TY - JOUR AB - Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how a learning centre can be designed as a transformational vehicle to align the culture with the organization's mission and vision to achieve competitive advantage.Design/methodology/approach–In the setting of international clinical development in a major pharmaceutical company, this paper first describes the change strategy and tactics used in designing a learning centre. Then, the overall framework for integrating learning into day‐to‐day work is described as well as the specific methods used for bringing about this integration.Findings–The patient‐centered approach and continuous learning and improvement environment result in exploring, managing, and mitigating risks and optimizing benefits to the patient. Clearly, this change strategy is pivotal to achieving the company mission, and it enables international clinical development to exceed industry standards.Originality/value–The paper shows how to design and implement a learning centre as a vehicle for culture change. VL - 38 IS - 1 SN - 0305-5728 DO - 10.1108/03055720810870914 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/03055720810870914 AU - Riedinger Joyce PY - 2008 Y1 - 2008/01/01 TI - Using an applied learning centre as a vehicle for culture change T2 - VINE PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 95 EP - 103 Y2 - 2024/04/19 ER -