When clinical trial populations do not resemble the intended use population, gaps in knowledge about the risks and benefits of drugs and devices can make decision-making more difficult. CTTI has developed a body of work to improve access to and trust in clinical trials, supporting critical scientific and public health goals. 

CTTI created  recommendations  and  resources to help partners adopt new organization-level practices that increase equitable access and participation in clinical trials, leading to enriched research results that are more relevant for everyone.  

In December 2024, CTTI launched the Collective Strategies to Enhance Proportionate Enrollment project to understand and address the expectations, needs, and pain points of clinical trials partner groups. The project will focus on transparent communication, accountability, and clarity related to roles and responsibilities within and between clinical trials partner groups throughout the clinical trials process. This effort will facilitate unified, action-focused engagement across each group to identify solutions that support the development and execution of trials better positioned to recruit, enroll and retain participants who reflect the epidemiology and scientific evidence of the disease under study, ultimately producing robust, reliable and relevant data.

Although there have been decades of work and recent progress, efforts to address shortcomings in equitable access and participation in clinical trials are often siloed. The Convergence Project was created by the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard, FasterCures, a center of the Milken Institute, and the National Academies’ Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation, and CTTI to address the need for collective action across sectors and organizations to align on goals for system-wide, sustainable change. Following input from a series of convenings with input from hundreds of participants, the groups co-developed a National Action Plan that lays out clear steps related to supporting public awareness and communication, community engagement and investment, site enablement, accountability, workforce, comprehensive data, funding resources and support, and trial participation.