Approaching Information Valuation For clinical research information

Abstract

Information resources hold often one of the main hidden assets in organizations and for that reason, if properly managed and reused, can be a real carrier of value. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss and present a logical method for approaching the valuation of information assets considering risk related aspects of not having the right information, in the right format at the right time when an undesirable event occurs. Consequently, knowing the value of information can prove an important factor when deciding on building IT/IS environment that supports full utilization and business benefits of the information assets. The cases presented in this work are significant to AstraZeneca as well as to the pharmaceutical industry as a whole, portraying the use of clinical research information in relation to risk, supporting the importance of valuing clinical research information and promoting its reusability as a valuable organizational resource. Given the nature of clinical research (CR) information arriving at a valuation, whether qualitative or quantitative is highly subjective and based on individual or collective assessment. Five reasons for valuing CR information are identified and discussed; exclusive possession, utility, cost or cost of recreation, potential liability and operational impact, since information valuation is multidimensional in nature and each reason can represent a potential qualitative and/or quantitative information value. Clinical research information can be said to hold significant value when it comes to supporting risk and issue management. Knowing that CR information is accessible and accurate facilitates the management of issues and minimizes the risk for liability and operational impact as is supported with case studies. The work resulted in a conclusion that the effort to value information is not entirely problem free, although going through the method presented it is possible to approach information value.