Executive Summary: Rethinking Trial Access Through Trust-Driven Design And Local Collaboration

Expanding access to clinical trials requires more than broader recruitment tactics—it demands a shift in how studies are designed, located, and sustained within communities. This roundtable summary explores how trust‑driven collaboration and locally embedded research models can improve trial readiness, enrollment, and retention, particularly among underserved populations.

Industry leaders discuss why traditional, hospital‑centric trial models often miss patients where they live and receive care, and how community‑based sites help reduce burden, improve convenience, and align research with real‑world patient journeys. The discussion highlights the importance of long‑term community engagement, culturally competent investigators, and protocols built around patient realities rather than operational convenience. Panelists also examine how inclusive trial designs can benefit sponsors and health systems by improving feasibility, lowering overall trial costs, and easing pressure on overstretched healthcare infrastructure.

Together, these insights underscore that sustainable trial access depends on intentional, locally grounded strategies that treat community trust as a core operational asset—not a downstream consideration.