Back to customer servicesCROs and research service organizations

Projects keep arriving. You need support with a clear schedule and usage record.

Several projects regularly need methods, quality or handover support. Ad hoc help is hard to schedule, but recurring demand does not mean unlimited projects.

How does this scope address your concerns?

Will reserved hours produce task records? Will work in a fixed package also consume hours? Can unused hours roll over?

When this scope fits

For CRO departments with recurring evidence-methods and handover needs, a named owner and monthly usage review.

When the scope needs adjusting

This is not unlimited projects or a large-volume processing package. Response targets, concurrency and unused-hour rules belong in the contract; client data requires lawful subcontracting permission.

REAL SOURCES · ILLUSTRATIVE REQUEST · DOWNLOADABLE SAMPLE

240 annual support hours with a task-level balance

Download sample packZIP

Capacity ledger: simulated 36 used, 204 remaining

Unit: Hours · simulated use

Question/protocol review8 Hours · simulated use

Illustrative task A

Search-method support12 Hours · simulated use

Illustrative task B

Handover/review support16 Hours · simulated use

Illustrative task C

Remaining allowance204 Hours · simulated use

240 − 8 − 12 − 16 = 204

240 hours follows the current proposal. Tasks and usage are simulated. Response times and concurrency require separate agreement; balance does not imply immediate availability.

Check	Finding / sample content	Use
Task B	Estimated 10 hours; illustrative actual 12; overrun reason recorded	Apply agreed change rules before acceptance
Next task	Estimate hours and confirm professional role and scheduling first	Enter the work plan after schedule agreement

SOURCES USED IN THIS EXAMPLE

PRISMA 2020: Flow diagram

Prepared 5 Oct 2026 · Selected references, not an exhaustive systematic search

Scope & acceptance

Work covered by the quote

Illustrative scope: 240 hours of evidence-methods and handover support annually. Estimate each task first; scheduling, response and concurrent capacity are agreed separately. Large-volume processing has its own package price.

Pilot reference: from CNY 240,000 per year. Fictional budget: CNY 240,000 including 240 hours, paid at CNY 60,000 each quarter. Excess support: reference CNY 1,000 per hour, approved before work. A fixed package and the hours pool cannot both charge for the same work.

Acceptance criteria

Professional roles, outputs and actual usage can be checked. Monthly balances and quarterly reviews are complete; response targets and concurrency are assessed against the contract.

Checking the evidence

Allowances follow illustrative scopes in the current pilot proposal. Customer situations, walkthroughs and budgets are fictional examples, not actual orders, product findings or validated savings.
Contracted professional roles and annual allowance, task estimates, hours ledger and deliverable versions; fixed packages and reserved hours are recorded separately.

Workflow and inputs

From inputs to delivery

Explore the workflow and deliverable structure. This preview does not run searches, read real records or produce medical findings.

01 / WORKFLOW PREVIEW

Define the task

Illustrative request: a CRO medical department reserves about 20 hours each month for methods and handover support, with large screening projects commissioned separately.

Methods, sources and professional responsibilities

THE BASIS FOR THIS SCOPE

Why this approach? Inspect the basis.

Check the match between product, population, use conditions and outcomes before defining a supported claim.

OFFICIAL GUIDANCE

FTC · Health Products

Federal Trade Commission · US

Does the research match the product claim?

Scientific support for health-product claims should match the product and claim, rather than merely a similar ingredient.

Scope & access conditions

This is US guidance. Other markets require separate assessment; it is not an approval or compliance conclusion.

Open official source

PUBLIC DATABASE

ClinicalTrials.gov

NLM / NIH

Check studies and reported results

Review study objectives, eligibility, locations, status and reported results, then identify questions for the clinical team.

Scope & access conditions

Sponsors or investigators submit the records. A listing is not government approval of safety or effectiveness, or a determination that you should participate.

Read the official description

Open official source

METHOD REFERENCE

GRADE · Cochrane Handbook

Cochrane · Chapter 14

Show effect size and confidence separately

Present important outcomes, relative and absolute effects, available data and certainty, with reasons for downgrading.

Scope & access conditions

GRADE evaluates a body of evidence for a particular outcome. Database inclusion or one study does not automatically establish high certainty.

Open official source

These references support problem definition and evidence appraisal. Your conclusions still require project-specific sources and professional review.

The value of this commissionEOS uses agreed retained hours for defined modules, tracking remaining capacity and added scope.

CRO retained evidence capacityCompare alternatives and value

Workload fluctuates; expert support needs a predictable schedule.

What to assess	ICON	Evidence OS · Commissioned scope
Service focus	ICON offers specialist HEOR and evidence teams across projects.	EOS uses agreed retained hours for defined modules, tracking remaining capacity and added scope.
When to choose	Large multidisciplinary or global execution needs a sufficiently scaled team.	Example: 240 hours annually, with task estimates, scheduling and reviewers agreed first.

What the fee pays for: Planning reference: from CNY 240,000 annually; agree quarterly hours, unused capacity, overruns and urgent work.
Value beyond this task: Retain templates and cross-batch baselines; reused work should not be billed again.
How to assess value: Assess hours used, scheduled delivery, reused materials and procurement coordination effort.

Check staffing, reserved schedules, cover and concurrency limits; this is not an unlimited project subscription.

CHECK THE OFFICIAL SERVICE SCOPEICON · Health Economics and Outcomes Research

Reuse and updates after delivery

Procurement can check capacity, tasks and usage. Reserved support and independent packages are accounted for separately, making the proposed schedule reviewable.

Agree reuse rights, retention and export periods, and future update fees when scoping.

Questions before commissioning

Can unused hours roll over indefinitely?

No unlimited rollover is assumed. Reserved capacity, unused allowance, cancellation and expiry rules must be agreed in the contract.

Will buying a fixed package cause duplicate charges?

Work already included in a package does not consume the hours pool. Each task identifies its charging source first to avoid billing the same work twice.

Can we order reserved team capacity immediately?

Start by drafting needs and discussing capacity. Roles, scheduling, permissions, contracts and available personnel are confirmed before work; this is not a claim of instantly purchasable staffing.

Define the delivery for your actual question.

Add your goal, available inputs and timing. Agree scope, review responsibilities and a quote before commissioning.

Request scope & quote

Explore other situations

CROs and research service organizations

The project has started. Search and screening need a dependable handover.

Receive search strategies, deduplication and screening records, issue and review logs, and handover data for downstream workflows.

CNY 50,000–200,000 per packageSee the deliverable