2025 SCRS Global Site Solutions Summit: Enhancing Community Visibility & Engagement

In a breakout session at the 2025 Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS) Global Site Solutions Summit, Jimmy Bechtel, chief site success officer, SCRS; Jonathan Patterson, business development, Quality Clinical Research (QCR); and Rachel Cox, senior director global site partnerships, Syneos Health, explored strategies for enhancing patient diversity and community engagement in clinical trials.

Empowering patients at the site level

Bechtel began the discussion by asking Patterson and Cox to discuss their experiences with prioritizing the best interest of patients at the site level.

“The first word that comes to my mind is empowerment. That's the only way that we can do what we do, and for people to come in and feel comfortable putting themselves out there,” Patterson responded. “The buy-in from the site level is not very difficult, because we wouldn't be here without the individuals who came into our clinics and spent two years doing on-site visits to make sure that—from start to finish—they gave out a good result. Buying in from the site side is not very difficult to do. It's more of the buy-in from everybody outside those walls.”

Building trust through CRO support

Being from Syneos Health, a major contract research organization (CRO), Cox provided insight into how CROs can supports sites as they build an internal organizational culture.

“From a CRO perspective, we're all about numbers, and that's a known fact, but I think that on the behalf of a sponsor too, you know you want those patients to stay on the study, and if you've got that foundation of trust already built with that, by default, I think you're going to have better retention rates,” she said.

Engaging with communities

When it comes to community engagement, the panel discussed utilizing brochures and making appearances at local events. Patterson highlighted that his organization puts critical information on the back of brochures such as why clinical trials are important and questions that patients might be asking themselves about safety, benefits, and side-effects.

“We find that we also like to have study coordinators on-site or at these events, because they are in the nuts and bolts of what the study entails,” he added. “They can talk to them about how many on-site visits, how many diaries, how many phone calls, and the durations.”

Securing resources for outreach

For sites to execute the ideas discussed by the panel, they need to have adequate resources. Effectively partnering with CROs and sponsors can help them gain funding. However, a member of the audience raised that in some instances, the ROI on attending a health fair may not be apparent right away, making it difficult to justify the cost to a sponsor.

Bechtel mentioned that it is all about finding the right people to talk to at CROs and sponsors that are focused on patient engagement.

“[It is about] getting to those people and finding them so that you can have that conversation and say, ‘We want to do this. We know you guys are into community engagement, so let's talk about what you need to be able to support me, to be able to do this event, and what that needs to look like from an ROI perspective,’” he said.

Advocating for site needs

As the discussion came to a close, the panel members shared their concluding thoughts.

Cox emphasized that sites need to advocate for themselves and be transparent with what they need from CROs and sponsors. “Just ask for a seat at the table,” she said. “I think having those initial conversations will really pay off in the long run.”

Bechtel concluded: “If you don't know where to start, start with the conversation with your sponsor and CRO partners. Ask them what kind of data they need. What do they want? You're going to seek this stuff out, and you're going to have these conversations with these teams. Ask them what kind of information they need.”

Reference

Bechtel J, Patterson J, Cox R. Stand-Out Sites: Enhancing Community Visibility & Engagement. October 1, 2025. 2025 SCRS Global Site Solutions Summit.