Background: Capitalizing on collaborative partnerships has become an important advance in the clinical research realm for expanding opportunities to provide systematic site-level solutions. The VA Cooperative Studies Program (CSP) Network of Dedicated Enrollment Sites is a consortium of VA recruitment sites intended to enhance clinical research execution. The RIC is an initiative within the Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program established to address critical roadblocks in conducting multi-site trials. These shared areas of interest prompted a collaboration between VA CSP and the RIC.

Objective: Demonstrate key strengths of a partnership established between a large, integrated healthcare system and network of academic medical centers to facilitate clinical trial research recruitment.

Methods: Recognizing the importance of strategic partnerships, the RIC and VA CSP participated in several meetings to identify specific endeavors with potential for facilitating innovative approaches to clinical research. One of the projects initiated by this partnership is aimed toward implementing a consultative service to develop a recruitment plan for a multi-site trial struggling to meet enrollment goals.

Results: A multi-site trial was identified that could benefit from an independent review by experienced researchers and the development of an innovative recruitment plan. An initial consultation was conducted to identify stakeholders, recruitment partners, and recruitment sites. The next phase entails a comprehensive review of the existing recruitment plan to develop tailored recommendations/guidance for participant engagement strategies and specific recruitment and retention challenges associated with the study.

Conclusion: In summary, this partnership has led to the development and implementation of processes that have been successful in utilizing shared resources for engaging stakeholders to facilitate clinical trial execution. The success of this effort can largely be attributed to the identification and collaboration from key stakeholders and recruitment partners across both entities. Future directions for this partnership include implementing strategies from the recruitment assessment plan.