Management information on recruitment to clinical research studies
Updated 24 September 2024
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Data on the recruitment to clinical research studies, reported to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). This release is published as management information, in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics, to improve transparency and support publication of the Darzi review on 12 September 2024. The Darzi review is the independent investigation of the National Health Service in England, led by Lord Darzi.
Background
Clinical research studies are important for advancing medical knowledge and enhancing patient care. These investigations are designed to evaluate the safety, efficacy and effectiveness of new treatments, medications, devices, or interventions. Clinical research includes various types of studies, such as clinical trials and observational studies.
Clinical trials, also known as interventional studies, test new medical approaches, including drugs, vaccines and surgical procedures. They are carried out in phases to assess safety, dosing and effectiveness. Observational studies monitor and analyse the effects of specific variables on health outcomes without intervening.
By systematically investigating in this way, clinical research plays a vital role in discovering new treatments and improving healthcare practices.
Monitoring clinical research delivery
One of the ways clinical research delivery in the UK is monitored is through the UK Clinical Research Delivery Key Performance Indicators Report. This report, previously known as the Research Status Report, brings together data from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. It monitors progress on delivering parts of the government’s vision for UK clinical research delivery. The performance indicators measure trends in:
- the speed and predictability of regulatory and study set-up timelines
- the delivery of research to time and target
- overall recruitment levels
The report is published monthly by DHSC and is being used to support the development of policies to encourage clinical research delivery.
This publication focuses specifically on clinical research recruitment data from the UK Clinical Research Delivery Key Performance Indicators Report from April 2014 onwards. It is a supplementary management information release, showing detailed tables behind the recruitment charts published in June 2024’s UK Clinical Research Delivery Key Performance Indicators Report.
Definition of a research study
Research is defined in the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research as the attempt to derive generalisable or transferable new knowledge to answer or refine relevant questions with scientifically sound methods. This excludes: audit, needs assessments, quality improvement and other local service evaluations. It also excludes routine banking of biological samples or data except where this activity is integral to a self-contained research project designed to test a clear hypothesis.
This definition applies to all studies for which NIHR Clinical Research Network support is sought regardless of the study type or research funder.
Data
Number of participants recruited into studies by year
Tables 1 to 11 below show the number of participants recruited into studies by year, from April 2014 to March 2024.
The data for all tables is taken from the NIHR Clinical Research Network’s central portfolio management system.
The central portfolio management system consists of all studies held on the Clinical Research Network portfolio, as well as some studies held on the network portfolios of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The data includes recruitment to both interventional and observational studies. The data represents the total number of participants recruited for a given month, based on the month and year the recruitment notification was received.
Table 1: recruitment to clinical research studies, April to December 2014
| Recruitment month and year | Number of participants |
|---|---|
| April 2014 | 53,127 |
| May 2014 | 81,491 |
| June 2014 | 60,363 |
| July 2014 | 58,498 |
| August 2014 | 52,321 |
| September 2014 | 56,211 |
| October 2014 | 62,436 |
| November 2014 | 55,059 |
| December 2014 | 46,203 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 2: recruitment to clinical research studies, January to December 2015
| Recruitment month and year | Number of participants |
|---|---|
| January 2015 | 58,324 |
| February 2015 | 63,841 |
| March 2015 | 79,245 |
| April 2015 | 55,841 |
| May 2015 | 54,132 |
| June 2015 | 63,624 |
| July 2015 | 61,753 |
| August 2015 | 73,360 |
| September 2015 | 63,296 |
| October 2015 | 61,527 |
| November 2015 | 66,477 |
| December 2015 | 43,906 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 3: recruitment to clinical research studies, January to December 2016
| Recruitment month and year | Number of participants |
|---|---|
| January 2016 | 51,217 |
| February 2016 | 54,898 |
| March 2016 | 56,727 |
| April 2016 | 55,838 |
| May 2016 | 61,268 |
| June 2016 | 70,329 |
| July 2016 | 54,405 |
| August 2016 | 57,022 |
| September 2016 | 59,833 |
| October 2016 | 56,395 |
| November 2016 | 64,126 |
| December 2016 | 50,328 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 4: recruitment to clinical research studies, January to December 2017
| Recruitment month and year | Number of participants |
|---|---|
| January 2017 | 61,254 |
| February 2017 | 60,311 |
| March 2017 | 110,535 |
| April 2017 | 57,058 |
| May 2017 | 63,939 |
| June 2017 | 74,999 |
| July 2017 | 65,602 |
| August 2017 | 63,852 |
| September 2017 | 66,551 |
| October 2017 | 74,006 |
| November 2017 | 76,660 |
| December 2017 | 50,561 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 5: recruitment to clinical research studies, January to December 2018
| Recruitment month and year | Number of participants |
|---|---|
| January 2018 | 66,972 |
| February 2018 | 77,654 |
| March 2018 | 70,763 |
| April 2018 | 71,401 |
| May 2018 | 79,562 |
| June 2018 | 101,583 |
| July 2018 | 78,111 |
| August 2018 | 69,173 |
| September 2018 | 79,669 |
| October 2018 | 102,418 |
| November 2018 | 80,351 |
| December 2018 | 52,956 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 6: recruitment to clinical research studies, January to December 2019
| Recruitment month and year | Number of participants |
|---|---|
| January 2019 | 77,046 |
| February 2019 | 85,854 |
| March 2019 | 95,115 |
| April 2019 | 76,893 |
| May 2019 | 75,525 |
| June 2019 | 69,448 |
| July 2019 | 70,086 |
| August 2019 | 57,268 |
| September 2019 | 63,686 |
| October 2019 | 81,183 |
| November 2019 | 71,557 |
| December 2019 | 54,106 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 7: recruitment to clinical research studies, January to December 2020
| Recruitment month and year | Number of participants |
|---|---|
| January 2020 | 74,426 |
| February 2020 | 71,698 |
| March 2020 | 69,371 |
| April 2020 | 118,865 |
| May 2020 | 164,358 |
| June 2020 | 235,733 |
| July 2020 | 166,467 |
| August 2020 | 152,595 |
| September 2020 | 187,815 |
| October 2020 | 193,757 |
| November 2020 | 219,025 |
| December 2020 | 219,465 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 8: recruitment to clinical research studies, January to December 2021
| Recruitment month and year | Number of participants |
|---|---|
| January 2021 | 235,100 |
| February 2021 | 198,865 |
| March 2021 | 200,579 |
| April 2021 | 174,143 |
| May 2021 | 162,090 |
| June 2021 | 171,082 |
| July 2021 | 173,561 |
| August 2021 | 104,394 |
| September 2021 | 116,278 |
| October 2021 | 86,524 |
| November 2021 | 93,404 |
| December 2021 | 92,956 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 9: recruitment to clinical research studies, January to December 2022
| Recruitment month and year | Number of participants |
|---|---|
| January 2022 | 95,821 |
| February 2022 | 91,643 |
| March 2022 | 108,758 |
| April 2022 | 103,638 |
| May 2022 | 83,983 |
| June 2022 | 94,282 |
| July 2022 | 78,845 |
| August 2022 | 81,659 |
| September 2022 | 86,075 |
| October 2022 | 89,064 |
| November 2022 | 112,070 |
| December 2022 | 77,792 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 10: recruitment to clinical research studies, January to December 2023
| Recruitment month and year | Number of participants |
|---|---|
| January 2023 | 82,087 |
| February 2023 | 80,451 |
| March 2023 | 100,019 |
| April 2023 | 82,115 |
| May 2023 | 89,414 |
| June 2023 | 104,076 |
| July 2023 | 93,247 |
| August 2023 | 104,386 |
| September 2023 | 88,273 |
| October 2023 | 94,272 |
| November 2023 | 100,281 |
| December 2023 | 81,339 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 11: recruitment to clinical research studies, January to March 2024
| Recruitment month and year | Number of participants |
|---|---|
| January 2024 | 91,821 |
| February 2024 | 94,866 |
| March 2024 | 94,019 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Number of participants recruited into studies by year, broken down by study type
Tables 12 to 22 below show the number of participants recruited into studies by year, broken down by study type, from April 2014 to March 2024.
The data for all tables is taken from the NIHR Clinical Research Network’s central portfolio management system.
Tables 12 to 22 include recruitment to 3 study types:
- commercial contract studies. These are studies sponsored and fully funded by the life sciences industry
- commercial collaborative studies. These are studies typically funded, wholly or in part, by the life sciences industry and sponsored by a combination of life sciences industry and non-commercial organisations. This category has previously been included in non-commercial figures but it is now being presented separately to better represent the breadth of commercial studies. Commercial collaborative studies are supported in the same way as other non-commercial studies
- non-commercial studies. These are studies sponsored and wholly funded by one or more non-commercial organisations, including medical research charities, universities and public funders such as NIHR and UK Research and Innovation
The data includes recruitment to both interventional and observational studies.
Table 12: recruitment to clinical research studies broken down by study type, April to December 2014
| Recruitment month and year | Non-commercial studies | Commercial collaborative studies | Commercial contract studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2014 | 43,173 | 5,578 | 4,376 |
| May 2014 | 66,388 | 12,326 | 2,777 |
| June 2014 | 50,265 | 6,927 | 3,171 |
| July 2014 | 48,828 | 6,187 | 3,483 |
| August 2014 | 43,815 | 5,009 | 3,497 |
| September 2014 | 47,757 | 5,369 | 3,085 |
| October 2014 | 50,973 | 7,761 | 3,702 |
| November 2014 | 45,728 | 5,678 | 3,653 |
| December 2014 | 38,317 | 5,003 | 2,883 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 13: recruitment to clinical research studies broken down by study type, January to December 2015
| Recruitment month and year | Non-commercial studies | Commercial collaborative studies | Commercial contract studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2015 | 48,852 | 5,983 | 3,489 |
| February 2015 | 54,665 | 5,675 | 3,501 |
| March 2015 | 67,630 | 6,463 | 5,152 |
| April 2015 | 46,398 | 5,491 | 3,952 |
| May 2015 | 45,736 | 5,128 | 3,268 |
| June 2015 | 52,262 | 6,359 | 5,003 |
| July 2015 | 52,094 | 6,341 | 3,318 |
| August 2015 | 65,660 | 4,992 | 2,708 |
| September 2015 | 53,527 | 6,263 | 3,506 |
| October 2015 | 51,673 | 6,508 | 3,346 |
| November 2015 | 54,737 | 7,400 | 4,340 |
| December 2015 | 35,944 | 5,501 | 2,461 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 14: recruitment to clinical research studies broken down by study type, January to December 2016
| Recruitment month and year | Non-commercial studies | Commercial collaborative studies | Commercial contract studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2016 | 41,691 | 6,574 | 2,952 |
| February 2016 | 44,330 | 7,153 | 3,415 |
| March 2016 | 46,049 | 7,676 | 3,002 |
| April 2016 | 46,580 | 6,286 | 2,972 |
| May 2016 | 51,508 | 6,409 | 3,351 |
| June 2016 | 61,073 | 6,254 | 3,002 |
| July 2016 | 46,045 | 5,596 | 2,764 |
| August 2016 | 48,837 | 5,245 | 2,940 |
| September 2016 | 50,791 | 5,029 | 4,013 |
| October 2016 | 48,241 | 5,313 | 2,841 |
| November 2016 | 54,962 | 5,560 | 3,604 |
| December 2016 | 43,086 | 4,334 | 2,908 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 15: recruitment to clinical research studies broken down by study type, January to December 2017
| Recruitment month and year | Non-commercial studies | Commercial collaborative studies | Commercial contract studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2017 | 52,886 | 5,674 | 2,694 |
| February 2017 | 51,752 | 5,208 | 3,351 |
| March 2017 | 99,600 | 6,468 | 4,467 |
| April 2017 | 48,363 | 4,920 | 3,775 |
| May 2017 | 54,453 | 5,861 | 3,625 |
| June 2017 | 65,652 | 5,645 | 3,702 |
| July 2017 | 56,161 | 5,809 | 3,632 |
| August 2017 | 53,720 | 6,230 | 3,902 |
| September 2017 | 56,392 | 6,642 | 3,517 |
| October 2017 | 58,803 | 7,150 | 8,053 |
| November 2017 | 59,785 | 6,976 | 9,899 |
| December 2017 | 41,825 | 4,981 | 3,755 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 16: recruitment to clinical research studies broken down by study type, January to December 2018
| Recruitment month and year | Non-commercial studies | Commercial collaborative studies | Commercial contract studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2018 | 56,295 | 6,907 | 3,770 |
| February 2018 | 67,389 | 7,026 | 3,239 |
| March 2018 | 59,613 | 7,229 | 3,921 |
| April 2018 | 58,101 | 9,893 | 3,407 |
| May 2018 | 65,842 | 10,130 | 3,590 |
| June 2018 | 90,507 | 7,226 | 3,850 |
| July 2018 | 65,253 | 8,034 | 4,824 |
| August 2018 | 56,754 | 7,628 | 4,791 |
| September 2018 | 64,719 | 9,524 | 5,426 |
| October 2018 | 81,222 | 15,107 | 6,089 |
| November 2018 | 64,477 | 9,960 | 5,914 |
| December 2018 | 43,264 | 6,072 | 3,620 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 17: recruitment to clinical research studies broken down by study type, January to December 2019
| Recruitment month and year | Non-commercial studies | Commercial collaborative studies | Commercial contract studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2019 | 64,392 | 7,900 | 4,754 |
| February 2019 | 73,602 | 8,027 | 4,225 |
| March 2019 | 78,586 | 12,842 | 3,687 |
| April 2019 | 65,227 | 8,619 | 3,047 |
| May 2019 | 64,321 | 8,270 | 2,934 |
| June 2019 | 58,436 | 7,384 | 3,628 |
| July 2019 | 57,487 | 8,988 | 3,611 |
| August 2019 | 46,164 | 8,027 | 3,077 |
| September 2019 | 51,515 | 9,676 | 2,495 |
| October 2019 | 65,035 | 13,081 | 3,067 |
| November 2019 | 58,227 | 9,737 | 3,593 |
| December 2019 | 43,547 | 8,062 | 2,497 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 18: recruitment to clinical research studies broken down by study type, January to December 2020
| Recruitment month and year | Non-commercial studies | Commercial collaborative studies | Commercial contract studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2020 | 60,631 | 10,273 | 3,522 |
| February 2020 | 59,870 | 9,134 | 2,694 |
| March 2020 | 61,025 | 6,653 | 1,693 |
| April 2020 | 115,845 | 2,424 | 596 |
| May 2020 | 161,882 | 2,093 | 383 |
| June 2020 | 231,322 | 3,031 | 1,380 |
| July 2020 | 158,874 | 5,974 | 1,619 |
| August 2020 | 146,518 | 4,112 | 1,965 |
| September 2020 | 180,769 | 5,629 | 1,417 |
| October 2020 | 175,345 | 10,031 | 8,381 |
| November 2020 | 197,086 | 10,666 | 11,273 |
| December 2020 | 205,579 | 9,453 | 4,433 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 19: recruitment to clinical research studies broken down by study type, January to December 2021
| Recruitment month and year | Non-commercial studies | Commercial collaborative studies | Commercial contract studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2021 | 223,132 | 6,580 | 5,388 |
| February 2021 | 190,285 | 6,573 | 2,007 |
| March 2021 | 188,380 | 10,219 | 1,980 |
| April 2021 | 159,679 | 12,641 | 1,823 |
| May 2021 | 144,032 | 11,711 | 6,347 |
| June 2021 | 158,606 | 9,939 | 2,537 |
| July 2021 | 162,320 | 8,037 | 3,204 |
| August 2021 | 93,479 | 8,438 | 2,477 |
| September 2021 | 104,652 | 9,317 | 2,309 |
| October 2021 | 73,910 | 10,407 | 2,207 |
| November 2021 | 79,500 | 11,252 | 2,652 |
| December 2021 | 84,682 | 6,125 | 2,149 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 20: recruitment to clinical research studies broken down by study type, January to December 2022
| Recruitment month and year | Non-commercial studies | Commercial collaborative studies | Commercial contract studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2022 | 86,960 | 6,681 | 2,180 |
| February 2022 | 82,369 | 6,405 | 2,869 |
| March 2022 | 97,714 | 8,093 | 2,951 |
| April 2022 | 91,085 | 8,537 | 4,016 |
| May 2022 | 70,674 | 10,166 | 3,143 |
| June 2022 | 82,982 | 9,150 | 2,150 |
| July 2022 | 67,393 | 9,077 | 2,375 |
| August 2022 | 68,433 | 10,222 | 3,004 |
| September 2022 | 72,358 | 10,821 | 2,896 |
| October 2022 | 74,041 | 11,959 | 3,064 |
| November 2022 | 93,771 | 13,873 | 4,426 |
| December 2022 | 65,879 | 8,793 | 3,120 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 21: recruitment to clinical research studies broken down by study type, January to December 2023
| Recruitment month and year | Non-commercial studies | Commercial collaborative studies | Commercial contract studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2023 | 67,678 | 10,949 | 3,460 |
| February 2023 | 64,479 | 12,045 | 3,927 |
| March 2023 | 82,690 | 10,892 | 6,437 |
| April 2023 | 69,130 | 8,885 | 4,100 |
| May 2023 | 75,632 | 9,370 | 4,412 |
| June 2023 | 82,690 | 8,525 | 12,861 |
| July 2023 | 75,273 | 8,535 | 9,439 |
| August 2023 | 82,591 | 9,036 | 12,759 |
| September 2023 | 71,893 | 8,170 | 8,210 |
| October 2023 | 68,843 | 10,785 | 14,644 |
| November 2023 | 72,188 | 11,216 | 16,877 |
| December 2023 | 49,048 | 7,820 | 24,471 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Table 22: recruitment to clinical research studies broken down by study type, January to March 2024
| Recruitment month and year | Non-commercial studies | Commercial collaborative studies | Commercial contract studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2024 | 68,659 | 10,785 | 12,377 |
| February 2024 | 71,830 | 10,266 | 12,770 |
| March 2024 | 67,475 | 11,090 | 15,454 |
Source: NIHR Clinical Research Network, central portfolio management system
Methodology and quality note
Inclusion and exclusion criteria
Recruitment is only recorded in the central portfolio management system if it meets the definitions of recruitment as outlined in the NIHR Clinical Research Network Recruitment Policy Document. For example, recruitment data is not collected for studies classified as non-consenting. These are exceptional circumstances where no form of consent can be obtained.
Only research activity with a status of confirmed and provisional is included. Research activity which is indicated as inaccurate (queried) is excluded from figures.
Confirmed status includes manually uploaded data or data from the local portfolio management system that has been confirmed as accurate by the Chief Investigator, their representative or a representative of the commercial sponsor or contract research organisation.
Provisional status is given to data from the local portfolio management system that has yet to be confirmed or that requires reconfirmation following queries.
Data source and coverage
The data has been sourced from the central portfolio management system. The central portfolio management system consists of all studies held on the Clinical Research Network portfolio, as well as some studies held on the network portfolios of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The data is recorded monthly from April 2014 to March 2024. For the purpose of the UK Clinical Research Delivery Key Performance Indicators Report, monthly snapshots are taken according to a data cut schedule. The snapshot used in this publication was taken on 21 June 2024.
Data caveats
The data does not show recruitment to the whole clinical research system, only recruitment to studies on the central portfolio management system. Therefore, this data will be an underestimate of total clinical research recruitment in the UK.
The data is not exclusive to NHS sites and includes recruitment to non-NHS sites.
While data covers the whole of the UK, data relating to studies led by devolved administrations may be incomplete. This is because they are only included in the central portfolio management system when added by the devolved administrations.
The quality of the data is dependent on the accuracy and timeliness of recruitment data being recorded in the system.
There is often a lag between activity taking place at a study site and data being recorded in the system. This means that previous months’ data may be updated retrospectively. Changes in recruitment for individual recent months should not be taken as an indication of overall trend in recruitment.
From the 2023 to 2024 financial year onwards, the data for the commercial collaborative category will be more robust. This is due to data quality improvements linked to reporting this category separately, instead of classifying activities as purely commercial or non-commercial. Not all studies will have been reviewed retrospectively and re-classified where necessary, particularly studies that had already closed.
Using the data
The data cannot be used for:
- measuring overall UK study recruitment as the data is only on studies on the central portfolio management system (not activity of the whole research environment). It is unknown what proportion of studies in the UK at that particular point in time are contributing to the figures
- comparing (portfolio) recruitment over the time. The network as an organisation and its remit has changed significantly over time. Caution should be taken with time comparisons as portfolio and associated data collection may have changed
- UK-wide data within the central portfolio management system across years. It has only been in recent years that UK-wide data for commercial (for example) has been collected into the central portfolio management system
The portfolio balance between observational studies and interventional ones will influence the numbers. For example, if at a particular time, the portfolio has some large sample size observational studies, this will affect recruitment numbers and make it difficult to compare to other years.
Recruitment from private sites may not be collected and so may not be included in the data.
If you have any questions in relation to these statistics, please contact statistics@dhsc.gov.uk.