Sponsor Engagement Tool Application Release Notes

The Sponsor Engagement tool is regularly updated and refined

New changes, improvements and fixes are released into the Sponsor Engagement Tool on a regular basis. The updates may address a part of the system that is broken, improve backend performance or introduce new functionality to meet the needs of Sponsor Engagement Tool users.

The Sponsor Engagement Tool development team works in an Agile methodology, meaning that we are adaptive, collaborative and cross-functional to implement change in the Sponsor Engagement Tool application. The team works together with the Business Analysts and software developers in order to deliver the best possible system for our users.

Below is a list of feature releases in Sponsor Engagement since it was launched in December 2023.

Major Releases in Sponsor Engagement Tool

SET 1.0 - December 2023 - Launch of Sponsor Engagement Tool application
SET 2.0 - November 2024 - Introduction of direct CPMS data update functionality
SET 3.0 - May 2025 - Improved contact management

SE 3.3 - 11 March 2026

Links to the DHSC T&Cs and the NIHR website in the Sponsor Engagement email templates have been updated to point to the new updated pages on the NIHR website
The link to the Sponsor Dashboard in the Open Data Platform has been updated to point to the newest version of the dashboard
An issue with the link to the Sponsor dashboard not appearing for some users has been fixed

SE 3.2 - 14 January 2026

Links to the DHSC T&Cs and the NIHR website in the Sponsor Engagement email templates have been updated to point to the new updated pages on the NIHR website
Improvements to the accessibility and security of the Sponsor Engagement application

SE 3.1 - 16 July 2025

Fix applied to allow users to logout if they have tried to login without a correct account in the Sponsor Engagement Tool (usually if they have used a different email from that which they received an invitation for to make assessments)
Fix applied to replace old CRN service desk email addresses displayed on error pages with RDN email addresses
Display of study information has been updated to remove a redundant row for Chief Investigator where this role is not relevant for commercial studies.

SE 3.0 - 7 May 2025

A major deployment of the Sponsor Engagement Tool with new functionality to allow:

Sponsors and delegates to manage their own organisation’s representatives (The 'User guidance' document has been updated)
Sponsors and delegates to assess and update studies that are based solely in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (i.e. studies that do not include English sites)
Display a warning if invitation emails to new contacts are not delivered
Display a user's last login date
Display the number of days a study has been ‘due’ for assessment in order to support compliance with the DHSC NIHR RDN Portfolio T&Cs.
Updates to improve navigation and UI text content
Prevent RTT concerns from being flagged if the study has been open for less than 90 days

SE 2.1 - 12 March 2025

Improvements to accessibility to resolve compliance issues identified by The Shaw Trust in testing.
Bug fix to formatting of footers in emails generated by the Sponsor Engagement Tool

CPMS 5.32.1 - 26 November 2024

The previous RTT calculation made in CPMS did not take into consideration whether the study had already met its recruitment target. When the study's planned closure date is in the past, it was possible that the calculation could return an RTT concern - that would be sent to and displayed in the Sponsor Engagement Tool - even if the recruitment target had been met.

SE 2.0 - 20 November 2024

NEW FUNCTIONALITY!

Sponsor Engagement Tool for studies on the NIHR RDN Portfolio

In response to user feedback, and in order to support sponsors in meeting the expectations outlined in the DHSC policy ‘Terms & Conditions for NIHR support’, the Sponsor Engagement Tool has been developed with new and improved functionality. The new version of the tool enables Sponsors (and their delegates where appropriate) to have improved visibility, oversight and control of the data the RDN holds on the sponsor organisation’s portfolio of studies.

Sponsors (or CROs or CTOs as appropriate) are now able to directly provide (ie., enter once) key study information (UK key dates, study status and target) to the NIHR RDN via the Sponsor Engagement Tool, as well as the required assessment of progress. The Sponsor Engagement Tool and CPMS are linked and so as long as the information is entered into one of these systems, RDN data will be updated accordingly.

Engagement with the tool, and ensuring that the data the RDN holds is up-to-date, supports users of RDN data (including DHSC and NHS England) with data-driven decision-making. More accurate data also enables Sponsors (and delegates) with efficient planning and placement activities for future studies. RDN-held data (along with other sources) is used to help generate a picture of research being delivered in the UK and enables the research community to work in partnership to deliver a healthy portfolio of studies.

The tool is available via assessmystudy.nihr.ac.uk and is accessible to study sponsor contacts and delegates from Contract Research Organisations (CROs) and Clinical Trial Units (CTUs).

Sponsors and their delegates will be asked to review their study data, provide updates on key data points where necessary, and provide study assessments at least every three months in line with the Terms and Conditions for NIHR Clinical Research Network support.

A suite of materials is available to support the use of the Sponsor Engagement Tool on the NIHR Learn platform.

SE 1.8 - 15 October 2024

Bug fix to prevent the authentication system from removing the role required by Sponsors to be able to access the ODP dashboard.

SE 1.7 - 18 September 2024

We implemented a button to "Access dashboard" of ODP data. This button is only available to Sponsor Contacts, not to CRO or CTU delegates as data in the dashboard is for all studies associated with the Sponsor's organisation and CRO/CTU contacts can work across multiple organisations.

Further bug fixes were applied to resolve issues with new user login where those new users have not previously held any other account on the NIHR identity gateway authentication system.

SE 1.6 - 31 July 2024

We implemented a banner facility to enable the RDN team to publish messages directly to users on the study list page.

Bug fixes were applied to resolve issues with new user login where those new users have not previously held any other account on the NIHR identity gateway authentication system.

SE 1.5 - 3 July 2024

Google Analytics has been implemented to allow the NIHR RDN to gain insights about how users interact with the Sponsor Engagement tool.

To support this implementation, a cookie banner has been added to Sponsor Engagement so that users can approve or reject additional cookies for Google Analytics according to their preference.

The cookie policy for Sponsor Engagement is available for review on this website: Sponsor Engagement Cookie Policy

SE 1.4 - 3 April 2024

New functionality was added for Sponsor Contacts to download data displayed on the study list page as an Excel spreadsheet for offline use within their organisations.

On the login page links have been provided to policies relating to information governance and use of the Sponsor Engagement Tool:

Some updates have been made to change references to the Clinical Research Network (CRN) to the Research Delivery Network (RDN). There will be further updates as links to related or external information are revised over the coming months.

SE 1.3 - 12 January 2024

The Sponsor Engagement Tool no longer includes studies with the status “Closed to Recruitment, In follow-up”. These had been intentionally included in the original design but that rationale has been reviewed and is no longer considered necessary.

On 10 January, the task to email all sponsor contacts with studies in need of assessment was executed for the first time. This task will be run again every three months, approximately one month before each quarterly data cut.

SE 1.2 - 21 December 2023

Bug fix to remove the “Due” for assessment flag from a study in the study list and study details page after recruitment concerns have been resolved.

Sponsor Engagement Dashboard in ODP - 20 December 2023

There is now a dedicated dashboard on the Open Data Platform (ODP) called ‘Sponsor Engagement’ located in the ‘Study Assessment’ stream of Qlik Sense.

Network teams can use it to view information held in the tool, and any assessments and comments provided by Sponsors and their delegates.

This dashboard contains commercially sensitive information, therefore if you are not able to view this app and you need to, please ask your Industry Operations Manager (IOM) / Chief Operating Officer (COO) to email inforequest@nihr.ac.uk confirming you should have access.

SE 1.1 - 19 December 2023

You can now:

change the sort order of the study list: with “Due” assessments first, or by assessment date (ascending/descending)
Search the study list by CPMS ID - functionality specifically requested in feedback during testing

Improved security and data logging features have also been added in the background. You will automatically be logged out if the system is idle for more than 30 minutes.

SE 1.0 - 8 December 2023

Initial Production deployment of the new Sponsor Engagement Tool

The Research Reset programme closed earlier this year, with 80% of open studies on the NIHR Clinical Research Network’s (CRN) Portfolio delivering to time and target and a huge exercise to clean up the data. We, together with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, want to thank everyone in the R&D community for their tremendous efforts in this achievement.

We are now leading a transformative programme of work which will build on the success of Research Reset. It will bring together the people, systems and processes to further cement and evolve our ways of working with sponsors and their delegates.

The programme will focus on two main areas: transforming the approach to NIHR CRN Portfolio Oversight and improving Start-up and Initiation services.

New system to help you meet Terms and Conditions for NIHR CRN Portfolio support

Throughout the Research Reset programme, we asked sponsors and their delegates to use the Reset Online Tool to update us at the NIHR CRN about their study progress. We received a lot of feedback about the usability of the tool.

Following this feedback we have co-designed a new Sponsor Engagement Tool with stakeholders. It has undergone extensive user-testing to ensure it enables sponsors and their delegates to efficiently and effectively manage their studies and provide NIHR CRN with study updates, in line with the recently published Terms and Conditions for NIHR CRN support [PDF document download].

What does this mean for you?

The new tool is available now. Any previous assessments provided on the Reset Online Tool will have been transferred over. You will be asked to provide study assessments every three months.

Please log in as soon as possible to familiarise yourself with the new Tool, and provide assessments for any listed studies that may need updating.

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