SCRS Talks

Technology is consistently one of the top pain points for research sites, and a big reason is that sites often aren't part of the conversation until a solution is already built. In this episode of SCRS Talks, Jimmy Bechtel sits down with Ashley O'Brien, Executive Director of Product Management, and David Stecklair, Director of Product Management, both of Signant Health, to talk about what it looks like to develop technology with sites instead of on top of them. They cover where vendors tend to miss the mark, why discovery should come before design, and what surprised them when they gathered site feedback on their Rater Station solution. They also get into balancing sponsor requirements with site burden, planning for the unhappy path, and why closing the feedback loop matters just as much as listening in the first place.

Site engagement often shows up only after a study is already in trouble. In this episode of SCRS Talks, Jimmy Bechtel sits down with Julie Wilhjelm, Senior Director of Site Strategy and Engagement at Novotech, to talk about why it should be built into how studies are planned and run from day one.
They cover what separates real engagement from checkbox outreach, how early feedback during feasibility and protocol design can head off costly amendments, and why trust and responsiveness give CROs a real edge with the sites they work with. Julie also gets honest about the revolving door of site contacts, what it costs everyone, and why continuity is so hard to solve at scale.
If you work with sites, or you are one, this one is worth a listen.

Lauren Stockwell sits down with Jennifer Larkin, VP of Business Development at M3 Wake Research, to break down what a modern site BD function actually looks like day to day. Jennifer walks through how data intelligence and AI platforms have reshaped feasibility and pipeline management, why relationships alone aren't predictive of future business, and the tiering framework she used to re-rank client accounts based on pipeline fit rather than tenure.
The conversation also covers what turns a sponsor-site relationship from transactional to genuinely partnered, why sites should be willing to say no, and the specific metrics, from proposal-to-award conversion to time from award to first patient screened, that reveal whether a BD strategy is actually working.

Jimmy Bechtel sits down with Mike Hutton of Almac Clinical Technologies to talk about where site burden really starts, and what sponsors can do earlier in study design to reduce it. They dig into the difference between protocol complexity and operational complexity, why fragmented systems and workflows quietly pile friction onto site staff, and what a more connected, site-first approach to trial design actually looks like. Mike also shares the one question he wishes more sponsors would ask sites before finalizing a protocol.

Jimmy Bechtel sits down with Megan Richards, Director of Sponsor Operations at CRIO, to talk about how research sites can get more strategic with their data. Megan walks through where to start when identifying the right KPIs, how to build dashboards that actually get used (and the four common pitfalls to avoid), and how benchmarking against industry standards helps sites spot both wins and opportunities for improvement. The conversation wraps with practical advice on turning operational data into a compelling story for sponsors and CROs, strengthening relationships, and winning future study awards.