purpose of attaining certification.
- Quality Management — 1: A supportive community with an established framework. It serves as a forum to support everyday QA needs and application.
- Quality Management — 2: A knowledge-sharing community with a drop-in format.
- Clinical Research Ethics — Members share experiences in the conduct of clinical ethical review of research, with a focus on improvement and consistency across BC. Goals include solving priority issues, collaborating with other ethics communities, and supporting best practices.
- Regulatory Compliance — A knowledge stewarding community of academic regulatory professionals involved in strategy, interpretation, and contribution to the body of knowledge. It includes professional-level apprenticing and mentorship and follows the Lave/Wenger model.
- Research Ethics Board Administrators — A collaborative, member-driven CoP for REBAs who are new to the role, harmonization, or research ethics in BC. Focuses on mentorship, education, and support.
- Research Operational Approvals — Supports those working on specific topics related to the review and approval of research studies for operational impacts. Outputs include guidelines, repositories, and strategies.
In development
- Digital technology — Focusing on improvement and consistency across BC, members will share experiences in the use of research platforms. For example: clinical trial management systems (CTMS), electronic consent tools and digital health technologies. Goals include solving priority issues, collaborating with other members, and supporting best practices.
- Phase 1 CoP — Focused on Phase 1 trials, this CoP promotes knowledge sharing across units to build a collaborative ecosystem and strengthen regional capacity and regulatory compliance.
We welcome everyone to join one or more of these groups to explore and learn together.