gms | German Medical Science

Background/research question: Advocating together with partners has the potential to create a greater impact than acting alone and enhances the visibility of the involved institutions. With the aim of improving patient care and patient safety, clinical trial registration and results publication rates in Germany need to improve. Therefore, we gathered a group of campaigners to collaboratively advocate for increased trial transparency in Germany. Here, we describe the entire process, from the initial formation of the alliance to the publication of a position paper that calls on German government bodies to establish a framework ensuring the complete registration of all clinical studies and the publication of all results. Our focus is on our networking activities to inspire other groups planning similar activities.

Methods: With the goal to improve clinical trial registration and publication rates in Germany, a group of 9 campaigners from 4 organisations formed the Alliance for Transparency in Health Research in March 2023. The core group initially met in an online discussion on clinical trial transparency and was completed by personal contact. From then on, potential activities were discussed during monthly online meetings, with Cochrane Germany acting as the facilitator. One of the main activities of the alliance was the collaborative compilation and publication of a position paper.

Results: The Alliance for Transparency in Health Research has been successfully established and will continue its work on clinical trial transparency in Germany. The main achievement of the Alliance so far has been the publication of the position paper, “Unpublished study findings endanger evidence-based health care” [1], in May 2024, co-signed by renowned institutions and followed by encouraging coverage in the national media. Accompanying activities by individual members of the Alliance amplified our efforts to gain visibility in the German political landscape.

Conclusion: We gained valuable experience in networking, advocacy, and campaign work. Our activities did not result in a change of German legislation, but still received attention from the national media and policymakers. The Alliance is firmly determined to continue working on its goal to improve trial transparency in Germany. We are planning to share our experiences with international colleagues and campaigners to spark similar activities in other countries.

Competing interests:

• VL: none
• LG: none
• JM: none
• BB: none
• SMO: none