The Institute of Clinical Research

What The Institute of Clinical Research does

The Institute of Clinical Research (ICR) is a UK-based, membership-led professional association that provides training, networking, and continuing professional development (CPD) services to clinical research professionals. Founded in 1974 as the Association for Clinical Research in the Pharmaceutical Industry (ACRPI) and rebranded to its current form, it operates as a company limited by guarantee from Shaftesbury, Dorset, with 11-50 employees. Its core offerings are an individual membership programme (tiered from Early Careers at £10/year to Fellow at £150/year, with designatory post-nominals MICR and FICR), a Company Membership Scheme launched in October 2025 (tiered £800-£5,000+/year), a portfolio of 12+ accredited training courses (GCP, monitoring, project management, statistics, medical devices, inspection readiness), forums and special interest groups including the long-running Ethics & GCP Forum, regional events across the UK, and an annual conference scheduled for April 2026 in Birmingham.

ICR's go-to-market is community-led and primarily distributed through its website (icr-global.org), with face-to-face training delivered at Moor Hall Conference Centre in Berkshire and online delivery for most one-day courses. Revenue is generated through recurring annual membership fees (individual and company), training course fees, and conference/event registration. The organisation is governed by up to 12 volunteer Board Directors drawn from pharma, biotech, CRO, and academia, and operates without any disclosed technology product layer - it is a professional association rather than a software platform. Strategic priorities are aligned to the UK government's commercial clinical trials agenda following the O'Shaughnessy review, with an RCHT NHS partnership (October 2024), a new Decentralised Clinical Trials SIG, and a refreshed board mandate in 2025 to re-establish ICR as the UK's foremost clinical research professional body.

Name

The Institute of Clinical Research

Legal name

The Institute of Clinical Research

Website

https://icr-global.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Institute of Clinical Research is a UK-based membership association providing training, CPD, and networking for clinical research professionals, with individual and company membership tiers, an accredited course portfolio, and annual forums and conferences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Training and Membership Services

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAOAJAO

Clinical Research Support (CRC/CTA)

Education/Vocational, Technical & Trade Education/Healthcare Allied & Clinical Support Training

SECONDARYHLAGACAF

Investigator & Site Training / GCP Support

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Life Science Tools & Services (CRO/CDMO/Lab Services)/Clinical Trial Services & Site Management (SMO)

Keywords

• Clinical research training
• Professional membership association
• Continuing professional development
• Clinical trial education
• Regulatory affairs training

Headquarters

HQ city

Maidenhead

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Membership Fees: Annual membership fees charged to clinical research professionals at various tiers (ECCR, Affiliate, Professional, Fellow, Honorary Fellow, Retired). Membership is portable and transfers when members change employer or role.
2. Company Membership Fees: Annual fees based on number of employees joining, with tiered pricing from 10-20 members (£800) up to 300+ members (price on application). Provides benefits including reduced-cost training, forums, and free online events.
3. Training Course Fees: Revenue from face-to-face classroom training, online training, and client-hosted/bespoke training programs. Courses include 1-day, 2-day, and 3-day formats covering various clinical research topics. Certificate exams and CPD points also available.
4. Conference Revenue: Annual conference events including early bird registration rates and standard registration fees. The 2026 conference is scheduled for April 13-14 in Birmingham.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Institute of Clinical Research (The ICR) is a UK-based membership-led professional association that provides training, networking, and continuing professional development for clinical research professionals. It sells individual and corporate memberships, a portfolio of GCP and clinical trial training courses (delivered face-to-face and online), an annual conference, regional events, and forums/special interest groups focused on UK clinical trial regulation.

Product overview

The Institute of Clinical Research (The ICR) is a membership-led independent association offering a comprehensive portfolio of products and services for clinical research professionals. The core offering centers on its Membership Program (with tiers from Early Careers to Fellow level) and Training Courses Portfolio (A01-N01 series covering GCP, monitoring, project management, data management, medical devices, and more). The portfolio includes Forums and Special Interest Groups (Ethics & GCP Forum, DCT SIG), an Annual Conference, Regional Events, and a CPD Program with downloadable tools. A Company Membership Scheme provides organizational access with tiered pricing. The organization delivers training via face-to-face sessions at Moor Hall Conference Centre and online, with sessions scheduled throughout 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ICR Individual Membership Program
• Company Membership Scheme
• ICR Training Courses Portfolio Suite of clinical research training courses covering Introduction to Clinical Trials, Clinical Trial Monitoring, GCP Certification, Trial Master File Management, Project Management, Vendor Oversight, Data Management, Statistics, Medical Device Investigations, Inspection Readiness, Principal Investigator Training, and Managed Access Programs.
• Face-to-Face and Online Training Calendar Scheduled training events throughout the year delivered in-person at Moor Hall Conference Centre, Cookham, Berkshire, and online, with both standard and bespoke/client-hosted training options.
• Forums and Special Interest Groups Professional forums with expert talks and member-led Special Interest Groups including the Decentralized Clinical Trials (DCT) SIG co-chaired by Dr Graham Wylie and Stacey Edmondson, and the Project Management SIG.
• Ethics and GCP Forum Flagship forum held for over 20 years delivering regulatory updates from the HRA, MHRA and industry speakers, run online in autumn and in-person in spring annually.
• ICR Annual Conference Annual conference bringing together the UK clinical research community to educate, network, and promote the Institute, scheduled for April 13-14, 2026 in Birmingham.
• Regional Events Program Regional half-day or full-day in-person events throughout the UK covering London, South, North, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, focusing on UK CTR, GCP R3 updates, ICR initiatives, and industry hot topics.
• Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program CPD program providing members with structured tools including an activities planner, career planner, CPD framework, audit scheme, points table, and record card templates, supporting professional qualification maintenance.

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2024ICR announced a new collaboration with the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust to deliver bespoke clinical trial training to NHS staff. The training aims to provide staff with the skills and knowledge necessary to lead high-quality research, as identified as a priority in the O'Shaughnessy report. This partnership supports the UK government's agenda to restore global leadership in clinical trials.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Drug Information Association (DIA): Global life-sciences membership and conference organization serving regulatory, R&D, and clinical research professionals. Broader in scope than ICR but competes directly for training, conferences, and member engagement in clinical research and GCP topics.
• Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS): Global membership body for regulatory professionals in healthcare products, with overlapping training and certification offerings in clinical and GCP-related regulatory topics. Broader scope than ICR but targets an adjacent professional audience with similar delivery model.
• Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (FPM): UK professional membership body for pharmaceutical physicians offering training, qualifications, and policy work. Adjacent UK professional body serving pharmaceutical/clinical research professionals with overlapping educational mission.

Direct peers

• CITI Program: Web-based training provider offering GCP, clinical research, and biomedical research courses widely used by universities and NHS institutions. Competes directly with ICR's training courses on the same subject matter at lower price points.
• Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP): Global non-profit membership body for clinical research professionals offering individual certifications (CCRA, CCRC), training, and member benefits. Most direct international peer to ICR with a similar professional-association model and overlapping GCP/training curriculum.
• Society for Clinical Research Associates (SoCRA): US-based non-profit membership organization for clinical research professionals offering CCRP certification, GCP training courses, and an annual conference. Closely comparable membership-led model serving the same professional audience as ICR.
• Research Quality Association (RQA): UK-based international membership association promoting quality in research, particularly in clinical and pharmaceutical research. Strongly comparable as a UK-headquartered professional body offering training, forums, and certification to a similar research-quality audience, with multiple shared board members.

Regional players

• National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR): UK government-funded clinical research infrastructure body funding and supporting clinical trials across the NHS. UK-geography peer serving the same clinical research professional audience; complements but also competes with ICR for training and CPD delivery in the NHS.
• NHS R&D Forum: UK network for R&D managers and clinical research staff in the NHS, offering events, training, and policy engagement. Operates in the same UK NHS clinical-research training space as ICR with an overlapping member base.

Emerging players

• PRAXIS (clinical research training): Provider of clinical research and pharmaceutical training courses, particularly for GCP and CRA skills. Competes with ICR's training course portfolio in the same UK and European markets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/icrtweets

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Institute of Clinical Research