5 Strategies for Investigator and Steering Committee Meetings with Kunal Sampat

In this episode, I’m excited to share with you 5 Strategies for planning and conducting investigator and steering committee meetings.

Now that the world is starting to re-open after the COVID-19 pandemic, more sponsors are conducting in-person meetings with key opinion leaders (KOLs).

These meetings are exceptionally critical to the success of any medical product development.

The purpose of these meetings is to discuss the clinical trial strategy, clinical investigational plan, patient enrollment initiatives, publication plan, and more.

Although it entirely possible to conduct these meetings virtually (and sometimes you’re better off conducting them virtually), the focus of this episode is on in-person meetings.

But most meetings tend to be poorly organized with lack of purpose and defined objectives i.e. what is it that you hope to achieve by conducting this meeting.

If you’re directly or in-directly involved in organizing a meeting with KOLs, this episode will serve you well.

Sponsor

This podcast is brought to you by Calyx. Calyx is a trusted name in medical imaging, having delivered imaging services to meet the needs of global biopharmaceutical sponsors and clinical research organizations for over 25 years.

To learn more, visit https://www.calyx.ai/

How to Plan Investigator and Steering Committee Meetings

1. Develop a rock-solid agenda
   • Topics
     • Get clarity on the 1-2 objectives for the meeting and draft agenda keeping in mind this overarching goal 
     • Involve cross-functional team including KOLs 
     • Review and refine
   • Attendees
     • Every attendee must have a role
   • Ensure there is more discuss and less presentation
     • Sponsor should keep their presentation and introductions short and brief 

2. Create a perfect environment for your meeting 
   • Meeting Room – comfortable and convenient
   • Collateral – print meeting agenda and other meeting materials 
   • Notebook and Pens to take notes
   • Tent cards – Avery
   • Room set-up – U-shaped for smaller meetings

3. Plan for things to go wrong
   • Audio Visual
     • Perform a dry run at least an hour before the meeting
   • Conduct practice sessions with first time speakers 
   • Meeting is running late because one or more topics on the agenda took more time than expected
     • Ensure amount of time you’re spending on a topic is aligned with the agenda
     • If topics are taking more time, adjust as needed and ensure meeting ends on time 
   • Preferred meal choice is not available
     • Platters/ meal box 

4. Prioritize quality meals
   • Gourmet meals/ seafood – $100 per person 
   • Ensure there is at least one vegetarian option
   • Keep beverage selection to simple (water, red wine, white wine)

5. Take good meeting minutes
   • Document key decisions and action items
   • Distribute notes with the meeting attendees
   • Have a plan to review and follow-up on open action items 

Bonus tip – take a group photo with all meeting attendees (Sponsor and KOLs) after the meeting.

You can then share this photo with others in your organization and/or the study newsletter.