Members

WHO / Laurent Chambost
WHO colleagues Jaber Amine Belkhiria and Dr Emilie Peron at the 78th World Health Assembly at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on 19 May 2025.

Membership

GCTF membership is open to stakeholder organisations committed to strengthening clinical trial ecosystem.

Members contribute to implementation of World Health Assembly resolution WHA75.8, WHO’s Guidance for Best Practices for Clinical Trials and the Global Action Plan for Clinical Trial Ecosystem Strengthening.

Through GCTF, members can engage by disseminating WHO guidance and related resources, supporting stakeholder engagement and advocacy at national or regional level, and sharing knowledge and experience with other organisations working to strengthen clinical trial ecosystems.

Who can join?

The following types of stakeholder organisations may apply to join GCTF:

academic institutions,
government agencies,
intergovernmental organisations,
non-governmental organisations,
patient and community engagement organisations,
philanthropic foundations, and
private sector associations.

Why join?

GCTF membership provides an opportunity to:

contribute to implementation of WHA75.8 and related WHO actions,
collaborate with organisations working across clinical trial ecosystems,
participate in thematic working groups,
share knowledge, tools and implementation experience,
support dissemination and uptake of WHO guidance,
contribute to global, regional and country-level dialogue on clinical trial strengthening, and
receive GCTF updates and member communications.

Eligibility

Organisations applying to join GCTF should:

be committed to implementation of WHA75.8,
have aims and purposes consistent with the WHO Constitution and WHO policies,
respect the intergovernmental nature of WHO and the decision-making authority of Member States,
work actively and internationally in clinical trials or clinical research strengthening,
have proven experience and expertise in the subject matter for at least three years,
have an established structure, constitutive act and accountability mechanism,
if a membership organisation, have authority to speak for its participants and have a representative structure, and
be able and willing to share organisational by-laws or constitution, sources of funding and the names of members of the organisation’s decision-making body.

Responsibilities

Each GCTF participant is expected to:

actively participate in and support GCTF’s purpose, goals, work and activities,
attend and contribute to GCTF meetings,
share relevant knowledge and information, such as resources, data, case studies and experience,
act in the interest of public health and in alignment with WHO policies, and
keep the Secretariat informed of activities relevant to GCTF’s mission and vision.

What happens after you apply?

After an application is submitted, WHO reviews it for completeness and carries out due diligence in line with the Policy on Engagement with non-State actors.

If additional information is needed, WHO will contact the applicant. Once the review is complete, eligible applicants will be contacted with next steps for joining GCTF.

Why join?

To contribute to a strategy to raise awareness about WHA75.8 associated actions.
To interact with and collaborate with other member stakeholders in strengthening clinical research.

Eligibility

Committed to implementation of WHA resolution WHA75.8
The aims and purposes of the organization should be consistent with the WHO Constitution and conform with WHO’s policies
Respect the intergovernmental nature of WHO and the decision-making authority of Member States as set out in the WHO Constitution
Actively and internationally working in the field of clinical trials or clinical research strengthening with proven experience and expertise in the subject matter for at least three (3) years
The entity should have an established structure, constitutive act, and accountability mechanism
The entity, if it is a membership organization, should have the authority to speak for its participants and have a representative structure
Be able and willing to share organizational by-laws/constitution, sources of funding, list of names of the members of the decision-making body for the organization (i.e. Board of Directors).

Responsibilities

Each GCTF participant must:

Actively participate in and support the GCTF, its purpose, goals, objectives, guiding principles, work and activities;
Attend and actively participate at the GCTF’s meetings;
Share knowledge and information with other participants (such as resources, data, case studies, experience etc.);
Act in the best interest of public health in alignment with WHO policies; and
Keep the Secretariat informed of activities relevant to the GCTF’s mission and vision.

What happens after you apply?

After you submit your application, WHO will review it for completeness and carry out due diligence in line with the Policy on Engagement with non-State actors. If any additional information is needed, we'll reach out to you. Once the review is complete, eligible participants will be contacted with next steps for joining the Global Clinical Trials Forum.