Clear communication with the public and with potential clinical trial participants and their caregivers is foundational to the ethical tenets of respect, justice, and beneficence. However, health literacy, even of highly educated individuals, often declines when presented with complex content in unfamiliar contexts and in times of stress, all of which are characteristic of the types of situations people find themselves in when considering and participating in a research study. Here we describe an initiative to pilot the development of a cross-organisational plain language clinical research glossary to promote clarity, consistency, and transparency. The goal is to develop a common resource that can be used across clinical research stakeholder groups to increase understanding of clinical research and empower sound individual decision making.