Arizona State University builds a research management
platform to feed its next wave of scientific breakthroughs
To boost research study participation and optimize operations, Arizona State University (ASU) collaborated with Neudesic to develop a centralized app for recruitment and management.
Challenge
Multiple processes, tools, and databases at ASU created hurdles in recruiting and managing a varied group of participants essential for progressing academic research.
Solution
Neudesic's specialists devised and built "Research Plus Me" – a platform for recruiting, overseeing, and compensating research participants.
Result
Boosted participation, lowered expenses, and expedited cycles for the college's academic studies.
"Neudesic came in on budget—early—so we were even able to add some features. Overall, the experience has been fantastic."
—Dr. Brown, Director, Arizona Board of Regents
An opportunity to do more, faster
Every year, ASU conducts about 3,000 research studies requiring participants. Each study could have hundreds or even thousands of people taking part. Drew talked to researchers from many colleges and found some recurring challenges.
Each study is different. Every researcher had their own way of choosing or turning down participants. Some had trouble getting enough people, while others didn't have a mix of different people.
To compound the issue, the administrative overhead and requirements of running a study created compliance requirements and costs. Payments were a burden, and the sensitive data collected while onboarding participants were kept under lock and key. Instead of pre-screening for and marketing to eligible participants, the panel organizers felt like they were essentially starting over every time.
The university had clear goals to get more people involved:
- Align the needs of different schools and their mixed subjects with a single solution.
- Grow the number and diversity of participants for upcoming research.
- Reduce the work needed to run a study, like paying participants and connecting with them.
- Keep participant information safe, following rules and best practices.
Finding the right partner
Drew convened a steering committee made up of stakeholders from various schools within ASU. After evaluating six qualified partners, they selected Neudesic, a Microsoft Global Partner of the Year for Modernizing Apps, known for its proven track record in the healthcare and medical sectors.
"To be able to operate at that scale with that level of sensitivity was important to us because we wanted something that worked for researchers and participants, as much as it worked for us. Neudesic had a portfolio that proved they could do that for us"
Neudesic develops the Research Plus Me platform
1 - Defining the problem
To address a 'mountain-sized wish list,' Neudesic’s product-design specialists collaborated intimately with the ASU team. They pinpointed the primary challenges faced by staff and participants. Through a sequence of design-thinking workshops and interviews, they subsequently identified and prioritized features and functionalities that would deliver the greatest value and immediate impact.
2 - Designing a solution
Neudesic and ASU designed and developed a platform called Research Plus Me to recruit, manage, and incentivize research participation.
"I've been involved in many interdisciplinary conversations where it feels like everyone's speaking a different language. That didn’t happen with Neudesic’s IDX team in their workshops. We had everyone seeing the same problem, speaking the same language, and envisioning a similar solution. That was cool to see."
| Challenges | Solutions |
|---|---|
| Ad hoc data collection across colleges, siloed participant information | Centralized research management web app, called Research Plus Me |
| Collecting, securing, and finding participant data across multiple colleges | Scalable, HIPAA-compliant and secure database for housing and searching participant data |
| Recruiting participants for future studies | Automated marketing emails to existing participants eligible for a given study; portal to find and sign up for studies |
| Manual costs and time associated with releasing payments | Capture and facilitate payment through gift card provider |
3 - Fast-tracking development with Hydra
To build the Research Plus Me platform in record time, ASU needed a cheat code. To help, Neudesic used its proprietary Hydra accelerator, a development engine for swiftly building custom applications using pre-made templates. Instead of spending time building out the framework of the platform, ASU and Neudesic set out to focus on the features users needed. As a result, Hydra dramatically sped up the development of Research Plus Me. Learn more →
An app fueling the next wave of research at ASU
Neudesic helped the top-ranked university for innovation replace its cumbersome and disjointed process. The application streamlined participant recruitment and automated essential procedures. Benefits include:
- Increase in participants registering for research studies
- Decrease in time for research teams to reach their participation goals
- Decrease in research team costs associated with recruitment
- Remove extra steps for researchers
- Increase in participant diversity
“Neudesic understood our needs. They stepped into our world and translated those needs into a workable system.”