{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,21]],"date-time":"2026-10-21T04:42:30Z","timestamp":1792557750009,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":10,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]],"date-time":"2026-10-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1792454400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":19,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Clinical research is an essential pillar of modern inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) care, underpinning therapeutic innovation, biomarker discovery, precision medicine, and improvements in healthcare delivery. However, while international initiatives have successfully defined standards for clinical care, comparatively little attention has been devoted to the infrastructure required to conduct high-quality clinical research. Consequently, research capacity remains highly heterogeneous across centers, limiting patient access to clinical studies and reducing opportunities for collaborative research. To address this gap, a Belgian multi-stakeholder initiative involving patients, gastroenterologists, research nurses, study coordinators, and clinical researchers developed a practical toolbox for establishing and strengthening IBD clinical research units. Rather than defining rigid accreditation criteria, the toolbox distinguishes between essential components required for a functional research unit and important but non-essential elements that further improve quality, efficiency, and long-term sustainability. Structured across 3 complementary domains (administrative, operational, and collaborative) this framework provides a pragmatic roadmap that can support centers at different stages of research maturity. Beyond describing the toolbox, we discuss the concept of research readiness as a hallmark of excellence in modern IBD care and propose a roadmap for building sustainable research ecosystems. Although developed within the Belgian healthcare system, the principles presented are broadly applicable and may support the development of research capacity across healthcare systems and disease areas.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/ecco-jcc\/jjag144","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]],"date-time":"2026-10-20T23:59:37Z","timestamp":1792540777000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Building sustainable IBD clinical research units: a practical toolbox emerging from a Belgian multi-stakeholder initiative"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9415-083X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ingrid","family":"Arijs","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Belgian Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research and Development (BIRD) , Zaventem,","place":["Belgium"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Leonie","family":"Govaerts","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Belgian Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research and Development (BIRD) , Zaventem,","place":["Belgium"]},{"name":"Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, KU Leuven , Leuven,","place":["Belgium"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lynn","family":"Debrun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Crohn\u2014en Colitis ulcerosa Vereniging vzw (CCV-vzw) , Leuven,","place":["Belgium"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4893-7682","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Liselotte","family":"Fierens","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, KU Leuven , Leuven,","place":["Belgium"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Katleen","family":"Franc","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ASBL Crohn-RCUH , Waterloo,","place":["Belgium"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hilde","family":"Kelchtermans","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UHasselt, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences , Agoralaan , Diepenbeek,","place":["Belgium"]},{"name":"Limburg Clinical Research Center"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Charlotte","family":"Minsart","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology\u2014Hepato-Pancreatology and Digestive Oncology, H.U.B- CUB H\u00f4pital Erasme , Brussels,","place":["Belgium"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5490-4350","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Catherine","family":"Reenaers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology, CHU Li\u00e8ge , Li\u00e8ge,","place":["Belgium"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Louise","family":"Vandenbroucke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology , Oostende, AZ,","place":["Belgium"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Vansteenkiste","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Belgian Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research and Development (BIRD) , Zaventem,","place":["Belgium"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jolien","family":"De Rechter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Belgian Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research and Development (BIRD) , Zaventem,","place":["Belgium"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"name":"Belgian IBD Research and Development (BIRD)","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Filip","family":"Baert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anne","family":"Bertrand","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Bossuyt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Layla","family":"Boutaffala","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lena","family":"Capirchio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sophie","family":"Claeys","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jean-Charles","family":"Coche","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Arnaud","family":"Colard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anneline","family":"Cremer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elisabeth","family":"De Greef","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicolas","family":"de Sura\u00ff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stefan","family":"Delen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nele","family":"Deprez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Liesbeth","family":"Deroo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gael","family":"Englebert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marc","family":"Ferrante","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tine","family":"Hermans","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"Heugebaert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sofie","family":"Himpe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lorent","family":"Hostaux","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Triana","family":"Lobaton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ikram","family":"Loukili","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elisabeth","family":"Macken","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ludwig","family":"Marchal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fady","family":"Mokaddem","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"An","family":"Outtier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Romy","family":"Ouziel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eva","family":"Peetermans","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kevin","family":"Plovie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marte","family":"Saeys","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Natalia","family":"Swietek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jo","family":"Swinnen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Thibault","family":"Taelman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Clara","family":"Thienpont","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jurgen","family":"Van Dongen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Evi","family":"Van Dyck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julie","family":"Vanderstappen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aline","family":"Vlassak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Annelies","family":"Verreth","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3898-7093","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bram","family":"Verstockt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, KU Leuven , Leuven,","place":["Belgium"]},{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospitals Leuven , Leuven,","place":["Belgium"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026102100322732500_jjag144-B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"438","DOI":"10.1038\/s41575-025-01063-x","article-title":"Shaping the future of inflammatory bowel disease: A global research agenda for better management and public health response","volume":"22","author":"Solitano","year":"2025","journal-title":"Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol"},{"key":"2026102100322732500_jjag144-B2","first-page":"1583","article-title":"A core outcome set for \u00adinflammatory bowel diseases: Development and recommendations for \u00adimplementation in clinical practice through an international multi-stakeholder consensus process","volume":"18","author":"Fierens","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Crohns Colitis"},{"key":"2026102100322732500_jjag144-B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"349","DOI":"10.1097\/MCG.0000000000002145","article-title":"Development of an evidence-based quality indicator set for patients with inflammatory bowel disease in Belgium","volume":"60","author":"Fierens","year":"2026","journal-title":"J Clin Gastroenterol"},{"key":"2026102100322732500_jjag144-B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1037","DOI":"10.1093\/ecco-jcc\/jjaa023","article-title":"Quality of care standards in inflammatory bowel diseases: a European Crohn\u2019s and Colitis Organisation [ECCO] position paper","volume":"14","author":"Fiorino","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Crohns Colitis"},{"key":"2026102100322732500_jjag144-B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1222","DOI":"10.1093\/ecco-jcc\/jjae026","article-title":"Pragmatic trial design to compare real-world effectiveness of different treatments for inflammatory bowel diseases: the practice-IBD European consensus","volume":"18","author":"Fantini","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Crohns Colitis"},{"key":"2026102100322732500_jjag144-B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e70006","DOI":"10.1002\/jcc5.70006","article-title":"How to conduct impactful and sustainable clinical research in IBD: a toolbox for researchers","volume":"1","author":"Kirchgesner","year":"2026","journal-title":"JCC Plus"},{"key":"2026102100322732500_jjag144-B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1008","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1365-2648.2000.t01-1-01567.x","article-title":"Research guidelines for the Delphi survey technique","volume":"32","author":"Hasson","year":"2000","journal-title":"J Adv Nurs"},{"key":"2026102100322732500_jjag144-B8","author":"National Institutes of Health (NIH)"},{"key":"2026102100322732500_jjag144-B9","author":"National Institutes of Health (NIH"},{"key":"2026102100322732500_jjag144-B10","author":"Arijs","year":"2026"}],"container-title":["Journal of Crohn's and Colitis"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/ecco-jcc\/article-pdf\/20\/10\/jjag144\/72141605\/jjag144.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/ecco-jcc\/article-pdf\/20\/10\/jjag144\/72141605\/jjag144.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,21]],"date-time":"2026-10-21T04:32:40Z","timestamp":1792557160000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/ecco-jcc\/article\/doi\/10.1093\/ecco-jcc\/jjag144\/8944193"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10]]},"references-count":10,"journal-issue":{"issue":"10","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/ecco-jcc\/jjag144","relation":{},"ISSN":["1873-9946","1876-4479"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1873-9946","type":"print"},{"value":"1876-4479","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published-other":{"date-parts":[[2026,10]]},"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10]]},"article-number":"jjag144"}}