TranspariMED: Clinical trial transparency tools

TranspariMED’s Clinical trial transparency tools page brings together practical resources to help universities improve how they register and report clinical trials. It is designed for academic institutions running investigator‑initiated studies and focuses on making trial registration, results reporting and registry data management more complete and reliable. It strives to make clinical trial transparency a routine, institution‑wide practice rather than an optional extra for individual studies.
The page can be read as serving three main audiences:

• Researchers and university teams
• Policy makers
• Funders
• Researchers and university teams

For researchers, trial units and research support offices, the page provides the QUEST clinical trial reporting manual for universities, a step‑by‑step guide to achieving regulatory compliance and high‑quality registry entries, and the QUEST workshop package with ready‑to‑use slides and materials for a one‑day institutional workshop. It also offers a slide presentation on “How to get all clinical trials reported” and case studies from the Universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen, showing how institutions have audited their portfolios, improved registration and results posting, and aligned practices with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Policy makers
For policy makers, the site links to a clinical trial transparency guide and a policy brief on how the United Kingdom is reducing research waste, illustrating concrete policy levers to strengthen trial registration and reporting. These materials show how national‑level rules and expectations can drive better disclosure of clinical trial results and reduce hidden or delayed data.

Funders
For funders, the page highlights the World Health Organization best practices checklist for funders and several examples from major funders and councils, including the Health Research Council of New Zealand, the UK Medical Research Council, the United States National Institutes of Health and Cancer Research UK. These resources focus on clinical trial audits, chasing up missing results, following up with researchers and promoting formats such as Registered Reports, helping funding organisations set and monitor clear expectations for trial transparency.

The tool shows through case studies from University of Edinburgh and University of Aberdeen), where current registration, results posting and registry data management fall short of best practice and how institutions can improve.