2026 IT in Academic Medicine conference, sponsored by the AAMC Group on Information Resources (GIR)

Creating a Sustainable REDCap Training Program: Building Research Capacity Through Modular Education

Research data management systems like REDCap are essential to clinical research but often underutilized due to limited training. With growing demand, the university needed a solution. At the University of Pittsburgh, a two-person Research Application Support team maintains over 15,000 active REDCap projects. To promote data quality and user independence, the team launched monthly beginner and intermediate webinars covering project setup, longitudinal design, data access groups, and alerts. Each 45-minute session was recorded, paired with a FAQ, and distributed to all registrants.  Over 400 participants attended the first two sessions. This sustainable, modular training framework transformed REDCap onboarding, reduced one-on-one support, and enhanced institutional efficiency. Future plans include advanced role-based modules, open office hours, and a searchable knowledge base.

Attendees will learn practical strategies for developing scalable REDCap training with limited staff and resources. The poster outlines how a small support team structured monthly webinars, reusable materials, and centralized FAQs to train hundreds of users efficiently. Participants will gain actionable ideas for creating modular education programs, improving researcher self-sufficiency, and reducing one-on-one support demands. They will also see how standardizing content and tracking engagement can build long-term sustainability and institutional capacity for research technology training.