Canadian Consortium of Clinical Trial Training (CANTRAIN) platform: enhancing career preparedness in RCT research targeting different audiences across the continuum

COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance for Canada to have the capacity to run large clinical trials and no longer be only reactive but responsive in leading with increase capacity and quality. We are responding and proposing to create the The Canadian Consortium of Clinical Trial Training (CANTRAIN) Platform, a 9- province consortium to address the critical need for training clinical trial highly qualified personnel to fill the gap that presently exists across our public institutions and biotechnology industries. The overarching goals are to HARMONIZE, ENHANCE, INNOVATE, and SUSTAIN the quality and capacity of clinical research professionals, clinical trialists and coalition partners through an accessible platform co-created from multi-jurisdictional and multi-institutional collaborations. CANTRAIN will cater to different learner profiles a) trial to operations for clinical research professionals; b) design and analysis for clinicians and methodologists; and c) a stream dedicated to training various coalition-partners such as patients, indigenous community and equity-seeking groups, patient organizations, decision and policy makers, and science journalist and social media reporters. Across the streams, we will focus on EDI and sex-gender with progress-plus considerations. CANTRAIN includes EDI mentors, patient partners and knowledge mobilizer, enhancing our ability to break down barriers and build a larger, more diverse workforce critical to high quality and efficient clinical trial research. CANTRAIN adopts an equitable, diversified and inclusive collaborative approach at a National level (East, West, and Maritime provinces), achieving a Pan-Canadian team for clinical trial training, mentoring and networking. CANTRAIN will be flexible to facilitate multi-institutional expertise, mentorship engaging with diverse communities such as First Nations and practice-based settings, with respect of the Canadian diversity.