NIHR FACTS: What We Heard About Flexibility and Autonomy Across CTR

– by  Dolce Advani,  Centre for Trials Research (CTR) at Cardiff University Representative/Champion – FACTS/ Data Manager, CTR

About FACTS

FACTS (Flexibility and Autonomy in Clinical Trials Staff) is an NIHR-funded initiative exploring how research teams can thrive through better working practices. At Cardiff CTR, Dolce Advani and Fiona Lugg Widger have been appointed as FACTS Champion and Deputy Champion respectively, working together to gather insights from colleagues, share findings, and help shape a positive, people-centred research culture across the unit. As part of this role, we’ve been running structured conversations with teams across CTR, exploring what flexibility and autonomy really mean in practice, and what helps people do their best work.

What emerged from conversations across Data Management, Statistics, Pharmacovigilance, QA and Administration wasn’t just a story about hybrid working. It was something richer. Behind the practicalities of diaries and desk days, there’s a set of values that people across CTR hold in common: trust, ownership, clear communication, and the space to organise work in a way that genuinely works.

Here’s what we heard.

1. Autonomy is really about trust

Across every team, people described autonomy not as simply “working independently”,but as being trusted to manage their own priorities, organise their diaries, and deliver without unnecessary oversight.

That trust looks different in practice for different people. For some, it’s the confidence that comes from a supportive manager. For others, it’s having clear SOPs that allow them to methodically work through tasks in their own time, knowing they can follow a defined process independently, then come up for air when needed. Many highlighted that being allocated to specific trials or workstreams gives them the ability to work with their team to agree deadlines and shift priorities as things evolve.

“Autonomy is strongly linked to trust. Staff value having ownership over their work while knowing support is available when needed.”

2. Flexible and hybrid working genuinely helps

It’s not a surprise, but it bears saying clearly: flexible and hybrid working makes a real difference to how people experience their work.

Colleagues described better productivity, improved wellbeing, and  particularly for those managing health needs.. a quality of work-life integration that simply isn’t possible with rigid office-based schedules. Hybrid meetings were also highlighted as a practical win: not missing out when you can’t be in the office keeps people connected and contributing.

3. But flexibility needs balance

Several teams were candid about the challenges too.

New starters can feel isolated when remote working is the default. Knowledge-sharing is harder at a distance. Team cohesion takes more deliberate effort when people aren’t physically together. This isn’t a case against flexibility. It’s a call for intentionality. The teams that manage this best tend to be those that treat in-person time as purposeful, not just habitual.

4. Protecting time for meaningful work matters

One of the strongest themes across teams was the value of being able to organise the working day in a way that allows for focused, meaningful work alongside meetings and communication.

People highlighted practical approaches that make a real difference: keeping meetings shorter and well-structured, coordinating thoughtfully around part-time and compressed hours, and protecting time for the kind of deep work that requires concentration. Realistic timescales — clearly communicated both internally and to stakeholders were also flagged as important in making this work in practice.

“Flexibility works best when people can maintain control of their diaries and protect time for meaningful work.”

5. Good communication enables autonomy. It doesn’t reduce it

There was a perhaps counterintuitive insight here: people who felt most autonomous weren’t those who were left alone — they were those who had clear expectations, understood the wider picture, and were brought into decisions early.

Access to guidance and SOPs, regular (but proportionate) communication, and knowing where to go when things get complicated..these aren’t constraints on autonomy. They’re the scaffolding that makes it possible. The same applies to shared platforms: where tools like Teams are used consistently for shared documents, people can work independently without running into the friction of access issues or version conflicts.

6. Social connection still matters — but it has to be the right kind

Across teams, people valued informal connection: lunches, coffee catch-ups, casual office interactions. These moments don’t need to be elaborate to be effective. In fact, the most appreciated opportunities to connect tend to be the most straightforward ones.

The consistent theme was accessibility and low pressure: connection that works for everyone, fits around different schedules and preferences, and doesn’t require a big occasion to happen.

Looking ahead

These findings reflect real experiences, common challenges, and genuine successes from colleagues across CTR. They don’t point to a single answer, but they do point in a consistent direction.

Flexibility works best when it’s built on trust, enabled by good communication, and protected by control over your own time. That’s something worth holding onto as we continue to shape how we work together.

We’re looking forward to sharing these findings more widely across CTR and continuing the conversations about what helps people do their best work.

#ResearchCulture #ClinicalTrials #FACTS #Teamwork #WorkplaceWellbeing