Research & Clinical Trials

Clinical trial setup performance and research activity across the Shelford Group

The 150-day target: The government's Life Sciences Sector Plan commits to reducing clinical trial setup time to under 150 days by March 2026 — from regulatory submission to first participant recruited. The 150-day clock comprises three stages: MHRA/HRA approval (target: 60 days), site opening after approval (target: 60 days), and first participant recruited after site opening (target: 30 days). The data below relates to the site-level component: whether studies recruited their first participant within 90 days of HRA approval. This is a key NIHR Research Delivery Network performance metric, with funding implications for trusts.

Trial Setup Summary – Shelford Group

Source: NIHR Open Data Platform. Latest period: 12 months to February 2026. Previous period: 12 months to December 2025.

Total Studies Recruiting (Latest)
175
Across all 10 trusts, 12 months to Feb 2026
First Participant Within 90 Days
76
43.4% of studies met the benchmark
Shelford 90-Day Achievement Rate
43.4%
Up from 30.3% previous period · NIHR target: 80%

Trust-Level Trial Setup Performance

Source: NIHR Open Data Platform, 12 months to February 2026. Change column shows percentage point difference from previous period (12 months to December 2025).

TrustTotal StudiesWithin 90 DaysAfter 90 Days% Within 90dMedian DaysChange (pp)

First Participant Recruited Within 90 Days (% to Target)

Source: NIHR Open Data Platform. Latest: 12 months to February 2026. Previous: 12 months to December 2025. NIHR target is 80%.

Study Volume and Setup Performance by Trust

Source: NIHR Open Data Platform, 12 months to February 2026.

Source: Shelford Group data collection, 12 months to December 2025. Each bar shows the split between studies that recruited within 90 days (teal) and those that took longer (grey).

Future Additions

Planned data for future updates

This page will be expanded as additional research performance data becomes available. Potential additions include: