The Clinical Research Roundtable (CRR) of the National Academies held its second meeting in September 2000 in Washington, DC. An information gathering symposium on Public Confidence and Involvement in Clinical Research was open to the public. It included:

• speakers who have collected data on the public’s perception of clinical research;
• speakers who are experienced researchers and have collected information on the barriers and incentives that influence recruitment and retention of research participants;
• speakers who represent different patient groups; and
• speakers who have experience integrating clinical research into a community-based clinical practice.

Repeated themes from the meeting suggest that the American public is very supportive of clinical research, that collaborative models where researchers and participants work together tend to be more successful, and that research participants needs must be explicitly address in order to improve recruitment and retention.