Frequently Asked Questions by Service Providers
Here are some common questions that service and technology vendors (including CROs) need to answer before joining the Diligent Provider Community.
If your question is not shown here, please email ray.lloyd@diligentpharma.com
For FAQs by trial sponsors, please click here
As a Provider on the Diligent Platform, will we have control over what information about our company is shared with clinical trial sponsors? And what can our competitors see?
The answers that appear in your company’s qualification questionnaires or responses to VQA reports are provided by you. You can edit them at any time.
When a sponsor requests access to this information, we will notify you so that you can approve or reject their request. You also have the ability to update any details before you release request for information (RFI) answers, or a vendor qualification assessment (VQA) report, to a requesting sponsor.
Other providers are not able to see your confidential information.
Who benefits most by us using the Diligent Qualification Platform – Sponsors or Service Providers?
Both sponsors and service providers benefit from the Diligent Qualification Platform, but in different ways. You can save time and effort by streamlining your RFI completion process as well as reuse RFI details and VQA reports for multiple clients. You only have to fill the questionnaire once, and then sponsors can access that information. This allows you to reach sponsors more easily and secure more business with less resources. The provider community benefits significantly from the centralization of the qualification practices through our platform. For sponsors, it’s about speed, efficiencies around cost, but it’s also about risk mitigation. Read more about benefits of using the Diligent platform for providers here: https://www.diligentpharma.com/benefits-for-service-providers/
What are the benefits to Providers in terms of additional sales that we would not otherwise have?
Being on the Diligent Platform will potentially expose your company and the services you provide to industry leading pharma and biotech companies. This exposure and visibility could introduce you to new sponsor organizations or at a minimum increase awareness of your services. Additionally, being found on the Diligent Platform sends a message to trial sponsors that your firm acts openly, transparently and wants to help sponsors to reach contract stage more quickly.
What would be the process for us to join Diligent?
Firstly you would execute a Provider Agreement with us. Then we will grant you access to the Diligent platform and train you – plus your team if needed – on how to use it.
In the meantime, we will send you the Core RFI questionnaire in Excel format so that you can start to collect your answers. When complete, we will review and upload your answers to the platform for you. Your profile on the platform would then be complete and visible to sponsors looking to qualify service vendors. You will also be able to fill in your responses to any specific RFIs for services that you provide, either through a spreadsheet or directly in the Platform.
After we join Diligent, what happens if a trial sponsor sends us their own RFI/Qualification Questionnaire (outside of the platform)? Are we obliged to use Diligent only to answer RFI requests?
There is no restriction in our agreement to prevent you from answering an RFI outside of Diligent. We’d appreciate it if you tell other sponsors about Diligent as a faster and easier way to get complete information about service providers.
As a service provider, do we have the ability to approve release of our Request for Information (RFI) or Vendor Qualification Assessment (VQA) report before Diligent sends it to pharma and biotech trial sponsors?
Yes, control of the release of both RFIs and VQAs sits with you. Once a sponsor requests information from your profile you can update the information before you decide to release it. Sponsors do not receive anything without your approval for release.
How does a provider complete the RFI?
You will have access to the platform and will input your responses to the standard questions contained within the RFI. You can do so directly into the platform or choose to add your answers to an Excel sheet and upload that to the platform. After a review by the Diligent team, your answers will be published to the platform and available to multiple trial sponsors, with your approval.
If I use a spreadsheet, could I update it as things change?
Your RFI content is stored and managed within the Diligent platform, so no spreadsheet changes will be reflected until you input those changes into the platform. Once you update an RFI in the platform, sponsors who previously requested the relevant RFIs from you will be notified of those updates.
Referencing a central database for vendor information is only valid during the time of data collection. When Vendor key personnel and SOPs change, is another qualification required?
Every request for information (RFI) from a sponsor is sent to you. Once received, you have the opportunity to refresh the details before releasing it to the sponsor. Rather than having to recreate all the RFI content, you can focus on the areas that have changed since the previous update. This enables a resource efficient methodology for getting out the latest information.
How often do you perform assessments onsite vs questionnaire or virtual?
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, almost all of our vendor qualification assessments (VQAs) were conducted remotely. Since then, sponsors & providers have started requesting and allowing onsite VQAs. At late 2022 approximately 20% of our VQAs are being planned as onsite, face to face assessments. We can do whatever our pharma clients request as long as the provider allows onsite visitors.
Let’s talk
Contact us for a conversation about joining the Diligent Provider Community. Please fill out the form below or email Ray Lloyd at ray.lloyd@diligentpharma.com
The Diligent platform will simplify and streamline your provider selection and qualification processes