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Next year is shaping up to be an inflection point in electronic clinical (eClinical) trial technology. As sites, sponsors, contract research organizations, and patients continue to navigate growing protocol complexity and mounting operational pressure, the industry will continue accelerating in 2026 toward solutions that streamline workflows, reduce technological fragmentation, and make research more accessible for the people doing the daily work.

Corporate leaders who make “One Size Fits All” their go-to strategy may find that it’s only convenient right up until blowback arising from its application to real-world situations proves otherwise. This holds true for the onboarding experience in clinical research settings—no “one size” approach to it can possibly cover the organizational and individual needs for every incoming member of the clinical trials team.

With seemingly unavoidable and unceasing headlines such as “FDA Rolls Out Agentic AI for Staffers,” “How AI is Transforming Clinical Trials,” and “New AI System Could Accelerate Clinical Research” hitting the news feeds every day, it’s no wonder some observers from the trenches of the drug and device development industry want to separate the honest hope from the breathless hype when it comes to how artificial intelligence (AI) is being applied to their everyday working lives. 

Taking an experimental drug is likely the first thing that comes to mind for most people who’ve never participated in human subjects research when the prospect of joining a clinical trial comes up. However, speakers who are getting ready to present a session at the ACRP 2026 conference in Orlando next April say that it’s important for research centers in any community—especially highly diverse and minority-rich communities—to consider offering other types of studies to the populations they serve to help foster trust in clinical trials. 

Striking the ideal balance of planning, executing, and overseeing clinical trials between research sponsors, contract research organization (CRO) personnel, and study site teams is like the proverbial three-legged stool scenario. Shortcomings on the part of any one of the partners can pitch the whole project askew.