# Building capacity for clinical trial improvement through implementation science

> **NIH NIH F32** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2021 · $84,142

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Each year, cancer centers invest millions of dollars into “intramural trials”—institutional clinical trials funded
to complement larger scale cooperative group, industry, and NIH-funded trials. While clinical trials improve
patient care and advance science, our research shows 1 in 5 clinical trials fail to reach their anticipated
endpoints, and an additional 1 in 3 do not reach enrollment goals. These failure rates appear higher for
smaller and single-center (i.e., more likely intramural) trials. Other than identifying past failure rates,
actionable insights to improve trial implementation are lacking, failing both patients and science. In a novel
application of implementation science methods, we intend to address this clear gap by adapting existing
methodology to the clinical trials context. This innovative approach considers clinical trials as complex
interventions with poor implementation. This will provide a platform to study and improve both the science
and practice of clinical trials. Guided by Proctor’s implementation outcomes, we will convene a panel of
stakeholders to define implementation and other outcomes for intramural clinical trials. This approach will
provide institutional and investigator perspectives to inform a conceptual model of intramural trial
implementation and success. We will additionally identify determinants of intramural clinical trial outcomes
by using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research for in-depth and qualitative analysis of
intramural clinical trials. Through this study, we will develop foundational methods within a manageable
model of the trials enterprise to provide valuable insights to intramural programs and guide future
systematic investigation and improvement efforts.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10313389
- **Project number:** 1F32CA264874-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Kristian Donald Stensland
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $84,142
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-07-12 → 2022-07-11

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10313389

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10313389, Building capacity for clinical trial improvement through implementation science (1F32CA264874-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10313389. Licensed CC0.

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