Measuring Trials Transformation

Measuring Trials Transformation (MTT) Project Update: Tracking Progress Toward Transforming Clinical Trials

CTTI News | March 20, 2025

Topics Included: Clinical Trials Landscape

In September 2023, CTTI launched the Measuring Trials Transformation (MTT) Project to track progress toward CTTI’s Transforming Trials 2030 (TT2030) vision. Introduced in 2021, this vision outlines how clinical trials should evolve by 2030 to become more efficient and inclusive, focusing on five key pillars: patient-centeredness, integration with health processes, trials designed with a quality approach, data-driven approaches, and improving population health. To measure progress toward these goals, the MTT project created the Metrics Framework, a parsimonious set of metrics that correspond to key domains of progress within each of the TT2030 pillars. This framework is designed to assess the transformation of clinical trials by creating specific benchmarks for understanding the state of clinical trials both today and in the future.  

Since its launch, CTTI’s Measuring Trials Transformation team has made significant progress in refining the Metrics Framework by reviewing more than 100 public comments and incorporating feedback to improve the set of metrics. From the broader Framework, the team identified nine high-priority metrics to focus on for data collection and analysis. The team is currently analyzing original trial documentation from CTTI’s AACT database of Phase 3 interventional trials conducted at U.S. sites between 2018 and 2024 to be able to answer key metrics.

Kelly Avery, MTT Project Team Leader and Operations Administrator for Research at Mayo Clinic, said, “The MTT project at CTTI is focused on moving us into the future. We’re striving to truly understand the ‘state of clinical trials, and to do that, we must first establish a baseline. By creating this baseline, we’ll gain the clarity needed to guide our next steps and drive meaningful progress.”

To support the successful execution of the project, CTTI has partnered with ClinConnect, a patient advocacy platform with valuable expertise in clinical trial analysis. ClinConnect developed best-in-class technology to manage and promote a searchable database for patients and caregivers, making it simple and straightforward for everyone to understand the totality of their clinical trial options.   

Robert Maxwell, Founder of ClinConnect, highlighted the value of the collaboration, saying, “Working with the MTT team has been a highly rewarding experience. We’re aligned on the key challenges and moved by the progress we’ve made. The ClinConnect team thrives when we’re given the freedom and trust to address these issues head-on, and the MTT team has been excellent here. We look forward to continuing this collaboration and making a lasting impact for patients worldwide.”  

CTTI deeply appreciates ClinConnect’s partnership and the invaluable insights they have shared, which have been instrumental in driving the success of this project. CTTI also extends our appreciation to the MTT Project Team, whose ongoing dedication and expertise are essential to the success of this effort. 

Looking ahead, CTTI plans to release the full Metrics Framework and initial findings on our website. These findings will serve as an important reference for discussions at the inaugural State of Clinical Trials: Charting the Path Forward meeting on May 22, 2025.  

CTTI is eager to continue this vital work and engage in meaningful conversations that will help shape the future of clinical trials.

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New CTTI Project to Develop Common Framework to Assess Progress Towards TT2030 Vision

Posted on by Hannah Faulkner

Clinical trials are critical components of the evidence generating system in research. Launched in 2021, CTTI’s Transforming Trials 2030 vision outlines five pillars for how clinical trials should be performed by 2030. This vision establishes that clinical trials need to be patient centered and easily accessible, fully integrated into health processes, designed with a quality approach, maximally leveraging all available data, and improving population health. Currently, the TT2030 vision lacks metrics to demonstrate progress towards the vision’s five central goals. The Measuring Trials Transformation (MTT) Project will develop a common framework to evaluate and assess the progress made towards achieving the five main goals of the TT2030 vision, a framework that can be used to share accountability across the clinical trials enterprise.  

After launching the TT2030 vision, CTTI conducted concept elicitation interviews to develop key concepts metrics should address within each pillar. In 2022 and early 2023, CTTI conducted surveys of experts to assess the value of individual metrics for assessing progress towards the vision. 

To deploy a set of relevant metrics, CTTI will utilize a variety of iterative strategies, including interviews with key stakeholders on their experiences with each pillar and ideas for related metrics, expert surveys on draft measures for each pillar, and an online public forum on the measurement framework. The selected metrics will be further refined by integrating public comment, expert input, and project team feedback and discussions. CTTI will perform a case study using the framework of metrics to measure progress towards the TT2030 vision by collecting and reporting an initial set of metrics using recent clinical trials.   

CTTI understands that some goals of the TT2030 vision will be achieved sooner than others, and so the framework created by the MTT Project will establish key milestones to assess progress made by the program over time. CTTI will use this vision to guide their priorities, and they will encourage others to do the same, facilitating accountability across the entire clinical trials industry.  

The Metrics Framework is currently open for public comment until mid-October 2023. Please view the dashboard and provide your suggestions and feedback here.