Flexible. Scalable. Smarter. The Power of FSP.
FSP has rapidly become a popular outsourcing approach in drug development—and for good reason. It delivers the ultimate outsourcing experience—flexible, dependable, and always ready to support your needs.
The best part? It works across any function, for any team size, adapts to your priorities, and is generally much more cost effective than FSO or hybrid models because you are investing in outsourced expertise only where you need it, while retaining oversight. Whether you need to supplement expertise, retain control, or fill critical knowledge gaps, FSP delivers.
An FSP partner builds a strategic, dedicated team tailored to your needs, with each expert bringing the exact experience and specialized skills needed to drive success—powered by agility, collaboration, and innovation.
See how FSP stacks up against the traditional FSO model.
| Full-Service Outsourcing (FSO) | Functional Service Provider (FSP) | |
Approach |
FSO partner is responsible for every aspect of a clinical study or project |
FSP partner provides a variable number of resources across one or more functional areas to support client's projects |
|
FSO partner has full control, including providing all resources, processes, and systems |
Client retains control and is involved in day-to-day aspects of study or project |
|
|
Client receives updates on data and overall progress |
Client has access and visibility into all data in real-time |
|
Contracting  |
Contract is tied to a specific study or project with defined deliverables and endpoints |
Contract is flexible and adaptable to changing needs |
|
Change orders are required when there is deviation from original scope |
Resources are not tied to deliverables, and can quickly ramp volume or shift onto any study or project based on priority/needs |
|
|
Deliverable or milestone-based pricing |
Simple resource-based monthly pricing/invoicing makes budget predictability and resource allocation easy |
|
System & Processes |
FSO partner's processes are followed |
FSP partner trains and manages resources to follow client’s processes |
|
Systems could be either FSO partner’s or client's |
Client’s systems are exclusively leveraged to allow for simplified data integration and standardization |
|
Resources |
Client does not have control of team selection, organization or changes |
Collaborative effort to establish required candidate profiles, and client retains yes/no decision rights for all proposed resources |
|
Resources are often shared across multiple clients |
Small pools of resources are cultivated for each client, which provides targeted expertise and capacity expansion |
|
|
Team can frequently change, typically leading to high turnover |
Resources work as an extension of the client’s internal team, and there is generally high retention |
All of this without the burden of permanent headcount and no co-employment risk—allowing you to:
- Rapidly fill resource gaps in Clinical Operations, Project Management, and specialized areas like Data Sciences and Safety.
- Access subject matter experts (SMEs) in Regulatory, Compliance, Device and Manufacturing —without long-term overhead.
- Maintain full control over key areas like Data and Budget—ensuring transparency and stability.
- Scale efficiently to meet pipeline demands, staying agile without the constraints of a fixed workforce.
Compared to a traditional FSO model, FSP is clearly faster, more cost-effective, and here to stay. Ready to experience the difference? Let’s talk. You need the most adaptable and efficient way to run clinical trials with genuine speed and agility, so life-changing therapies reach the patients faster. We want to help you achieve it.
As a strategic partner, with more than 25 years of experience, we prioritize delivering solutions leveraging the FSP model. Our subject matter experts, averaging more than 7 years tenure, with a time to fill of less than 28 days, ensure you get the highest quality resources, when and where you need them.
