PCMG Awards 2026
We’re excited to announce the launch of the PCMG Awards 2026, recognising excellence, innovation, and impact across the clinical development outsourcing community. This year, we’re introducing three new awards; Innovation in Outsourcing, Collaboration of the Year, and Outsourcing Trailblazer of the Year, alongside our prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.
Nominating for any of the four awards offers an opportunity to celebrate the individuals, teams, and breakthroughs shaping the future of our field.
How to nominate
Complete the online nomination form by 17 March 2026, providing the nominee’s details and a short summary of why they deserve recognition. You may include examples of their impact, key achievements, or specific moments that demonstrate their contribution to the outsourcing community.
Award Categories
Innovation in Outsourcing Award
Celebrating new solutions that move the industry forward.
The Innovation in Outsourcing Award recognises individuals or teams who have developed a new idea, tool, model, or approach that delivers measurable improvement in clinical outsourcing.
This award is about the solution itself; the originality of the idea, how it was implemented, and the value it creates. Innovation may be technological, process-driven, strategic, or collaborative, but it must introduce something meaningfully new that shifts the way outsourcing is done.
Unlike the Trailblazer Award, which celebrates a person’s influence or actions, this award celebrates a specific innovation and the tangible impact it has had.
Nominations should demonstrate:
- A new solution or approach that improves outsourcing outcomes.
- Evidence of measurable impact (e.g., efficiency, quality, transparency, cycle times, engagement).
- A solution that modernises traditional practices or addresses a long-standing challenge.
- Approaches that can be scaled, replicated, or adopted across organisations.
- Initiatives that strengthen trust and partnership between sponsors and providers.
Eligibility
- Open to individuals or teams from any organisation involved in clinical development outsourcing, including sponsor companies, CROs, service providers, technology partners, and consultants.
- Nominees may be at any career stage.
- The innovation submitted must be the nominee’s own work and should have been implemented or demonstrated within the past two years.
- Both PCMG members and non-members are eligible.
Outsourcing Trailblazer of the Year Award
Recognising individuals who are driving meaningful change in outsourcing today. (Open to all career stages)
The Outsourcing Trailblazer of the Year Award celebrates individuals, whether early career or highly experienced, who are personally driving high-impact change in the present day.
A Trailblazer is someone who demonstrates bold action, modern thinking, and standout results, creating momentum and inspiring others. Their influence comes not from the length of their career but from the significance and visibility of their recent contributions.
Unlike the Innovation Award, which celebrates a specific solution, the Trailblazer Award honours the individual and the difference they are making through leadership, initiative, and the way they work.
Nominees should demonstrate:
- Bold initiative; leading change, driving improvements, or challenging outdated practices.
- Clear evidence of personal impact on a team, project, or partnership.
- Behaviours that influence others: collaboration, problem-solving, communication, or leadership.
- A forward-looking mindset aligned with modern outsourcing needs.
- Work that is having a meaningful effect right now, rather than cumulative career impact.
Eligibility
- Open to all career stages (from rising talent to seasoned professionals).
- Open to both sponsor-side and service-provider professionals.
- Nominees must demonstrate a recent period of high-impact personal contribution.
Collaboration of the Year Award
Recognising partnerships that demonstrate the power of working together.
The Collaboration of the Year Award celebrates exceptional examples of partnership between sponsors, CROs, vendors, or cross-functional teams.
This award recognises collaborations where working together fundamentally changed the outcome — solving a significant challenge, accelerating progress, or demonstrating new standards of transparency, trust, or joint leadership.
Unlike the Innovation Award (which focuses on a solution) or the Trailblazer Award (which focuses on an individual), this award honours the collective effort, shared ownership, and partnership behaviours that define outstanding collaboration.
Nominations should demonstrate:
- A partnership or team effort involving two or more groups (e.g., sponsor + CRO, multi-vendor, internal cross-functional teams).
- Clear, measurable improvements resulting directly from collaboration.
- Evidence of shared decision-making, open communication, or cross-organisational alignment.
- Partnership behaviours that reflect PCMG’s ethos: non-commercial, trust-based collaboration.
- Contributions from all levels, including emerging professionals, are strongly welcomed.
Eligibility
- Open to any partnership, project team, or cross-organisational group involved in clinical development outsourcing.
- Nominations may include collaborations between sponsors and CROs, sponsors and service providers, internal cross-functional teams, or multi-company initiatives.
- Teams may comprise individuals at any career level, and contributions from early-career professionals are welcomed.
- Both PCMG members and non-members are eligible.
PCMG Lifetime Achievement Award
Honouring a career of exceptional impact, leadership, and service within the PCMG community. (Exclusive to PCMG members)
The PCMG Lifetime Achievement Award is the organisation’s highest honour, celebrating a PCMG member whose career-long contribution has shaped the clinical outsourcing profession.
This award recognises decades of commitment, where influence comes from longevity, consistency, mentorship, and sustained leadership. It honours individuals who have significantly shaped best practice, championed PCMG’s mission, and strengthened the profession over many years.
Unlike the Trailblazer Award, which celebrates recent or short-term high-impact contributions, the Lifetime Achievement Award recognises a long-term legacy.
Nominees should demonstrate:
- A career of substantial and lasting impact on outsourcing and contract management.
- Leadership that has shaped industry standards, thinking, or strategic direction.
- A legacy of service to PCMG, including mentorship, initiative leadership, or community-building.
- A reputation for professional integrity, thought leadership, and commitment to strengthening the sponsor–provider ecosystem.
Eligibility
- Nominees must be current or former PCMG members.
- Open to sponsor-side professionals only.
- Typically awarded to senior leaders with extensive, longstanding contributions.
