SCRS Talks, hosted by the Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS), is a platform for clinical research industry professionals to hear about valuable information shaping the research industry today. These short interviews will provide new perspectives and insights on pressing topics, current events, and the research community.
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Lauren Stockwell sits down with Rick Greenfield, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of RealTime eClinical Solutions, to talk about three awards making their debut at the 2026 Global Site Solutions Summit Eagle Awards Gala.
Rick and Lauren break down what each award is looking for, from the best exhibit booth in the hall to the person who best embodies the spirit of the summit itself. The bulk of the conversation centers on the Bright Idea Award, which is open to anyone across sites, sponsors, CROs, and vendors who has a solution worth sharing with the industry. Rick also makes a case for why participant experience is one of the biggest areas ripe for a fresh idea.
If you are heading to Global this October and have been sitting on an idea or just want to know what to look forward to at the gala, this is a quick and worthwhile listen.
Lauren Stockwell
Welcome to SCRS Talks, provided by the Society of Clinical Research Sites. I'm Lauren Stockwell, associate director of education and engagement at SCRS. And today I am joined by our wonderful guest, Rick Greenfield, founder and chief strategy officer of RealTime eClinical Solutions. Today, we are excited to dive into all things Summit Standout Awards, and how you or your organization could get honored at the 2026 Global Summit EAGLE Awards Gala. Rick, welcome.
Rick Greenfield
Hey, Lauren. Great to talk with you, and honestly, really excited to talk about the Standout Awards. And, you and I kind of had this idea to get it out there and let people know about these awards so they can know that, there's an opportunity to be recognized at SCRS, so looking forward to the convo.
Lauren Stockwell
This year at the 2026 Eagle Awards Gala, we're so excited to present three standout awards. Starting things off, we're gonna have the Best Exhibit Design award. That's gonna be showcasing the best exhibit booth inside of that exhibit hall. Next, we have the Summit Spirit award. This one is awarded to a dedicated community member who really adds to the celebratory spirit of the summit itself. And finally, we're gonna do the Bright Idea award. and this is something that I know Realtime is really passionate about, so I'll let you give us that context, Rick. But first and foremost, what excited you most about when you first heard about this Summit Standout Awards concept?
Rick Greenfield
I've been coming to the SCRS Global Conference for more years than I can count. It's by far always been my favorite conference. I just love the spirit of it. And so being able to recognize, other folks like myself that come to the conference with just a lot of passion and put a lot of energy into it and bring a lot of value, I think is just a great initiative, and I'm so excited that, you know, myself and Realtime can be a part of it.
Lauren Stockwell
It's been really fun to be able to collaborate with you and decide all these different incredible honorees, and really be able to celebrate them in that moment. So let's talk a little bit about that Summit Spirit award, right? the most recent winner of that is Dan Kearney. We have several individuals who have won that award, which is such an incredible one. Have you ever walked around those halls and really witnessed a Summit Spirit, moment? Just it doesn't have to be a specific person, but a moment, someone who just lit up the room or an interaction that just lit up the room that you'll never forget.
Rick Greenfield
I don't know that I could pick out just one, and I don't even know if it'd be fair to do that. when I'm there, I see people that have this passion, this glow, and yes, I could name a lot of names, and I could share a lot of moments where people have lit up rooms and really just brought passion, and it's infectious. I think we all feed off of it, and it's what really makes this conference great.
Lauren Stockwell
Yeah. I agree. And I think it's so funny, as a past attendee of this summit, I loved that we honored the Spirit of the Summit award. I thought that was such a cool concept in the sense of like, we get to celebrate somebody who is literally embodying what we want this summit to feel like. And that on its own, placing energy into honoring that, is so wonderful because then we perpetuate that emotion, and we perpetuate that vibe and perpetuate that feeling. So Global has definitely become Quite an energy booster. I don't know if it's for just me, but it's for you hopefully too, and for others listening on the line.
Rick Greenfield
I just have to say a lot of times it comes from folks like you, the SCRS team. You guys bring it, and we honestly just feed off of what you're bringing to the conference every single year. So I gotta give you guys a ton of credit.
Lauren Stockwell
That's very sweet of you to say, and it's probably the Hawaiian shirts, honestly. Um- that does it. All right, let's talk a little bit about that Bright Idea Award, right? We're bringing it back. It- it happened two years ago, and we're shifting the narrative just a little bit this year. So tell me a little bit more about what the vision behind the Bright Idea Award is for you.
Rick Greenfield
I like to think that I have at least tried to bring bright ideas to this industry, and, I've sort of facilitated that through RealTime and the innovations that RealTime has brought to sites in the industry. But, I don't want people to think that this is technology specific. there are so many areas, and a lot of the content sessions at SCRS are these opportunities where we can talk about challenges, problems, and I think every single one of those is an opportunity for someone to stand up with- with a great idea. Something they've implemented at their site or, you know, again, could be sponsor, CRO, vendor, doesn't matter. Someone who has, really come up with a great solution and is willing to share that with everybody so we can all implement that solution and- and grow from it. So we really just want people to think outside the box and know that, it's a wide open award that we're really just looking for anyone who's bringing a great idea. So we're hoping people will, submit those ideas to us so we can evaluate them, and then we're gonna select the big idea for the conference, and we're gonna recognize that- that person or that company on stage.
Lauren Stockwell
Wonderful. And I know in the description of that Bright Idea Award, we talk a lot about what do you think would bring the biggest impact on clinical research processes, right? And so that's such a big canvas. If you could wave a magic wand and solve one issue, and have somebody approach you with this magic, bullet of an idea, what fresh idea would you want somebody to bring to you?
Rick Greenfield
If I had to pick, if I had to pick, you know, I believe one area that we need to continue to grow as an industry is around participant engagement, and really helping to make sure that participants have excellent experiences in clinical trials. And, it's not self-serving necessarily. I mean, of course having great experiences participants will stay in studies, so retention rates and all these things can happen as a result of that. But I just think it's important that when people give their time, their bodies, to clinical research, that we respect that, we honor that, and we make sure that it's a great experience for them.
Lauren Stockwell
I completely agree. Okay. And I think that that would be a wonderful bright idea to bring to the table. So you heard it here, folks. First please come to, come to the RealTime booth and submit your bright idea around patient engagement and patient recruitment efforts. So what would you say to these people if they're listening on the line, and maybe it's their first time attending, or maybe they've attended several times, but maybe they haven't spoken up necessarily, or maybe they've spoken up and raised their hand every single time they can, and they have this bright idea. What would you say to them to maybe inspire them to share it?
Rick Greenfield
I mean, I hope that they're inspired just from the fact that, you know, their idea could really make a difference in our industry. And I- but I think it does come down to being willing to raise your hand, you know, whether it be in a session or, you know, in conversation at SCRS, and to really make sure you're sharing the idea, and we can hear it, and we can learn from it, and we can all grow from it. So just You know, I would just say don't, don't be afraid to be that vocal person that is, sharing your ideas and your thoughts. You know, hey, there are no bad ideas, right? So I think we're there to listen and learn and grow and hopefully everybody who comes is, is wanting to be a part of that.
Lauren Stockwell
Yeah. Absolutely. All right. So what would you say, as somebody listening on the line, is your one-sentence pitch to get people excited to be at Global this October? This is the cornerstone event of our SCRS summit season, and we wanna make sure that we're so excited to share all the wonderful things that we have built to, to have wonderful conversations. We've added more networking this year. What is your one-sentence pitch?
Rick Greenfield
SCRS Global is where sites have the loudest voice. And sponsors, CROs, and vendors are there to listen, learn, and solve for the complex challenges that sites face. So bring your passion, ideas, and amazing spirit to SCRS. You won't be disappointed.
Lauren Stockwell
Mm. That's a good one. We need to put that on an ad somewhere on LinkedIn or something. That was awesome, Rick. It's definitely something that I'm so excited for. I know the entire team at SCRS is so excited to celebrate our industry. This is going to be our 20th anniversary of the Global Site Solutions Summit. Oh. So there is even more to celebrate this year than ever before. So we are very excited to bring sites, sponsors, CROs, and s- solution providers to the table so everybody can have really meaningful conversations. So I wanna thank you so very much again, Rick. We're really excited to celebrate with those standout awards at the Eagle Awards gala this year. And we appreciate your time today.
Rick Greenfield
Absolutely. Thank you, Lauren, and we will see you there.
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