December 12, 2024
A working group consisting of clinical researchers from Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA)-funded institutions was formed to expand the JTF Framework domains 7 & 8 to reflect clinical research team competencies. A modified Delphi approach using Bloom’s taxonomy was used to develop and evaluate specific fundamental, skilled and advanced competencies for clinical research professionals (CRPs) that are working in teams. The resulting publication and its associated supplement containing 117 CRP team science leveled competencies can contribute to job descriptions, training, and improving team function. To access the publication, click on the link in the citation below.
Mendell A, Fritter J, Helm S, et al. Team science competencies for clinical research professionals: A multileveled Delphi approach. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. 2024;8(1):e112. doi:10.1017/cts.2024.509.
August 8, 2024
As part of the JTF’s continuing effort to globalize the JTF Competency Framework, we have added the Portuguese translation of the JTF Framework. With the support of our global collaborators, we will soon be adding several additional translations of the Framework and the “wheel” to our webpage.
Click here to access the JTF Core Competency Framework in Portuguese.
March 22, 2024
The journals Frontiers in Medicine and Frontiers in Pharmacology have recently published 12 articles on the research topic: Building the Clinical Research Workforce: Challenges, Capacities and Competencies. The articles cover the following topics:
– Clinical research roles and professionalism
– Clinical research academic education, training and competency development, assessment
– Clinical research professional employment, retention, progression
– Diversity of the clinical research workforce
– Applications and contributions of the JTF Framework
– Clinical research workforce development in the setting of the evolving clinical research paradigm
– Clinical research team science, defining research teams, workforce spectrum
The following articles and an overview of the research topic can be accessed on this website.
October 23, 2023
The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) highlighted the JTF on the DIAMOND Portal, a portal that provides access to training materials for clinical research professionals and others on the research team. DIAMOND stands for Development, Implementation, and Assessment of Novel Training in Domain-based Competencies.
The DIAMOND Portal, brings together trainings in the eight competency domains of the JTF Framework, ranging from the specifics of running trials to more general topics, such as leadership and professionalism. The portal also includes assessments that study teams can use to assess the training of staff members. In addition, research professionals can boost their careers by maintaining an electronic portfolio of their training materials through DIAMOND. While the initiative began as a way to share materials developed at the CTSA Program hubs, now additional resources can be uploaded to the portal.
October 20, 2023
As part of the JTF continuing effort to globalize the JTF Competency Framework we have added the Korean translation of the JTF Framework. With the support of our global collaborators, we will soon be adding several additional translations of the Framework and the “wheel” to our webpage.
Click here to access the JTF Core Competency Framework in Korean.
August 24, 2023
As part of the JTF continuing effort to globalize the JTF Competency Framework we have added the Chinese translation of the JTF Framework. With the support of our global collaborators, we will soon be adding several additional translations of the Framework and the “wheel” to our webpage.
Click here to access the JTF Core Competency Framework in Chinese.
June 2, 2023
At the April 2023 annual meeting of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP), Susan Landis and Erika Stevens presented on workforce development in clinical research and its interrelationship with the JTF Core Competency Framework. A blog on the topic can be found here.
May 10, 2023
As part of the JTF continuing effort to globalize the JTF Competency Framework we have added the Vietnamese translation of the JTF Framework. With the support of our global collaborators, we will soon be adding several additional translations of the Framework and the “wheel” to our webpage.
Click here to access the JTF Core Competency Framework in Vietnamese.
April 10, 2023
As part of the JTF continuing effort to globalize the JTF Competency Framework we have added the Italian translation of the JTF Framework. With the support of our global collaborators, we will soon be adding several additional translations of the Framework and the “wheel” to our webpage.
Click here to access the JTF Core Competency Framework in Italian
February 20, 2023
As part of the JTF continuing effort to globalize the JTF Competency Framework we have added the Bahasa Indonesia translation of the JTF Framework. With the support of our global collaborators, we will soon be adding several additional translations of the Framework and the “wheel” to our webpage.
Click here to access the JTF Core Competency Framework in Bahasa Indonesia
January 3, 2023
As part of the JTF continuing effort to globalize the JTF Competency Framework we have added the Thai translation of the JTF Framework. With the support of our global collaborators, we will soon be adding several additional translations of the Framework and the “wheel” to our webpage.
Click here to access the JTF Core Competency Framework in Thai
September 9, 2022
In order to fill the gap in junior investigator training, Tufts University Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) has utilized the JTF Core Competency Framework to develop an eight-module, certificate program to teach aspiring clinician-investigators about good clinical practice, clinical research processes, and federal and local regulatory requirements.
July 8, 2022
As part of the JTF continuing effort to globalize the JTF Competency Framework we have added the French translation of the JTF Framework. With the support of our global collaborators, we will soon be adding several additional translations of the Framework and the “wheel” to our webpage.
Click here to access the JTF Core Competency Framework in French
May 26, 2022
Recently, the JTF published in Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science the results of a global survey of clinical research professionals who were asked to self-assess their level of competency for each of the 8 domains of the JTF Framework. The results were very similar to those of a similar 2016 published JTF survey showing that irrespective of role, years of experience or educational level, lower levels of competency were expressed in the domains of Scientific Concepts and Research Design and Investigational Product Development and Regulation. The recent survey showed an additional lower level of competency for the Data Management and Informatics domain. Respondents with professional certification in clinical research self-assessed their competency at higher levels in all domains than those without professional certification.
January 21, 2022
Recently published in Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science, the Joint Task Force for Clinical Trial Competency (JTF) defined and documented core competencies related to clinical project management and project management skills. Two new specific competencies with related examples were incorporated in Version 3.1 of the JTF Framework and the wording of several existing competencies was modified.
January 14, 2022
This article focuses on Domain 8 of the JTF Framework – Communication and Teamwork. The authors have emphasized the importance of communication skills between Clinical Research Professionals and the perception of competence.
October 7, 2021
The AIDS Malignancy Consortium (AMC) conducted a survey of clinical investigators in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa to determine self-assessed competency, utilizing the JTF Clinical Research Core Competency Framework, to inform training and professional development needs. The results were similar to prior findings by the JTF (Clinical Researcher, 2016:3;42-49) showing lower levels of competency in the domains of Scientific Concepts and Research Design, Medicines Development and Regulation and Data Management and Informatics. The AMC is using the JTF Framework to develop a training curriculum tailored to the needs of their clinical staff.
January 22, 2021
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research Translational Workforce Development Program relies on the JTF Framework for overall workforce development activities, provides the JTF Framework as an ongoing education and training resource to the workforce, aligns Clinical Research Skills Series workshop learning objectives to the core competencies, and designed the Post-baccalaureate Certificate in Clinical Research core and elective courses requirements based on the framework competencies. cctr.vcu.edu
December 2, 2020
In this peer-reviewed article, authors Joseph M. Bocchino, EdD, Joan Butler, EdD, MS, and Beth Harper, MBA, BS (OT), review the literature addressing the current state of education within the clinical research profession to ascertain directions in which the profession and its supporting educators may be moving in order to further develop clinical research workforce capacity. The importance of competency-based education and the JTF Core-Competency Framework are highlighted.
October 21, 2020
Duke University’s Office of Clinical Research has been on the forefront of utilizing the JTF Core competency Framework to define its role descriptions as well as to clearly specify how a clinical research professional can move upwards on their career ladders. Their recent publication through the Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI), Volume LI, Number 2 explains these processes in detail. The authors conclude that the utilization of the JTF Framework in this manner has benefited the institution by increasing CRP retention rates and allowed Duke to better understand current competency levels of its workforce. Duke University’s Office of Clinical Research and their utilization of the JTF Core Competency Framework has been a model for the academic community and their efforts have been utilized by several of the Clinical and Translational Science Award institutions.
August 12, 2020
A paper appearing in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Research reported on a study by the International AIDS Malignancy Consortium which assessed the competency level and role relevance of the JTF Core Competencies in Clinical Investigators from Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. The results indicated that the highest relevance to role was in the Scientific Concepts and Research Design and the Ethical and Participant Safety domains and the lowest in the Data Management and Informatics domain. A high level of self-assessed competency was seen in the Ethical and Participant Safety domain, but lower levels of self-assessed competency were seen in the Data Management and Informatics and the Scientific Concepts and Research Design domains. An additional domain, Community Engagement, was added to the framework by the investigators due to the perception of increased relevance in the assessed geographic regions, though interestingly, this domain showed a high level of competence, but a low level of role relevance. The AMC is working to incorporate professional development offerings to investigators based upon the results of this assessment.
July 17, 2020
Our Japanese colleagues have published the Joint Task Force Core Competency Framework in the Japanese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (2020;51(3):131-150). This publication in the Japanese language helps extend the integration of the Framework to clinical research professionals in Japan.
February 7, 2020
It is widely agreed upon that there has been a significant increase in both the number and the complexity of clinical trials during the past decade. The global clinical trial service market is predicted to reach $64B in 2020 (Centerwatch, 2017). The demand for clinical research professionals already exceeds the supply and the pressure to grow the clinical research workforce will undoubtedly increase. The majority of the current workforce has been trained “on the job” and very few enter the clinical research profession as a direct result of academic education or knowledge of the field. Academic institutions in the US and internationally have recognized these growing personnel needs. Today there are over 100 academic programs that offer degrees and certificates to physician investigators, clinical research coordinators, clinical trial monitors, regulatory affairs professionals, clinical data management professionals and clinical project managers. Clinical research has become a recognized academic discipline, and professional organizations have developed to provide a forum for clinical research educators through publication, seminars, and meetings and to provide expertise to governmental agencies that regulate the profession. Among those organizations are the Consortium of Academic Programs in Clinical Research, the Association of Graduate Regulatory Educators, the Pharmatrain Federation, and the Global Health Network.
As the number of academic programs increased, it became necessary to define and standardize the content of these programs. The framework of clinical research core competencies defined by the Joint Taskforce for Clinical Trial Competency (JTF); has been widely—and globally—accepted by the research enterprise. In 2017, the JTF framework was adopted as the Standard for academic program curricular content by the newly formed Committee on Accreditation of Academic Programs in Clinical Research (CAAPCR). CAAPCR is part of the Commission of Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), the largest international accrediting agency of allied health academic programs. The accreditation process requires that an institution produce a detailed self-study that documents that the program meets the required Standards. Representatives of CAAPCR then conduct a site visit to validate the content of the self-study and further assess the program. Thereafter, the Board of Directors of both CAAPCR and CAAHEP review and approve accreditation of the program. The first two academic institutions which have been formally accredited by CAAHEP are Arizona State University and Durham Technical Community College. There are 5 additional academic institutions which have requested accreditation services and are in the process of completing self-studies. As the profession of clinical research continues to mature, formal academic program accreditation is becoming an important criterion for quality in the preparation of tomorrow’s workforce.
May 6, 2020
The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) announces a pilot project designed to assess the competency of entry-level clinical research professionals, ACRP’s hypothesis is that new graduates from academic programs in clinical research will pass the ACRP-CP exam at equal or higher rates than individuals with a minimum of 2 years’ experience in clinical research. If proven true, then providing graduating students access to an ACRP-CP certification exam will enable the further demonstration of their knowledge and competency thereby enhancing a hiring organization’s confidence in recruiting, training, and retaining these new graduates as valuable members of their research teams. The Consortium of Academic Programs in Clinical Research has been working for some time with ACRP to develop this program. Three institutions are participating in the program, Campbell University, University of North Carolina Wilmington and Durham Technical Community College.
February 20, 2020
In 2019, the JTF responded to comments from the clinical research community that the Core Competency Framework should include competencies related to clinical project management as well as recognize the need to integrate technology related enhancements to the competencies required for the conduct of clinical research. Global workgroups were created that developed competencies in these areas. Once vetted by the JTF and stakeholders, version 3.1 was created and posted to the website.
Click here to download the Leveled JTF Core Competency Framework – Version 3.1
Members of JTF-Clinical Project Management (CPM) Workgroup
Romiya Glover Barry, clinical research professional |
Leadership |
December 17, 2018
The JTF has expanded the Core Competency Framework to reflect the increase in competency which occurs as clinical research professionals progress in their careers. The Core Competency statements have been further defined at the Basic, Skilled and Advanced levels to facilitate the use of the Framework for role definitions and upward mobility requirements by the global clinical research enterprise.
Click here to download the Leveled JTF Core Competency Framework
August 5, 2019
A recent publication reports that investigators from the Clinical and Translational Science Award based DIAMOND project have developed and tested indices which may be used to evaluate the self-assessed competency of clinical research coordinators. The two indices, CICRP-I (basic level) and CICRP-II (advanced level) were developed using data selected from the JTF Global Self-Assessment of Clinical Research Competency. The CICRP-II assessment was administered to 95 clinical research coordinators working in one of 4 CTSA funded academic health centers in an effort to accumulate data which could be used to confirm the validity of the instrument and compare the results to similar assessments which were published by the JTF that self-assessed the competency of a variety of members of the global clinical research enterprise.