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HRA Now - updated model Commercial Chief Investigator Agreement and CRO version published |
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What: the model Commercial Chief Investigator Agreement (mCCIA) has been updated based on feedback, a contract research organisation (CRO) version has been published
Who: Commercial sponsors, contract research organisations (CROs), NHS and HSC organisations employing Chief Investigators
Where: UK wide (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales)
When: Friday 20 June 2025
The agreement has been amended based on feedback received after the first template was published in April.
We received comments from some sponsors that the fixed cost of Chief Investigator services based on 40 hours of work per year was inflexible and not representative of most studies.
The template has been updated so that sponsors can specify the amount of time Chief Investigators are contracted to provide their services for per year, allowing for more transparency and flexibility.
Minor clarifications and modifications have also been made to the template, including fixing internal clause referencing and correcting the hourly medical staff rate to that in the interactive Costing Tool.
Contract Research Organisation version now available
A Contract Research Organisation (CRO) version on the mCCIA is also now available for use where the CRO will be a party to the agreement.
It takes into account the changes we have made to the mCCIA.
When and how should I use the updated agreement?
The mCCIA and CRO version have been published as consultation in use, but we expect that they are used unmodified in line with UK-wide policy.
The April 2025 version of the mCCIA can continue to be signed, where it has already been negotiated or is close to mutual agreement, up until 18 July 2025.
After this date, we expect that all new mCCIAs entered into use the June 2025 version of the contract.
Sharing your feedback
We are working at speed to make it easier to contract with NHS and HSC organisations.
The Four Nations Contracts Leads will continue to update all of the commercial agreements based on feedback we receive.
We would particularly welcome suggestions about how we can ensure that negotiation for the cost of annual Chief Investigator Services is minimised whilst reflecting different levels of input needed for different sponsors and studies.
In April and May we shared new and updated policy requirements related to:
We made these changes to streamline contracting with NHS organisations, reduce negotiation and duplication of effort, and make it easier to enter into the agreements.
If you are having problems implementing any of these policy requirements, please get in touch with us.
Making a more efficient and streamlined single UK standardised commercial contracting process
The changes made to these agreements are part of our work on the UK Clinical Research Delivery (UKCRD) programme which is committed to developing and mandating an efficient and streamlined single UK standardised commercial contracting process to reduce unnecessary negotiation.
You can read more about our work as part of the programme on the HRA website.
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HRA Now brings you important operational updates from the HRA - including changes to guidance or processes which might affect you. |
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