IRBNet Announces Release of National Research Network™ 2010 Benchmark Report

IRBNet's free report provides objective performance metrics for the human subjects research protection oversight field, enabling hospitals, universities and government research institutions to make performance comparisons and drive process improvements

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At universities, hospital systems and government agencies large and small, ethics review boards tasked with overseeing the protection of human subjects in research are actively working to improve the timeliness, accuracy, and quality of reviews and research oversight.  They do so in the face of growing research portfolios, expanded data reporting demands, increased scrutiny of oversight, and real-world institutional resource constraints.  This has created two practical challenges: first, managing sensitive, time-critical, data-intensive processes ever-more efficiently; second, objectively evaluating and identifying opportunities for improving the quality of oversight.

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Responding to this need, IRBNet, the leader in global Institutional Review Board (IRB) management solutions, has released the National Research Network 2010 Benchmark Report.  

The free report mines IRBNet's industry-leading compliance management and data reporting capabilities, and the National Research Network's global presence.  The data-driven benchmarks enable research institutions of all types and sizes to concretely measure and compare ethics review processes and performance, for the benefit of research subjects, the institutions themselves, and the research community at large.

"Research institutions around the world strive for continuous improvement and the highest ethical treatment of human subjects in research, but their efforts are too often hindered by resource constraints, legacy data handling impediments and the absence of external context for analysis," said Andrew Olmsted, IRBNet Director of Member Services. "Standardized, objective performance metrics and focused analysis driven by complete, intact, consistent data and comprehensive reporting are essential to the continued improvement of ethical research management."

The National Research Network 2010 Benchmark Report includes detailed performance metrics for both biomedical-focused and social / behavioral-focused research institutions, including hospitals, universities and government agencies.  Produced from actual National Research Network data, these benchmarks illuminate the activity and productivity of investigators, as well as the IRB administrative offices and reviewers charged with oversight responsibility. The report is provided as a service to the human subject research community, to assist research organizations in assessing internal performance.

"There is a lot of talk once again about streamlining the human subjects protection system. Trying to effectively manage anything without data is like driving with your eyes closed – sooner or later you're going to hit something but you probably won't know what it is," said Dr. Greg Koski of the Harvard Medical School, and former Director of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Human Research Protections.

Dr. Koski continued, "For nearly two decades the human subject research community has been driving efforts to improve these processes without basic information necessary to truly appreciate where we were going or where the potholes were. We are now beginning to see the light, and the growing availability of sound, relevant metrics will serve the entire research community – investigators, managers, and policy makers as well, as we consider the ways and means to truly improve not only what we are doing but how we are doing it."  

Mr. Olmsted elaborated, "IRBNet is a dedicated partner in the advancement of ethical human subject research management. We strive to continuously improve research management and compliance oversight solutions for the global research community through the many tools available online on the National Research Network™. IRBNet is proud to serve small and large human subject research institutions alike, and we are very pleased to contribute the National Research Network 2010 Benchmark Report to the human subject research protection community."

The National Research Network 2010 Benchmark Report can be downloaded for free at: http://irbnetresources.org/news/benchmark.html

About IRBNet

IRBNet offers the world's leading and most widely used electronic solution for managing research compliance for institutions of any size, with more than 1400 large, medium and small research institutions, boards and research sites registered on the National Research Network™. National Research Network™ members benefit from secure online access to comprehensive research oversight tools anywhere, anytime, including real-time collaboration between investigators and institutions anywhere in the world. IRBNet further enables institutions to navigate the complex federal ethics compliance requirements governing human, animal, and recombinant DNA research, while seamlessly managing Conflict of Interest, Sponsored Programs and other critical research oversight activities. With the release of the National Research Network 2010 Benchmark Report, IRBNet's unparalleled data-driven performance metrics make it easier than ever for universities and colleges, community hospitals, hospital networks, and federal and state agencies to benchmark internal performance and drive process improvement across multiple sites and complex organizational systems.

For further information on IRBNet, please visit https://www.irbnet.org.

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE IRBNet