AQ eISFAQ eISF · Electronic investigator site file

Inspection readiness maintained as a daily state.

The electronic investigator site file for NHS Trusts, CRDC hubs and spokes, academic units and CROs. Every expected document is a tracked slot with a code, a due date and an owner — readiness calculated straight from the file, one standard from one site to thirty.

STUDY STD-63822 · 5 SITES · CONDUCT PHASE
Doc readiness 94% Signature 88% Overdue 3 Awaiting sig 7 AI assist
HUB
SPOKE 02
SPOKE 03
SPOKE 04
SPOKE 05
ASPProtocol
DOADelegation
SIVInitiation
MVRMonitoring
READY
100%
94%
88%
91%
86%
Spoke 04 · delegation log overdue by two days. The owner was notified seven days ahead of the due date.
ICH-GCP E6(R3) ALCOA+ 21 CFR Part 11 NHS DSPT UK-hosted
Where control breaks down

Four ways a site file drifts out of step with the study it is meant to document.

01

Documentation oversight is concentrated in a single role

One coordinator holds the knowledge of what’s due, and when. It holds only while they stay in post.

02

Logs fall behind the conduct of the study

Delegation and training records should be real-time. In practice they’re current to the last signature.

03

Superseded versions remain in circulation

An amendment files correctly while logs and site copies keep running against the version it replaced.

04

Each site maintains its own structure

A monitor covering four sites learns four folder structures — UK set-up runs 247 days against 197 in Spain.

<50% on schedule with regulatory tasks
~25% two+ weeks in arrears before a visit
3 parallel trackers per site file, typically
Operational scope

8 documentation controls, one governed study file.

All eight controls operate on one governed record, so what one control captures is available, unaltered, to the next.

Study binders

A binder created from a template, applied across one site or every site in the network.

ICF v3Filed
DOA logPending
SIV packDue 2d
Apply one template to every site, or assign a distinct template and reference date to each.

Milestone library

The milestones a study expects, each carrying its own expected-document set.

SIV milestone88%
Signatures14/16
Each placeholder is linked to a milestone, so the expected-document list follows the study’s own progression.

Roles & permissions

Configurable roles governing who may upload, sign, certify or administer the file.

UpSignCertCRCPIMon
Permissions grouped in Role Management
Roles are fully configurable by the System Administrator to match your organisation’s structure.

Document placeholders

Every expected document held as a tracked slot with a status, a due date and an owner.

Protocol v4
02.05
Fulfilled
DOA log
07.03
Overdue 2d
Consent form
06.01
Due 14 Sep
Pending, Overdue, Awaiting dates, Fulfilled or Waived — each status defined and calculated, not asserted.

Uploading documents

Uploads fulfil the placeholder they were opened from.

Drop into the slot
ICF_v3.pdf · ID ICF-0142 required
Select the placeholder and the upload panel opens pre-linked to that slot — from the tree or from Site overview.

Signature & certification

Authentication at the point of signing, with certification of true copy as a formal wizard.

Password••••••
Access code3 digits
CertifiedSHA-256
Signing requires the user’s password and specified digits of their access code, with a recorded reason.

Dashboard & reporting

Six analysis views and four exportable reports, all reading the same live record.

94%
Ready
7
Pending
3
Overdue
HUB · S02 · S03 · S04 · S05
Command Centre, Signatures, Inspection Readiness, Missing Required, Overdue & At-Risk and Site Comparison.

Versions & governance

Superseding, locking and removal, each retained in full and requiring re-authentication.

v3Current · locked
v2Superseded
v1Superseded
Uploading a new version supersedes the previous one; earlier versions remain available and the signature requirement resets.
AscensionQ The consent form the template anticipated is the consent form the inspector reads.
Anticipated by the template
Configuration
Filed against its placeholder
Documentation
Signed and certified
Compliance
Evidenced in the readiness figure
Oversight
Filed once and attributable at every step — no re-keying between systems.
Connected, not bundled
eISF holds the site’s inspection record that the wider AQ platform reads.

Deployed independently, or alongside the rest of the platform on the same record.

Two binder types

Investigator and pharmacy files, governed separately.

Binder type is chosen at creation. Each holds its own folder structure, template, reference date and readiness figure — and behaves in exactly the same way.

eISF · Investigator Site File
Binder type selected at creation
This module
Folder library — sample
02.05 Protocol & Amendments
04.02 IRB / REC Approvals
06.01 Informed Consent Form
07.03 Delegation of Authority
The file an inspection examines.
Owned by the research team.
Its own template and reference date.
You are here
ePSF · Pharmacy Site File
Same module, separate binder
Separate file
Folder library — sample
01.02 IMP Accountability
03.04 Dispensing Logs
05.01 Storage Temperature
08.02 Equipment Calibration
IMP accountability and cold chain.
Owned by the pharmacy team.
Runs alongside eISF, independently.
Explore AQ ePSF
One set of controls throughout
The rules are identical in both files, but the contents are not shared — each binder holds its own documents, owners and readiness figure. Train once, and nothing carries over unintentionally.
Its own template library, built the same way
The same five placeholder states apply
Signature rules identical, signers named per file
Readiness calculated the same way, scored separately
Its own audit trail, held to one standard
Inside a study binder

From empty placeholder to filed evidence.

Each placeholder is assigned to a role when the binder is created, so the work reaches the person entitled to do it. Select a step to follow a document through the four stages every document passes through.

AscensionQ STD-63822 · eISF · Alder Hey Children's Conduct phase
Folder tree
01.03 Study Team & Training
02.05 Protocol & Amendments
04.02 IRB / REC Approvals
06.01 Informed Consent Form Pending
Required 14 Sep 2026
07.03 Delegation of Authority
09.01 Monitoring Visit Reports
Document placeholder Coordinator

The template has created the slot: folder 06.01, milestone SIV, due 14 Sep, owner named, signature required. Nothing has been filed, and the gap already counts against readiness.

Informed Consent Form
06.01 — Informed Consent · Required · Pending
Required Required
Status Pending
Milestone SIV
Due rule Reference date +14d — not editable at study level
Due date 14 Sep 2026
Owner Research coordinator
Signature
Signer role: Principal Investigator
DoneMC
PendingTS
Same record, different vantage point

What changes for the researcher doing the work.

Coordinator
Stop reconstructing the file before every visit.
0
sites to phone for status
01 Today
Chasing five site leads for delegation status before a monitor visit.
With AQ
One dashboard view shows delegation status across every site, live.
02 Today
Rebuilding "what’s outstanding" from memory and a folder tree.
With AQ
Outstanding items list themselves, by name and by owner.
03 Today
Filing a document and hoping it lands in the right place.
With AQ
Uploads file to their placeholder automatically — the slot decides.
Structured to the standards you are inspected against
Validation and assurance evidence available on request.
ICH-GCP E6(R3) UK CT Regulations MHRA ALCOA+ 21 CFR Part 11
Readiness, and the gate that holds it

A study advances once its file is complete.

Five phases, one stage at a time and in one direction. Completed phases open read-only, so the file evidences its condition at each stage as well as today.

Pre-study Start-up Conduct Close-out Post-study
ADVANCE STUDY PHASE · START-UP → CONDUCT
Uploads 46/48 Signatures 41/44 Overdue 2 Sites pending 1
Spoke 04 · DOA · Delegation of Authority log — overdue 2 days
Spoke 04 · EDTR · Equipment training records — awaiting signature
Advance to conduct
Held 2 of 48 items outstanding
The gate opens automatically the moment both clear — nobody grants it.
The readiness arithmetic
46
48
Doc readiness 96% On track
fulfilled ÷ applicable
36
44
Signatures 82% On track
signed ÷ signature-required
30
43
Spoke 05 readiness 70% At risk
fulfilled ÷ applicable
Waived placeholders
Leave the applicable count, with the reason held on the record — so the figure a coordinator works to is the figure a monitor is shown.
Where authority sits
Five actions the system will never take for you
Signature, following re-authentication
Rests with — Named signer
Certification of a true copy
Rests with — Verifier
Closing a record
Rests with — Responsible user
Advancing the study phase
Rests with — Cleared list
The readiness figure
Rests with — The arithmetic
Re-auth required Password and access-code digits at the moment the action is taken.

“Every document, signature and version sits in one binder. When a monitor visits we are not reconstructing anything — it is already in the state we would otherwise have to prepare it for.”

RG
Research Governance Lead
NHS Foundation Trust · named on request
eISF case study
University Hospitals of Liverpool Group
Zero
AQ-attributable delay to new studies
150+
studies running concurrently
Phased
migration of the existing portfolio

A controlled electronic site file for every new study, replacing fragmented paper and SharePoint — with the existing portfolio migrated in phases.

Every new study went live with zero AQ-attributable delay.
The existing portfolio migrated in phases, not all at once.
One controlled site file in place of paper and SharePoint.
Read the case study
Before you commit

Questions research teams ask.

Anything not covered here, ask us directly at enquiries@aq-trials.com.

The controlled repository for site-level study documentation: protocol versions and amendments, regulatory and ethics approvals, consent forms, delegation of authority, training records and monitoring evidence. It is the site’s own record of how it conducted the study, and the file examined during a site inspection. AQ eISF builds it from a template, establishes each expected document as a tracked placeholder with a due date and named owner, and holds every version, signature and action on one permanent audit trail.

Take control

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demonstration.

Thirty minutes on your own studies — documentation, study activity, quality processes and pharmacy, in one governed record.

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AQUsed only to arrange your demo. No spam, no third parties.REPLY WITHIN ONE WORKING DAY
01The modules that match your study operations
02A real workflow, end to end, with the audit trail
03Onboarding, configuration and your timeline
21 CFR PART 11ICH-GCPDSPTCYBER ESSENTIALSG-CLOUD
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Written for first-in-human & Phase 1 sites

Inspection-ready checklists & templates

Aligned to MHRA, FDA & EU Annex 11