Fixing the Plumbing: Why Connected Systems Matter

Working in translational and clinical research management, you don’t need convincing that systems can either be your greatest ally or your biggest headache. For a long time, across our two organisations, they were probably a mix of the two….

As our research activity has grown, bigger portfolios, more complex set‑ups, tighter timelines and increasing scrutiny, we started to see some cracks emerge… The information we needed existed, but it was scattered across different platforms, protected by different permissions, and visible to some teams but not others. Research managers, finance colleagues and governance teams were frequently jumping between systems, chasing context, or relying on local knowledge and goodwill to fill in the gaps. It worked… until it didn’t.

That was the backdrop to setting up the JRO’s Research Management Systems Task and Finish Group. The aim wasn’t to “fix IT” in the abstract, but to deal with something much more fundamental: how do we make it easier for people doing the day‑to‑day work of supporting research to get the information they need, when they need it, without unnecessary friction?

Visibility matters more than we think

One of the most persistent challenges we identified early on was the separation of our core management systems. Edge on the GSTT side and Worktribe at KCL do what they’re meant to do within their own organisations, but collaborative research doesn’t respect organisational boundaries. When teams involved in governance, contracting or pre‑award activity couldn’t see the full picture held by partners, hand‑offs multiplied and timelines stretched.

Often it wasn’t about missing data, but missing context. Why is this study urgent? Where is it sitting financially? Has something already been agreed elsewhere? Without that visibility, we were asking people to do good work with only part of the story.

Putting reciprocal access in place for teams who genuinely need it sounds obvious, and in hindsight, it probably is. But making it happen required careful thought around roles, permissions and controls. We hope the payoff will be clear: fewer chases, less duplication, and a more joined‑up end‑to‑end view of how studies are progressing.

Access is only half the solution

Of course, giving people access to systems doesn’t magically make those systems intuitive. We all know that confidence varies, processes drift and unwritten “rules” take on a life of their own. Recognising that, the programme placed real emphasis on capability and consistency.

Shared training resources including short, practical videos are a quiet but important part of this work. They help demystify systems, encourage consistent use, and reduce reliance on the one person who “just knows how it works”. That’s good for resilience, for onboarding new colleagues and for long‑term sustainability.

Following the money (earlier)

Finance has been another major theme. If you’ve ever supported a study where financial issues surface late, you’ll know how painful that can be for researchers, managers and organisations alike.

Better information flow here isn’t about micromanagement; it’s about enabling earlier conversations and smarter decisions. Reciprocal access to research finance information now means risks can be spotted sooner, performance monitored more clearly, and difficult decisions made with better evidence.

Shifting from reactive to proactive: Sharing insights across GSTT & KCL

One of the most visible outcomes of this work is having the GSTT-developed Active Studies Performance Dashboard, visible across both organisations. This feels like a real step change in how we jointly think about performance tracking and management.

Having real‑time, interactive insight into recruitment and study delivery and having that visible across GSTT and KCL will allow research managers and researchers to move from reacting to problems to anticipating them. It supports better planning, earlier intervention and more transparent conversations.

Thanks to the performance team in GSTT R&D, the addition of a dedicated study set‑up dashboard has also helped sharpen organisational focus on the 150‑day metric. Rather than being an abstract target, performance expectations are now embedded into routine management activity, where they belong.

Initiating Contracting in Worktribe: A Game-Changer for Study Start-Up

Another improvement from the Task and Finish Group’s work is the introduction of clear guidance for Principal Investigators and Research Support Staff to initiate contract requests early in Worktribe. Previously, contract assessment often lagged behind other start-up activities, leading to frustrating delays and last-minute scrambles. Now, by starting the contracting process as soon as a study is set up in Worktribe, teams can run contract assessment in parallel with other essential tasks. This proactive approach means legal and contractual reviews happen sooner, administrative hurdles are reduced, and studies can launch faster and with greater confidence. It’s a simple change, but we hope it will make a big difference, helping researchers spend less time chasing paperwork and more time focusing on impactful research

Why this really matters

At its heart, none of this is about systems for systems’ sake. It’s about time, confidence and focus. When information flows more smoothly, research teams spend less energy navigating platforms and more energy supporting delivery. When visibility improves, oversight becomes more meaningful rather than more burdensome. And when data is accessible and trusted, conversations become more constructive.

There’s still work to do, there always will be, but taken together, these changes mark a shift towards a more connected, data‑driven and collaborative research management environment. One that reflects the reality of how joint research actually happens across our partnership.

Ultimately, the goal is simple: to make it easier to deliver high‑quality translational and clinical research, faster and more consistently, so that the impact of that research is felt sooner where it really matters. And if along the way we make life a little less frustrating for the people supporting that work every day, that feels like progress worth highlighting.

You can find more details in relation to each one of these solutions on the JRO Intranet. 

I would like to end by extending enormous gratitude to the Research Management Systems Task and Finish Group, made up of amazing people from across KCL and GSTT:

You have been an absolute delight to work with; without you, absolutely none of this would have happened!! I really hope we have the opportunity to work together again soon. Somehow, that second Thursday in the month won’t ever be the same again…